The Nitty Gritty Details

Wednesday: The day we fly to Seattle
Observations: Angela would really enjoy Seattle.
Realizations: Jason and I have even more opposite views of money than I originally thought. Our flight was overbooked. They were offering a $425 voucher to take a flight 3.5 hours later and Jason wouldn't do it. They had two so that would have been $850 in vouchers to fly anywhere on US Airways just to hang out for a few extra hours. How did I lose that battle?
Fact: This was Clara's 3rd time flying, Jason's 5th and my 15th, 20th, somewhere in there.
Favorite: Quality one-on-one time with my cousin Rob. That's not easy when I don't think we've ever lived in the same state for an extended period of time.
Least favorite: Clara being exhausted and acting accordingly.
The details for posterity: Suzanne took us to the airport and off we flew to Seattle. Clara fell asleep on the light rail as we rode from the airport to our hotel Downtown and she continued to sleep as I carried her for quite a ways. We stayed at the Red Lion on 5th Ave and Pike. Without knowing much about downtown, I don't think we could have picked a better location. It was ideal. The price for the local hostile was more ideal than this one, but Jason vetoed that suggestion. We got all checked in, got something to eat, then just relaxed for a bit in our room. Oh, and Clara took pictures to document our room.
For dinner, we met my cousin Rob at a restaurant across the street from our hotel. I loved visiting with him and after dinner, we walked around downtown for a while and he pointed out a few things, told us a little history and made a few dining recommendations. Then we sat in the hotel lobby and visited for another little while... Clara fell asleep on me again, poor little goose.

Thursday: The day we are 100% tourist

Observations: There is an incredible variety of people in Seattle; even more diverse than ASU's campus (which is pretty diverse)

Realizations: I'm not into science fiction and although I love history and learning, I really only love it if it's a subject that fascinates me (rock music, not such a subject).

Fact: Seattle is the farthest North I've ever been

Favorite: The aquarium, specifically the octopus

Least favorite: Clara's tired/sick-induced tantrum

The details for posterity: Clara woke up in the middle of the night due to a coughing spell. I finally calmed her down, but her disrupted and lack of sleep was very apparent this morning. We had breakfast and then certain events left me declaring we were not leaving our hotel room until Clara had a nap. That's not what I planned on doing our first morning, but I knew it would be awful taking Clara into public with how tired she was. So at 10:30am, we all fell asleep for a much needed two hour nap. We took the monorail to the Seattle Center and went to the Space Needle.

Then we went over to the Experience Music ProjectScience Fiction Museum (EMPSFM). It was interesting, but most of the pictures I took were for my BIL Clint. It definitely wasn't kid-friendly. Jason enjoyed it much more than I.

After we went to the Seattle Aquarium, which I loved. We even made it for the octopus feeding where we learned a bit about these crazy creatures. Clara liked the fish but was really hoping to see some sharks. The sharks we did see were the size of fish so it's not what she was expecting. Overall, she enjoyed it. In fact, she was disappointed the following day when she realized we weren't going back there.

We stopped at the Market for dinner on our way back and didn't pick a very good restaurant. Oh well, we lived. The rest of our evening was simple: walking, cookies, bed.

Friday: The day I almost cry

Observations: Lots of people smoke in Seattle. Everywhere stinks like smoke. Almost every elevator I got on stunk. One time Clara said, "That guy's smoking. He must not know it's bad for him and that it will turn his insides black and his outsides yellow." (I've tried to explain, but I think it's difficult for a three year old to grasp the concept of addiction).

Realizations: My dream vacation might not involve Jason... not because I don't like him but because the things we enjoy doing are very different.

Fact: We walked a billion miles today

Favorite: The Butterfly Exhibit at the Science Center.

Least favorite: Watching Shrek 3D. I almost vomited at the cost and then almost vomited again after eating a pretzel and cheese at the theater for dinner.

The details for posterity: Our first and main destination was the Pacific Science Center ("PSC"). We almost tried to squeeze the Science Center into two hours the day before. When we did go, we spent nearly four hours there and it probably would've been longer if the Mister wasn't with us. They had a ton of exhibits, some of my favorites were the tides in the Puget Sound, the mirrors, a tide pool where you can touch creatures, the music station in the tot area, the butterfly exhibit and the naked mole rat display.

We watched a presentation on combustion that was pretty fascinating and got to watch Hubble 3D in the IMAX.

I admit, I got a little teary-eyed during the movie. I guess I have never taken a minute to be thankful for the sacrifices astronauts make when they go into space to do things that will enhance our understanding of space. Even more so, seeing images from space and learning about how vast it is, always makes me think of our Creator. It is amazing and science explains a lot. I am not a scientist, but I do know some of the answers to their unanswered questions: GOD. After the movie, we went up to some more exhibits. I attempted to take a picture of Clara. The camera flashed, it beeped and then went dead. My lens didn't close and normally if the battery dies, it will shut off properly then not turn on again. This time, it was totally dead, lens open. And that's when I almost cried. I love my camera, I love taking pictures and of all times to crap out, in the middle of our first big family vacation? Luckily we had our cell phones, so the memories are not dead and luckily it turned out it was just the battery and after a short charge, it was good as new. Wewsh. After our pit stop to the hotel to charge the battery, we went to Ivar's for the best clam chowder (I don't like clam chowder unless it's real and fresh like this was). Then we went on a little cruise of the harbor. Clara was exhausted and fell asleep on me yet again.

