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Seattle
August 13 – September 21, 2023
Kent, Washington
August 13 – September 16, 2023
We arrived at Mays’ sister Connie’s house at 3:15 Pacific Time on Sunday the 13th. Connie and her husband, Ron, live in Kent which is a town just a little to the south of Seattle. We planned to stay for five weeks and during a part of that time, we would be house-sitting while Connie took a well-deserved vacation to Switzerland. The timing was also serendipitous as Mays’ high school reunion was during the time we were in the area, and he was able to help his good friend Steve with the planning and organization ahead of time. We also were able to visit and spend more time with other friends in the area while we were here.
August 13 – 19
While Mays worked in the mornings (he was still keeping East Coast hours, so worked from 5am to 1:30pm), I spent time with Connie and got acquainted with their King Charles spaniel, Murphy, who was about 14 months old and the sweetest dog ever. The temperature was in the 80s that first week, but the mornings were cool enough to sit out on the patio in the backyard. Monday, Mays and I had a late lunch Ivar’s Seafood Bar, famous for their fish & chips, in Gene Coulon Park on Lake Washington. This branch of Ivar’s was built on a pier on the lake and the ducks hung around under the pier waiting for guests to drop food to them through the grating. I don’t think I’ve ever lunched with ducks before!
We had a lot of relaxing family time this week, which was very welcome after the long drive across the country. Connie, Mays, and I went to her friends’ house for a pool party on Wednesday afternoon. Then on Saturday, Mays’ other sister Carol came to visit from north of Seattle and we all went to lunch together at the Great Wall Shopping Center, and for dessert had freshly made sugar cane juice at a Vietnamese place in the mall. Watching them press the juice from the sugar cane was a new and interesting experience!
August 20 – 26
Sunday we went to Mays’ high school friend Steve’s house to visit. While we were there, we were able to help with his garden, which is good exercise and very soothing. Then we helped with some reunion preparations, while Steve prepared a lovely home-cooked dinner, for which we were joined by some long-time friends of Elaine’s, Steve’s wife. One of them was visiting from Washington, DC (small world!) and the other was from Montana. We learned from them that because of the wildfires in eastern Washington, I-90 had been shut down a just few days after we had traveled through that very area on our way to Seattle!
Connie left on her trip on Wednesday, and we stuck pretty close to home the rest of the week. Mays was able to work from two different Seattle branches of his co-working office before Connie left and while he was downtown, he visited the Pike Place market. The fish market at Pike Place puts on a show for the customers by throwing whole fish to each other!
Saturday, Mays’ sister Carol visited for a bit, and then we drove to Alki Beach in West Seattle on Puget Sound to enjoy the views.
August 27 – September 2
We started the week by visiting Steve’s house for a reunion committee meeting and another home-cooked lunch of fish stew with locally caught black cod. Yummy! Tuesday night we were lucky to get tickets to a Mariners’ baseball game. They had been on a winning streak and were currently first place in their division, so we were expecting a great game, and they did not disappoint. Although they ultimately lost the game, there were several times when they were in a position to get a grand slam and the crowd was revved up! I was screaming my head off as well! Oddly enough, several of Mays’ friends were there that night too, and we were able to meet them briefly to say hello.
Wednesday, I got out for a few hours to go to Rain & Co. where Misty cut and styled my hair into sleek perfection. It’s a shame that it couldn’t last more than a few days – as soon as I washed it, the curls came back with a vengeance. But I got photo evidence that I once had straight hair! It was a blessing to find someone so skilled with curly hair when we’re away from home! I have not always been so lucky.
September 3 – 9
The first part of the week was very quiet and much the same. Mays had been working at Starbucks for his morning meetings that started at 6am to avoid disturbing Ron and me. Murphy benefited from this because a few times Mays brought home pup cups for him; Starbucks has a free menu offering of whipped cream in a small cup for the canine family members of their patrons. Murphy was definitely a fan!
Friday night we went to Steve’s house to have dinner with Mr. Dirks, their math teacher from Franklin High who had come into town with his wife for the reunion. His wife is originally from Thailand, so we had an enjoyable time talking about the culture and food there. Saturday morning, Mays went with Steve for last-minute preparations for the reunion, and I hung out for a while with Connie, who had returned late the night before. Unfortunately, it turned out she came back with COVID, so we all spent the rest of the day separated. Mays returned late that night, having had a busy day, but enjoyable and successful event. Everyone had such a good time reconnecting with each other that they all forgot to take pictures!
