I woke up early on my second day in Seattle, and I stretched out in bed, reminiscing about the adventures of the days before and eagerly anticipating the many more to come. Pulling back the curtains, I had a gorgeous view of the ferris wheel down by the waterfront, the ferris wheel is much akin to that of the London Eye, only on a smaller scale. I was feeling excited and beyond grateful for my forever favorite travel buddy, Mom.
Mom and I planned on hitting Seattle Center first, in order to ensure our viewing of Seattle’s hotspots prior to our departure. The weather was kind to us the whole walk there, and we encountered some quirky shops en route. One shop in particular caught our attention. It was a neat nail salon called “Nailed” that had creepy floating hands holding onto bars in the windows and punny phrases painted underneath the name like “polished off her rival” and “caught red-handed.” Since my dad adamantly insists on people-pictures, Mom made me stand by the sign. I thoroughly enjoy puns, so I didn’t mind posing like a tourist in front of it. My 80-year-old self will thank me for the memories.
I suggested we check out the Space Needle first, and not just from an aesthetic point of view, I wanted to ride inside its windowed elevators all the way to the top. (In 2013, we went to Paris and neglected going up the Eiffel Tower, which I have since regretted. I was not about to make the same mistake again.) The line moved along quickly and facts about the construction of the needle lined the winding path in chronological order, staving off the inevitable boredom that arises when waiting in a line. Did you know that the needle was once topped off with a massive flame? I didn’t, and I think that’s wild!
Mom is afraid of heights, but refused to stay behind and wait for me, claiming she was completely fine. I saw right through her wavering composure and smile of feigned ease. As being with her my whole life, I know her all too well to be fooled. It’s actually quite humorous to watch her try and play it cool, and I probably sound like a terrible person for saying that, ha-ha. You’d have bear witness in order to understand where I’m coming from. I am not evil, I swear. That being said, Mom was a trooper, and once we made it through the line and zoomed up to the observation deck, her nerves seemed to dissipate. I was impressed. The view was beautiful, especially that of the serene blue water beside the city, and the deck was crowded, but not so crowded that you had to wriggle through other tourists to catch a glimpse of the cityscape.
Numerous people were utilizing their selfie-sticks (oh, 21st century, you amuse me) and there was a camera stuck on the top of the deck that would take a timed photo of you, as long as you scanned your ticket. Mom and I jumped at the opportunity, but woe was us, our picture was deleted on the part of some egregious technological error. Such a pity. On to the subject of the gift shop, that thing was huge! Gift shops nowadays are getting bigger and bigger, and I’m sure they are raking in money. There were things sold that were completely irrelevant to Seattle and the Space Needle, like random teas and snacks and glass figurines. Crazy, crazy, crazy. I admit, I almost fell into the consumerism trap, enticed by a cute, pink sweatshirt, but I stayed strong.
Following our ride into the sky, we grabbed a quick lunch at a funky cafe in Chihuly Gardens. Fresh, yummy, and most importantly, it was wonderfully decorated! The ceiling was lined with accordions, the walls were amass with vibrant paintings of trees and flowers, and even the table was made to be artsy, filled with mini toy cars covered in a pane of glass. Lovely ambiance.
Based on the cafe alone, I knew the gardens would be breathtaking, and I was not wrong. Exhibits were indoors and outdoors, all made of richly colored glass. I was dumbfounded as to how the artist managed to create such detailed, complex shapes out of such a fragile material.
After getting our mind’s blown by the gardens, we grabbed a seat on the famous commuter rail (which glided through the EMP museum’s colorful, abstract structure--pretty cool!) and were let out at some no-name mall (not that it doesn’t literally have a name, I just don’t happen to know it.) The only thing I did in the mall was use the restroom. Don’t worry, I’m not going to over share about my time in that foul-smelling place. All I’ll do is point out something peculiar about it -- you could see your head in the mirror while in the stalls. I was a bit perturbed by that, but enough about bathrooms, as interesting as they may be.
Lucky for us, we exited the mall onto the street where a weird man was sitting high in a massive tree, throwing things down at people. Totally normal, right? Roads were blocked and fireman were up in their ladder trying to persuade him to come down. Human nature -- and technology -- led every person on the street to whip out their phones and snap pictures or videos of the absurd event occurring -- me included, guilty as charged. A guy to my right said the man would be put in a movie and titled a hero. Another older man asked me what was going on. Ah, humans. We are all so curious and compelled to watch troublemakers at work with varying emotions: wonder, awe, intrigue, disgust, hate, scorn, etc. My mind immediately jumped to this thought: it could be a diversion, a tactic to get all of the police and fireman in one place while someone committed a heinous crime elsewhere. This was not the case, although I couldn’t help but think it. The man ended up not coming down until late afternoon the next day!
Rain began to fall, so our trip to the waterfront was short. We only walked down there to find the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, which had been recommended to me considering my love for unique trinkets. It was one of those shops chock full of gag gifts and randomness -- and fudge, which was news to me until I heard some kids behind us say, “Is this the place that gives out free fudge samples?” So if you’re ever in Seattle with a fudge craving, you know where to go.
That’s about it for day two! Goodbye Tuesday, hello Wednesday!
