Day 15. Lynden to Portland (With most of the day in Seattle)

Quote of the Day: "So uh I guess...just don't go near fire today"

The First Starbucks

Gum Wall

Pike's Place Market

Totem Pole #62 outside of Pike's Place

The Space Needle from the Street

Kerry Park

Seattle Skyline

                If you have been consistently reading our blog, you should be able to tell that waking up always seems to be a struggle for us (maybe it is because we are teenagers) and today was no exception. It was even worse because we had stayed up late eating tons of food while talking to Yolly’s family and friends. This morning, Yolly and Carlos were kind enough to wake up early and provide us with conversation and doughnuts for breakfast before we hit the road towards Seattle.

                The drive was nice, but it seems that the I-5 is not as beautiful, nor as fast, as the I-15. We easily reached Seattle within two hours and quickly found a prime parking spot on the corner of Stewart (woohoo!) and 5^th.  Our first goal was to reach Pike’s Place Market which possesses an array of delicious fruits, hipsters, art, flowers, and fish, lots and lots of fish. After questioning a slightly grumpy Seattle native, we located the first Starbucks complete with its long line and troubadours. We wandered the market for a while, buying knickknacks and flowers (as you can see in the photos), and then ventured down to the gum wall. The alley to the wall was filled with graffiti, but it was the artistic, meaningful kind so it was quite intriguing and beautiful in its own way. I have to say that the gum wall itself was cool but as gross as you would expect. We each took our turns placing our winter fresh gum where so many others had; Katherine even attempted to throw her ups the wall, but it didn’t work out so well.

We took a half-hour walk across the city to the Seattle Space Needle where we passed by a Wine and Beer festival. Lunch was from the food court where a Lion’s Club convention was also eating, much to Estrella’s delight (she loves the Lions club because they awarded her a much deserved scholarship). After our lunch, we headed back to the car so that we could drive up to Kerry Park. Kerry Park itself is not that large, but it has the most amazing view of the Seattle skyline—postcard photo status. While we were taking pictures, a Ferrari pulled up on this tiny residential street and this gigantic man and his young wife stepped out. Now we were pretty sure that he was some type of NBA player or something, but none of us actually follow the NBA so well it could have just been some normal tall guy and his wife and their fancy car. We just love the excitement haha.

Portland was three hours away from Seattle and we needed to fill up on gas before leaving Washington. Estrella was sleeping and Haley, who had been driving, began to fill up. Estrella slightly awakens and wanders outside to grab something from the trunk. It was then when Katherine and I heard a string of curses flying from the back of the car. Apparently this Shell does not have the best nozzles and gas had spilled all over the place. I’m not talking a few drops here and there, it was a significant amount. Estrella had seen Haley spilling gas and went over to see what had happened and Haley’s response was the turn the hose directly towards Estrella. Keep in mind that all of this is happening when we are in a busy gas station with everyone staring. Needless to say, Estrella and Haley were covered in gasoline the whole drive to Portland. The smell was so bad that we had to drive with our windows down for most of the trip.

My cousin Shaun was extremely kind and rented us a guest suite in his apartment complex. It was really nice to see him after all of these years apart. We unpacked the car, changed, and grabbed some Thai food for dinner. Food really seems to affect our happiness on the trip and this meal definitely hit the spot. We also grabbed some gelato and walked around the town area (very similar to Montrose). We returned to the apartments later to plan our day about Portland and to catch up with family. Overall, it was a long, but great day. The fourth of July on the river should be amazing tomorrow! People are already setting off fireworks!

Best:

• Kerry Park
• Pike's Place Market
• Potential NBA player sighting
• Nice Apartment/ Shaun's Interior design
• Lion's Club

Worst:

• Gas spill
• Bird poop on Estrella