We tried to explore the Market more, but everyone was packing up. We dropped our stuff at the hotel and walked to the movie theater. Jason and Clara really wanted to see Shrek 3 in 3D. I really didn't want to spend vacation time doing something that could be done in Arizona, not to mention the cost. Holy smokes! I lost and after I let go of the price tag, we enjoyed our second 3D movie of the day.

Saturday: The day we rent a car

Observations: The diversity in landscape of our earth is marvelous.

Realizations: I would rather go hiking in the forest than drive to the top of a mountain just to see it closer.

Facts: We drove 330 miles, going from Seattle to Enumclaw (south of Seattle) to Mt. Rainier to Enumclaw to Arlington (North of Seattle) and back to Seattle.

Favorite: Visiting with Jason's Uncle Bobby, Connie's oldest brother, and his wife Gena.

Least Favorite: Not going on a hike to enjoy the dense and lush forest at the foot of Mt. Rainier

The Details for Posterity: I really wanted to see the Market and some lady told us they open early "at 5 or 5:30am". So I woke up at 6am, snuck out of the hotel room and walked down to the Market alone. The only people even starting to set up for the day were the fish, flowers and produce folk. I hung out for an hour or so, enjoyed my brisk walk in the crisp, cool morning air and then picked up some produce and pastries for breakfast. We ate in our room, got ready and walked to the car rental location. We then drove up down to Enumclaw, where Jason's aunt and uncle live.

We had a short visit and then his uncle rode up to Mt. Rainier with us. Clara called him "Brampa" and he spoiled her. But, they both enjoyed it, so what am I do to? We drove around a lot. It was beautiful and there was still TONS of snow up there. Mountains are amazing.

After that adventure, we headed to Arlington to visit a friend of Jason's from childhood, Keenan, and his wife Nicole. They barbecued for us and then Clara played with their three kids. Their two boys have a lot of energy and imagination like Clara so they had a grand time. By the time we arrived back to Seattle, it was after 11:15pm.

Sunday: The day we ride a public bus... and fly back to Arizona

Observations: Public transportation is pretty handy (at least in a city like Seattle)

Realizations: I think we need to start a revolution - more male persons need to be involved in music related callings in the LDS church.

Facts: Today was the first time Jason, Clara and I had ever stepped foot on a public bus. Perhaps I should've been more like a sister of mine and ditched school to ride the bus downtown...

Favorite: Not having any difficulty getting to church (public transportation can be intimidating to someone who has no experience with it).

Least Favorite: Coming back to reality.

The Details for Posterity: Clara slept well in the hotel room (thank you black out drapes!), arising each morning around 7:15 or 7:30am. Of course she chooses the morning we actually had to be somewhere at a certain time to sleep in until 8:30am. Regardless, we got ready, quickly mapped our bus route and headed out, arriving, by bus, at the church just a few minutes late. I love attending church. I contemplated several good excuses why we didn't need to hop a bus just to attend church. But the minute I walked in, I was completely satisfied with the time and money we spent getting there. The congregation was a stark contrast to our Ward here in Arizona, but the spirit, the music, the messages and the sacrament were in complete harmony with our usual religious feast on Sunday. A few things I noted: the congregation was small but they sure did sing. Most of the wards I have attended here in Arizona don't have that. I enjoyed the male choir conductor with his green jacket/blazer and coordinating green striped shirt (who had an incredible voice that I could hear all the way in the back row). Then there was a men's quartet that sang the special musical number and when I dropped Clara off at primary, I noted a man was the primary chorister. All of this left me wondering, since when did it become "not cool" in the southwest for those of the male gender to have and share vocal talents? Hence my suggested revolution above. I really enjoy men's singing. Anyway, Sunday School was unique, lots of interesting thoughts, and then we had to catch a bus back to our hotel to make sure we had enough time to pack up.
The light rail has a direct and quick route from the airport to near our hotel, but Sunday it was under construction. Fortunately they had a free shuttle taking people to the first open light rail station. Clara fell asleep, again, on the light rail. I carried her for quite some time after we got off (it's quite a walk from the airport terminals to the light rail station) and then she slept on my lap, in Jason's and didn't wake up until we went through security. Poor little goose was exhausted. When she was awake, she insisted on rolling her own bag.

Our plane ride home seemed quicker and Clara was a tiny bit more mellow. What a fascinating area Seattle is.

My mom picked us up and now we are home. Safe and sound.