Are we there yet?

Back in April My wife and I had a few days off from work over the weekend and we decided to make a little vacation to enjoy a place we’ve both never been to and we both really wanted to see.

We decided to rent a car and drive down to Seattle, Washington. I have to say that I was really blown away by this city. I knew from conversations that I had with friends that it was a beautiful place. But even then, after seeing it with my own eyes, I think it was an under statement.

We decided to do all the touristy stuff we could do in the mere 3 days we where there. We stayed at the perfectly located Holiday Inn Express in Down Town Seattle. First thing we did on Friday; we went straight to the Seattle Premium Outlets and I’m thank full I decided to bring my Alberta ID Card with me because I found out that if you show your Alberta ID in Washington, pretty much any shopping place won’t charge you for taxes. So, the price you see on the tag, it’s pretty much what you pay! So, if a wallet at the Coach Outlet, for example, says 19.99, you really only pay 19.99! After noticing how much we where saving, we decided to buy a little more!

On Saturday we really where tourists in Seattle; I followed the suggestion of one of my friends on Facebook and went to Ride the Ducks! At first when she told me I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as soon as I saw them ridding around Seattle I told my wife that we had to do it! They take you on a trip around the city and they point out some of the spots that have been featured on cool movies like Sleepless in Seattle and 10 Things I Hate About You and unlike any other tour this one is really funny, kudos’s to all their Wacky Captains/Drivers, they now how to put the show on the road! When the tour finally came to an end right across the street from Ride The Ducks where the 2 places I really wanted to check out; Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum. You can’t miss it, it looks awesome on the outside and it’s just as cool on the inside. If you are a music fan you should go and see it with your own eyes and if you are a geek at heart you really should check out the Science Fiction Museum. The convenient part of it all is that they’re attached to each other; you don’t have to go outside to go to the other one.

On Sunday I promised my wife to take her to all the malls so that she can shop at all the stores she can’t find her in Canada. I’m a very, very poor planner and forgot that Sunday was Easter Sunday in the States and pretty much every mall and any other thing in the city was closed. I felt like the I was worst that day, it was never my intention to not give her a chance to enjoy her shopping spree. I even whore my runners that day because I knew I was going to do a lot of walking. We found out that the place that didn’t close for the day was Pike Place Market and we went for a walk there and we found The First Starbucks! I was looking and hoping to find the rumored Trenta Size Cup but I had no luck, then we went for a walk along the pier.

On Monday I had the plan of leaving Seattle no later than 10 am so that we get home no later than 10 pm, get a god rest and back to work on Tuesday, but I wasn’t able to leave Seattle without giving my lovely wife her shopping experience. So we went to a couple of malls bright and early and we got on the road by 4 pm that day. A lot of coffee cups and red bull cans later we got to Calgary. It was a crazy experience. But well worth the almost 12 hours driving each way. I’m happy I got a chance to go and see that beautiful city and that I had a chance to do and visit all the places I had a chance to see. I would go back to Seattle any time, or even maybe buy a summer getaway condo there and do the rest of the things I missed out on.