Thusly Concluding
Friday
As the elevator doors opened I was greeted by my kids screaming my name and rushing to hug my neck. Anna did that sort of laugh/cry you do when you’re really happy and Oliver screamed, his little voice cracking, “we’re a family!” My poor wife, although happy to be here, looked exhausted.
After collecting their luggage we made our way to the car. With me leading the pack and the others in tow, we reached the parking garage. Shayla suddenly bursted into laughter; her laughter brought on by the 62 degree temperature.
On the drive back to Seattle Shayla told me of an encounter she had on the plane. It’s quite remarkable actually. I’m going to let her tell the story which is forthcoming.
After we reached our temporary home and unloaded the luggage we headed out to Fremont, a neighborhood in North/Central Seattle, to eat at Shayla’s (and now apparently Anna’s) favorite restaurant, Blue C Sushi. On the walk back to the car the kids, who were poorly dressed for the climate, wrapped themselves in their “keys”, or blankets to the layman, and walked around all bundled up. Our day ended shortly thereafter.
The kids slept fine all night.
Saturday
Saturday morning we headed to Northgate Mall to get the kids some warmer clothes, as well as some odds and ends from our friendly neighborhood Target. This is the first two-story Target I’ve ever been in and it started on the 5th floor. To our chagrin, Target is now only carrying summer clothes and are not carrying anything warm, although it is still in the 60s here most of the time. We found Anna a hoodie but couldn’t find anything for Ollie yet, but we’re still looking. Thanks to the Vergara’s for the hoodie! Also, Anna and Ollie were able to get a toy with one of their giftcards, so thanks Brewsters! Anna got a “Jesse” doll and Ollie got another Woody.
After a disco nap we took the kids to a local park to burn some energy. They played hard and Anna met a new friend, Piper. Piper came up to Anna and asked, “Do you want to play with me?” After playing a while I overheard Anna ask, “Do you live in Seattle, too?” Piper responded, “Yep, Seattle, Washington.” Shayla and I ROFL’d ;) ( <-- Shayla hates this).
We concluded with a dinner at Snoose Junction, a local Pizza place that’s super kid friendly.
All in all, the kids were champs and I’m super proud of them. They walked close to 2 miles and only complained toward the end with Ollie whining, “Hold you!” Shayla was a champ as well. I know it’s a big adjustment going from little to no walking to walking good distances daily, but I’ll let Shayla talk about that.
Once again, the kids were out like a light and slept silently through the night.
Sunday
This morning Anna woke me by kissing my forehead.
After my morning shower I received my belated homemade father’s day card from Anna. It was wonderful.
After a brief fight over who gets to sing the girl chipmunk part of “All the single ladies”, we got the perpetrators dressed and headed to the closest IKEA to buy a few things. We got Anna a new bed (Ollie’s is coming with the movers), and both a new mattress. We also got me a desk, a table and chairs and some odds and ends. Due to car space I’ll be picking the stuff up tomorrow after we go sign our lease. We are moving into our new place tomorrow, sans our furniture. Don’t worry, this is what we want to do. We still have time to stay where we are but would rather finally be in our own place. Of course, we are incredibly grateful to my parents and Daniel for giving us a place to stay during this transition, it has been so long since we’ve been amongst ourselves, amongst our own things. Furthermore, Shayla is anxious to start nesting.
The kids will have their beds and Shayla and I are borrowing a mattress. Our stuff should be up here within a week. The holdup is that they are waiting for trucks coming through heading in our direction. I was told a truck should be heading toward us early this week. We’ll see. At least we have everything we need while we are awaiting our other things.
After returning from IKEA, and following a brief rest, we took the kids to Greenwood Park, our new neighborhood park and right down the street from our new residence. Our friend, Jason, and his son, Trevor, met us at the park and met the kids for the first time. I know Jason from work and he is a good friend to both of us.
After playing at the park, we went with Jason to get some Chinese food in our new area. The kids took well to Jason. In fact, the kids have acclimated very well. Shayla has also taken to the city pretty quick, after a shakey first day or so.
All in all it has been a good first few days. Things are going very well, the weather is nice, we are all in good spirits and excited about our new home.
Thus concludes our first weekend, as a family, in Seattle.
