Friday, July 1^st

The day started out clear. Perfect for a 7:15am flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle. The plane was full and heavy. It took about 45 seconds for the plane to have its wheels up from the time we started going. The flight path took us over the Great Salt Lake north towards Idaho. We passed over Twin Falls and Boise. As we are over Oregon I start noticing massive wind farms spread throughout the terrain. When we reach the Tri-Cities area in Eastern Washington we veer more north than west to go around Mt Rainier. There is a touch of haze but I can see Mt Jefferson, the Sisters and Mt. Hood in the Oregon part of the Cascade Mountains. The Columbia River cuts a wide swath through the mountains and also acts as a border between Oregon and Washington. The Washington side of the Columbia River shows us Mt Adams and a crater view of Mt St. Helens.  Mt Baker is on the other side of the plane so I can’t see it. Off the left side of the plane we are treated to a 20,000 foot view of 14,400 Mt Rainier snow-capped in all her glory. ‘The mountain’ stands supreme over Puget Sound and its surrounding communities. It’s still clear and there are no clouds to hinder the view.  We land safe and sound at Sea-Tac airport after coming in over Bellevue and Downtown Seattle.

Now generally this is when I race to get my luggage and meet up with the family member providing taxi service that day. However, due to previous obligations or having moved out of town there isn’t anyone close to come pick me up. I have two choices; I could ask family to drive 2 hours one way on a ‘holiday’ Friday during Seattle rush hour or I could spend the day playing tourist in Seattle and take the train to meet up with them later. I chose the latter.

Once I collected my luggage I walked through the parking garage to the Light Rail station. I had chosen to pack light and had my purse and a duffle bag. The kiosks at the station provided a way to buy all the tickets I would need for that day for getting around. It worked out great!  I took the light rail to Downtown Seattle then walked DOWN the three blocks to the waterfront. Two more blocks to the left and I am at Pier 52; the passenger terminal for the Bremerton ferry. Tickets for the ferry are $7.10 from Seattle to Bremerton but Bremerton to Seattle is FREE. How cool is that?! I buy my ticket for the 11am ferry to Bremerton.

Next item on the agenda is food. I’m in Seattle there is great food all around me but its only 1015am. The cool places to eat aren’t open yet. Plus I am on a budget. Subway $5 footlong. Yeah! Not super exciting but I can eat some now and some later and I’m good for the day! I decided to eat outside and enjoy the sights and sounds of the pier and waterfront area. The ferry lanes for the vehicles was below me and I could see large tankers (ships) being loaded with their cargo.  I watch the Kitsap come in to drop off cars, trucks and walk-on passengers and commuters, then take us to Bremerton.

The ferries used on this route are pretty big. It isn’t until you get inside that you realize how wide they are. There is plenty of seating room inside on benches or in booths reminiscent of your favorite diner. The boats have tourist brochures, wifi, a coffee shop and café and some arcade games. But for me the best place on the ferry is the front area; the wind in your face, fresh salty sea air, feeling alive and having an unimpeded view of where you are going. This is where I hang out for the ride all the way over to Bremerton.

As we are about half-way we come across the Kaleetan; she’s the other Seattle-Bremerton ferry. I catch a picture of her in front of Mt. Rainier.  I had overheard someone talk about a park next to the ferry terminal. My plan is to take this ferry back to Seattle then either head to the Seattle Aquarium or go to Pikes Place Market.

We pull up to the terminal and this seagull is making quite a racket. She must be laying an egg or is really upset she has to stay and tend them. It could be a he… I take a look at the park and decide that I want to investigate. Had I done some research on the Bremerton waterfront I would know there are restaurants in the vicinity and that it is right next to the Navy shipyard. 

Harborside Fountain Park isn’t really that big but it has fountains to play in, tables to sit at and a small grassy area. It will be an hour or so before the next ferry comes so I wander around then sit in the grassy area, finish my Subway, share some with a seagull, read, watch the boats go by and just relax. The fountains go off at somewhat regular intervals. There are five of them. The interval seems to be about 45 seconds. The first goes off, then the third, the fifth, second and fourth. The fountains themselves look like the top of submarines.

The perfect foreground for the Puget Sound Naval Station located the other side of the park. There is also a museum but I want to enjoy the perfectness of the sunny summer NW day by sitting outside and absorbing all its glory. It’s too bad the Olympic Mountains are being shy and keep hiding behind the clouds. They provide a stunning backdrop to the Kitsap harbor and Bremerton area.

