My first thought as I am writing my post is that I cannot believe I didn’t take a single photo of Kristin!
I was introduced to Kristin via a mutual friend just before I left the UK. I spent time with Kristin during my first visit to Seattle and she very kindly accommodated me on Friday night when I arrived back in Seattle. Thanks Kristin (and Finnian for allowing me to take over your room)!
We had such a chilled out Saturday before I headed off to the airport to meet Nicola, who was arriving in Seattle to join me for the last 2.5 weeks of my (now our) journey. I was so excited to see her!
I think it is safe to say that a lot of Sunday was about food. Nicola was getting so excited about all the gluten free products that are available in Seattle that we kept stopping to either look, taste or buy things. I kept having to remind her that we could come back if she wanted something. It was very amusing and equally sweet to witness.
Outside of having Nicola with me, my greatest pleasure that day was seeing the animals that a local coffee shop created in our lattes. I’m used to hearts and trees but we got an elephant and an owl. How cool is that! I had to go back this morning to see what animals we’d get today. It was a bear and cub. My bear’s face got mauled though when Nicola put sweetener into my latte thinking it was hers (she was having a soya latte) and then had to rescue my coffee. We had a good laugh over the incident.
I’ve includes two of our latte faces below.
The laughs and smiles certainly didn’t end there. Today was our touring day and we tried to make the most of it. We walked around most of downtown Seattle in search of Skid Row (it turns out its the whole Pioneer Square district rather than a specific street); we went up to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Centre to see the amazing view of Seattle and its surroundings; had more coffee and food; and then headed to the airport to pick up Nicola’s hire car. The latter turned out to be one of the highlights of my day. Before I get back to this, below are a few photos of our tourist activities in Seattle.
Collecting a hire car at Seattle airport is quite an experience. Firstly, you need to catch a shuttle bus to a different ‘terminal’ to pick up a car. These places are amazing (see blow). It felt like we were checking in for a flight.
We were giggling so much in the queue, clearly, that the guy in the queue in front of us asked us if we were always this happy. Most of the time, of course!
The experience only got better from there. We arrived downstairs in the parking lot expecting to be given a car. Instead, the guy at the desk told us to go and pick one. The keys are in the car. Excuse me?!
I heard him correctly. The cars were all lined up with keys either in the driver doors or the cars themselves. You could try out the cars in the category you ordered and then just take it (going through a barrier as you exit of course).
It felt like Christmas!! I jumped into all the cars just to see what they looked and felt like. I felt like I was buying a new toy. Apparently it doesn’t take much to please me!
From then on the evening was about logistics. The most amusing thing was testing how Nicola and I would communicate while we’re on the road, her in a car and me on Trinity. We nailed it thanks to the wonders of modern technology i.e. the communication system in my helmet that allows me to accept phone calls. This is what I do on a Monday night!
I think the next 16 days are going to be a scream. Welcome to the U.S. Nicola!
Mel & Trinity 