Queen Anne

 A few weeks ago, my sister Mel and brother-in-law Braxton bought a house in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle. We we planned to visit them during spring break. Their new townhouse is a 2 hour 50 minute drive from our house in Sunnyside, so it seemed doable to go for a one day visit. Jeff was pretty worn out from all of the coaching and house planning that we did all week, so I encouraged him to stay home for a low-key rest day while I took the kids to Seattle. It was a benevolent wifely sacrifice to do six hours of driving by myself, but it was worth it for Jeff to catch up on rest and for me to see my sister! 

We selected an audiobook that was 5 hours and 43 minutes long to listen to on the drive: Ella Enchanted. Amber got carsick and puked right after the Snoqualmie Pass, 2 hours into the drive. Thankfully she grabbed the blue barf bag that I stashed in the seat pocket, so it was not a disgusting mess, just a disgusting sound and smell. I pulled over at the nearest exit, which turned out to be somewhat remote Ollalie State Park, where we threw away the barf bag into a bear-proof trash can, breathed some fresh air, and then drove on a narrow bumpy road for several miles through the forest to get back onto I-90 westbound. It was a very unlikely road to lead us back to the highway, and I kept losing faith, but it got us there in the end. 

In Seattle, we drove through a 2 mile long toll tunnel to get to Queen Anne. Rose held her breath through all of the other tunnels we drove through, but that 2 miler defeated her, haha. It was drizzly and 50 degrees in Seattle. After Mel showed us around their cute comfy new house, she and I went on a run together in the rain while the kids played with Uncle Braxton and Pancha the almost-grown-up-puppy. Mel showed me around Queen Anne, and I can see why they love it there. For downtown living, it is quite lovely, with classic lush Seattle greenery everywhere and darling old bungalows stacked on steep hills. The magnolias and cherry trees were blossoming and it was pretty, even in the rain. 

After our run and a walk with the rest of the crew, we drove to Pike's Place Market for a late lunch. It was crowded but the curry chicken samosas warmed my rain-chilled soul. We tried Indian food, a hot dog wrapped in a bagel, fancy cookies, Beecher's mac and cheese, French pastries, and a Chinese bakery. All of it was good. It was a different way to eat lunch, getting small snacks from lots of different stands, but it was fun and filling, and we had a good time together. It was nice having Mel and Braxton the locals show us around. I didn't have to think about where we were or how to get back to the car, so I could just enjoy the bustling ambience of Pike's Place. I bought a bouquet of flowers to bring to family Easter dinner the next day, and Amber carried it carefully through the crowds without crushing it. 

We visited the gum wall VERY briefly so Amber could have a real memory of it, since last time we went there she was only 2  years old. We didn't even add any gum to the wall; we just stood at the edge of the nasty alleyway, snapped two quick pictures of the kids, and went back to Pike's Place for more food.

Since we parked at the Target parking garage near Pike's Place, we went to Target on the way out to buy a few things and validate our parking (the parking machines ended up being broken, haha). I let each kid choose something to fill the plastic eggs for their Easter egg hunt the next day. Jay chose chocolate, Rose chose gummy bears, and Amber chose marshmallows. I chose Trix cereal to uphold tradition. Once we got back to Mel and Braxton's house, it was time to leave already. Five hours passed so fast! 

Mel and Braxton had a large plush leather chair that they were trying to get rid of, so I bought it from them and we crammed it into the back of our minivan. We wedged the ottoman between the two captain seats. It was a tight fit, but that chair is comfy! We hugged Mel and Braxton and patted soft fuzzy Pancha one more time, and then hit the road. 

I had a bit of a hard time navigating my way out of Queen Anne, and had to do some creative improvisation with Google route-recalculating several times before we found the right road. It started to rain hard and the first half of the drive was a hydroplane risk. At last we emerged on the east side of the mountains and it was smooth, dry driving all the way home.

Even though Mel and Braxton moved to Seattle almost a year ago, it is still a bit of a novelty for me to be able to just drive over and see my sister! 

Pancha the Fuzzy. Petting her plushness is surprisingly soothing every time. She is such a sweet doggie. I'm glad my sister has a sweet dog--it's way better than owning my own dog. I'll be a dog-aunt any day!

Seattle skyline view during our run!

The blossoms were blossoming all over Queen Anne, making her even more queenly.

Quiet house-and-tree-lined streets with random sudden sweeping views of the Puget Sound and Seattle skyline.

Amber wanted to pick ALL of the flowers. I persuaded her to settle for pictures with the flowers instead, but I could see her struggle against the urge to pick the flowers.

More Queen Anne charm.

Walking in the rain.

Amber took a turn running with Pancha. She was a bit...exuberant and unwieldy for city dog-walking, haha.

We ran back to the house because it started raining more and we got cold!

Pike's Place:

The gum wall was as disgusting as ever.

The flowers! There were rows and rows of them.

A "parting shot"

Everyone wanted to sit in the armchair instead of buckling up on the drive home, but I vetoed that plan.

I was SO TIRED after that long rainy drive, and Jeff was all spunky after his day of rest. He jumped up and started unloading the big chair from the van right when we got home. I did not have the energy for that task, but I was stuck helping and I felt even more drained and pathetic after we finally lugged it into our bedroom.

Somehow in my exhausted state, I managed to draw a Pike's Place-inspired artwork for my daily drawing. I had to keep up my 2023 everyday drawing streak--this was day 97!