It’s on the ride back to Seattle that I discover why my Dad wanted to move here when I was growing up. It never happened but not for lack of trying. It has an abundance of beauty, from the beautiful waters of Puget Sound to the picturesque Olympic Mountains. I could live here. I really think I could. That includes the foggy, rainy days that seem to go on without end. The beautiful, warm summer days make all those feelings of dreariness disappear. The whole feeling is just uniquely northwest. If you happen to visit Seattle on one of those days you’ll know why people choose to live here. (hahaha all this coming from a person who has chosen to live in a land-locked, dry, desert-y state LOL)

The way back to Seattle we pass the Kitsap going to Bremerton. I catch a picture of a sailboat going under Mt Rainier. It’s a pretty good picture considering the cheap camera. The clouds have cleared up a little over the Olympics. One of the cruise ships docked in Seattle has left as well. I can see it moving north towards the San Juan Islands.

We dock back at Pier 52. It’s hard to believe it’s already 3pm. I retrace my path back to the Light Rail so I can back track a couple stations to pick up the Sounder to Everett. This means I have to walk the three blocks back UPHILL. Oye. I think I might pass out about half-way through the second block. It’s a killer because it is mostly stairs. I make it on the train after almost getting on the wrong light rail and having problems finding the train station since it’s a couple blocks away from the (underground) light rail station. The train hugs the shore of Puget Sound on its way to Everett. We pass the cruise ship that had left port earlier and see an aircraft carrier parked at the Puget Sound Naval Complex. We also pass Shipwreck Beach.

Let me back track to this morning. I turned off my nifty smartphone (with all my phone numbers, camera and internet access so I could upload photos to facebook throughout the day) before I went through security at the SLC airport. Went to turn it on and it won’t restart. The battery is fine. It is stuck in restart mode and I don’t know how to reset my phone. I try a couple things that I had done when my previous phone (same model MyTouch 3G Slide) went into stupidphone mode. Ugh. No phone. Sigh. Don’t see a T-mobile kiosk at the airport. And have no idea how to find one without my Dex mobile app on my phone. Guess I’ll be without a phone today (and the rest of the trip!). Poo. On the plus side it was nice to be ‘unplugged’ for a few days.

So I arrive at the train station in Everett on time; a little after 5pm. I don’t know my brothers phone number or what kind of car he’s driving so I just find a place and sit. A few minutes later I realize that the area I’m at is for busses; not for passenger pickup. So I walk over to the park and ride lot and don’t see him. Well maybe he’s not here yet so I stand in front of the passenger terminal. 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Ugh. Potty break and I check the pay phone situation. Long distance requires a calling card I don’t have and there’s no guarantee I would be able to get a hold of anyone on the phone numbers I DO know. Crap. So I decide to go back to the front of the building and sit in the shade. I’m there for about 10 minutes when by brother walks up. FINALLY! I’ve been there almost an hour now. I’m tired, frustrated and near tears.

It turns out I did see him in the Park and Ride lot earlier but because he had his head down and it was shaved again so I didn’t recognize that view of him. Oye. Stupidphone. Glenn and his family live in Sultan. It is a tiny town along Highway 2; a two lane road that runs through some of the prettiest mountain scenery in the North Cascades winding through Bavarian themed Leavenworth, scenic Cashmere and coming out in Central Washington. It’s Holiday and Friday rush hour. But it doesn’t take too much time.

While Glenn and Jessica are at the movies I am watching the two boys who are also watching a movie in the tv room. The girls are at a birthday party. After a yummy dinner of baked salmon with spinach salad it’s time to make food to take to the beach tomorrow; marinated brussel sprouts and tortilla pinwheel rollups.

The brussel sprouts are easy enough. Cook the brussel sprouts then put them in a container with canned whole mushrooms and a bunch of Italian dressing. Let it marinate overnight mixing it up occasionally to get everything coated.  Note: use CANNED mushrooms; not fresh. The other fun treat is really yummy. Take a brick of cream cheese and about 1c sour cream. Mix it together til it’s all blended. Add some taco seasoning, 1-2c shredded cheddar, a can of chopped pimentos, diced green chiles, chopped olives and diced green onions. Mix it all together then spread it out on flour tortillas. Roll the tortillas up then wrap each tortilla with plastic wrap. Let it set up overnight in the fridge. Then cut them into 1/3 inch slices. Quite tasty!

It was kind of a busy day but didn’t feel hectic; which was nice because vacations aren’t supposed to be hecticJ