But getting there was painful.
See, I left work early last Friday. Got to Laura’s house, showered, packed up, thinking I had a few minutes to spare to catch the bus. Then we missed the bus by 30 seconds, and caught another one 5 minutes later (even though they are supposed to come every 15 minutes). At this point we had 35 minutes until the train left, and a 20 minute bus ride and 5 minute walk between us. Cutting. It. Close.
Then, as we were going over the bridge to the west side, traffic stopped. Yep, the drawbridge. We sat there for 10 minutes and realized we were going to miss the train. So we called Amtrak and bought tickets for the next one. In 3 hours. For $80 more. (Please explain to me how a train at 3pm costs $34 per person but the one at 6pm costs $75?).
So we ate dinner at Vegetarian House, went to the station, and boarded the train. As it crossed into Washington it slowed. And stopped. And sat there for an hour. Not moving. The train operator came on the intercom and told us that it was a problem with the bridge. No joke.
Did I mention this was my first time on Amtrak?
Eventually, after our 3 hour ride turned into a 5 hour ride, we arrived in Seattle.
We couch-surfed with a Kyla, who lives in the University District. She was amazing and made us feel welcome — she also drew a map to show us where the good restaurants and cafes are.
Saturday, Laura and I ate breakfast at a really great vegan place called the Wayward Cafe. Great food, cheap prices… we couldn’t even finish it all. Then we went to a farmer’s market, headed downtown, and visited the famous Pike Place Market. Saw Mt. Rainier, the Space Needle, and even one of the 7-11 stores converted into a Kwik-E-Mart for the Simpson’s movie. Ate lunch at Vegetarian Bistro, an amazing asian restaurant. Yum. Found free postcards (sorry, can’t elaborate on that one).
Sunday, we took Kyla out to lunch at the Flowers restaurant near her house. We all enjoyed a massive vegetarian buffet. Mmm. Then Laura and I took the bus to the Seattle Center and saw the Science Fiction Museum and the Experience Music Project. Bought books: Tree and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Took the train home. Only 3 hours! Local Portland pizza and beer rounded out an amazing weekend.
Flickr photo set: Seattle, WA
