Seattle's Best

Getting to Seattle was definitely a milestone on this trip. It was the end of Nick's and Mom's journey, but the start for Scott and Steve. I was very excited to get there because I had heard many good things about the city. The drive up there wasn't great because that marine layer was still hanging around. I really hoped that our time in Seattle would have nice weather, but it wasn't looking like it. Our first stop in Seattle was the VA hospital so I could check out the residency there.

After a good experience at the hospital, it was time to head into the city. We drove in and wanted to check out the waterfront. It was similar to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, but not as crowded and nicer. I wanted to check out Pike Place Market because that was really the only thing I knew of in Seattle. After a little searching, we finally found it, and it was exactly what I expected. A ton of fish stands, a bunch of fruit stands, and a million people. It was pretty cool though. We had a gyro for lunch, and that was the first time Nick had ever eaten one and he liked it a lot. We then walked around a couple different areas of the city and all of them were very nice. I was impressed with the city and could definitely see myself living in this city. We went to see the Space Needle, which was actually smaller than I thought. And it was also a good distance away from the rest of the city's skyscrapers. I now notice that pictures of the Seattle skyline are taken at an angle that includes the Space needle and also makes it look bigger.

We didn't spend too much time there, but walked down to a different area of the water front and found the city's recreation path along the sound. It was a nice trail, and the views were amazing. There was a very strong art presence in the city. Different modern art sculptures lined the path, similar to what they have in Philly. After seeing a lot of the city in a half a day we decided to head to the hotel. It was down near the airport, but supposed to be pretty nice so we decided to spend some time there. The hotel was very nice and we actually decided to eat dinner there. It was a really good last dinner to have with Mom and Nick. We were all reflecting over the last week and thought about all the amazing things we saw and did. It was a great experience to have together.

I was supposed to pick up Steve and Scott at the airport when they got in at 12:30 AM, but I had weird cell phones problem and none of their calls went through. They ended up having to walk from the airport to the hotel. I felt bad, but it is pretty funny. I finally got a hold of them when they were at the hotel bar. I went over to meet them, and it was funny to see these two goofballs just sitting there. I knew this part of the trip was going to be silly with these two involved. We went back to the room and they blew up their air mattresses to sleep on the ground in the hotel room. Time to go back to sleep and get ready for the next chapter of this epic adventure. ULTRA day 20/39: COMPLETE

JM