Friday night we went to Steve’s house to have dinner with Mr. Dirks, their math teacher from Franklin High who had come into town with his wife for the reunion. His wife is originally from Thailand, so we had an enjoyable time talking about the culture and food there. Saturday morning, Mays went with Steve for last-minute preparations for the reunion, and I hung out for a while with Connie, who had returned late the night before. Unfortunately, it turned out she came back with COVID, so we all spent the rest of the day separated. Mays returned late that night, having had a busy day, but enjoyable and successful event. Everyone had such a good time reconnecting with each other that they all forgot to take pictures!
September 10 – 16
We spent an easy day Sunday, going out to Lake Sammamish State Park in the afternoon and walked around enjoying the view from the beach, and watching people picnicking, playing volleyball and chasing frisbees. Also, Mays was leaving the next morning for a three-day trip to Denver, CO for work, so we wanted to take it easy.
Friday, after negative COVID test results for both of us, we had lunch with our friend Chris who was in town visiting his family. This was our second visit with Chris on this trip (see the Old Saybrook section of the New England page for the first meeitng); his schedule weirdly coincided with ours with absolutely no prior coordination. We also met Chris’ cousin Beth, her daughter Addie and the family cats, Joey and Percy. I got some much needed cuddle time with Percy who was nice enough to let me hold him for a bit. The next morning we got great news that Connie finally tested negative!! It was our last morning with her and we chatted for a while before packing the car to go to Bainbridge Island, which is just across Puget Sound from downtown Seattle. On our way out of town, we had lunch with Karen and her family, a long-time friend of Mays from his New York City days. After taking the ferry to the island, we reached our Airbnb around 4:00pm and found a postcard-perfect oasis for relaxation and hibernation after the whirlwind of social activities.
Friday, after negative COVID test results for both of us, we had lunch with our friend Chris who was in town visiting his family. This was our second visit with Chris on this trip (see the Old Saybrook section of the New England page for the first meeitng); his schedule weirdly coincided with ours with absolutely no prior coordination. We also met Chris’ cousin Beth, her daughter Addie and the family cats, Joey and Percy. I got some much needed cuddle time with Percy who was nice enough to let me hold him for a bit. The next morning we got great news that Connie finally tested negative!! It was our last morning with her and we chatted for a while before packing the car to go to Bainbridge Island, which is just across Puget Sound from downtown Seattle. On our way out of town, we had lunch with Karen and her family, a long-time friend of Mays from his New York City days. After taking the ferry to the island, we reached our Airbnb around 4:00pm and found a postcard-perfect oasis for relaxation and hibernation after the whirlwind of social activities.
Bainbridge island, WA
September 16 – 20, 2023
Sunday, we drove to Port Townsend northwest of Bainbridge Island (it’s hard to believe there’s more U.S. land northwest of here, but there is a bit). At Finnriver Farm and Cidery a few miles before reaching the town, we shared a ramen lunch as well as a taster flight of ciders. The ramen was delicious; the cider not so much. Port Townsend was a delightful little town, with many buildings in the historic downtown section still displaying their original stone facades, making it feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Before leaving the area, we drove through Fort Worden State Park, originally one of three artillery bases positioned to protect the entrance to Puget Sound.
Monday, we visited the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial across the small bay from us on the Island. It is located where all of the Japanese Americans living on Bainbridge Island, both alien and citizen, were forcibly boarded onto ferries in March 1942 after being given only six days’ notice and relocated to internment camps for the duration of World War II, it being assumed that they would be a danger to national security after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. This was an especially poignant experience for us, since both Mays’ parents, though born in the United States and having no loyalty to Japan, were incarcerated at the Minidoka camp in Idaho during the war.
Tuesday, we drove to nearby Poulsbo, a little town founded in the 1880s by Norwegian immigrants. The Norwegian influence was so strong that it was very evident to this day. We ate a late lunch at the Green Light Diner, a place that has done a fabulous job of preserving the look and feel of a traditional 1950s diner.
September 24-25, 2023
After our quick but enjoyable time on Bainbridge Island, we spent the weekend in Juneau, Alaska (see Alaska page) and then returned for two days before heading to Vancouver, BC for a month. But we got some sightseeing at Pike Place Market that we didn’t have time for earlier. This was Seattle’s original farmers market, first opened in 1907, and has been continually running ever since. It includes the famous fish market where the staff regularly entertains the customers by tossing fish! The original Starbucks also happens to be just around the corner and apparently has a perpetual line that extends out the door and down the block.