First Week In Seattle
On my first full day in Seattle I woke up and walked the neighborhood of Ballard, where I’m currently staying, looking for a place to rent. I walked from NW 80th St to NW Market St (North to South) and from 32nd Ave NW to 15th Ave NW (West to East). I found two places I called about, but both fell through. I headed to my friend Jason’s house to roam the streets of Greenwood looking for rentals since Ballard didn’t seem to pan out. Before leaving Jason’s I decided to check Craigslist, something I haven’t done in a month or so. There was a place I looked at a few months ago that I thought would be nice, but it was slightly out of our price range. When I checked Craigslist again I found that this condo had come down in price and was in fact two blocks away from Jason’s house and a few blocks away from another friend Stan’s house. I called about the place and met the agent there. The place was perfect so I called Shayla and we decided to apply for it. Brian, the agent, called me the next day to see if I wanted to come in and put a deposit down on the place. The rest is history. Our new residence is 8534 Phinney Ave N #202, Seattle WA 98103.
Phinney Ave is located in the neighborhood of Greenwood.
By lunchtime Friday I had placed a deposit on our new place and was free to enjoy my time here on the last few days of my “vacation”. Jason’s girlfriend works for the newly opened Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Seattle, across from Pikes Place Market. I was invited to dinner that evening but we only briefly stayed at the Hard Rock. While there, I snooped around and saw the many awesome memorabilia of the Seattle music scene including stuff from Hendrix, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. I also got to check out the rooftop third deck that overlooks the city, as well as Pikes Place Market and the Puget Sound.
Friday was a gorgeous day. The sky was bright, clear and sunny and you could see the Olympic Mountains to the West and Mt. Rainier to the South.
Yesterday and today have been more stereotypical Seattle weather with the gray skies and the drizzle. The gray skies and drizzle suit the city because it is surrounded by so much water, both salt and fresh.
Shayla and the kids arrive in less than a week and I am counting the days. I cannot wait to see their (hopefully) smiling faces and share in their wonder of this wonderful city.
Idaho, Oregon & Washington
I was able to get my earliest start of the trip when I left Ogden, UT.
Northern Utah became more hilly as I got closer to Idaho. I reached the Idaho border while most of you were probably still counting sheep. While in Idaho, I came against a 100 mile stretch of road that was in a valley area surrounded by the epic, snow capped mountains of Northern Utah to my left (South) and the rustic, rocky mountains of Idaho to my right (North). I passed several signs indicating I was entering a strong wind area and could feel the car being blown to the right. My bikes in tow took a beating that stretch of road. Me, wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops, decided to pull over and get a picture of the dark nothingness in which I was driving. As I stepped out of the car my breath was taken away by the cold. Imagine temperatures in the low 40s with 35 mph (+) winds out of the South. Needless to say, I snapped my pictures and got myself back into the car as quickly as possible.
I made my worst mistake of the trip while stopping for gas in Idaho. Don’t tell my mother, but I accidentally left my car running while I filled up. Not smart, I know, but I was somewhat delusional from the 100+ mile drive through windy nothingness, coupled with the lack of sleep for the past few days.
But I lived.
For the most part, Idaho was bleak and rainy. As I got into Boise, I felt like I was in Denton or OKC. Idaho, or at least the parts I saw in the South, is pretty flat and looks a lot like North Texas, save for the hellish heat.
I entered Oregon around lunchtime. Here I was greeted with magnificent mountains covered in fur trees (although I’m guessing on the furs). Oregon offered some of the most beautiful drive of the trip. While the mountains of Utah were in the distance with a picturesque sky painted different colors, the mountains of Oregon were up in my face. Many times my route weaved in between mountains so large and daunting that I couldn’t see the tops of them out of my car. This went on for miles and miles. At times, the mountains resembled the Koolau mountains of Oahu. Needless to say, I was awe struck.
I stopped off for lunch at Taco Time, a Northwestern fast food joint and my new substitute for Taco Bueno.
I crossed into Washington around 2pm PST. I got to enjoy the sights of Washington wine country. Simply beautiful. I had been in Washington for about an hour and a half when I spotted Mt. Rainier. Standing 14,411 feet, Mt. Rainier is snow capped year round and was the point for me when I knew I was here. As I neared Rainier the landscape changed to more of the Oregon feel with the route weaving in between mountains.
I arrived in Seattle around 5:30pm and made my first stop at Redwood, a bar and grill owned by Mat Brooke, a singer/songwriter of two of my favorite bands, Carissa’s Wierd and Grand Archives. I love that place and go there every time I am in Seattle. They are one of the only places in Seattle that offers Shiner Bock on tap, as Mat Brooke is a huge fan of the Texas institution. For me, however, it was Manny’s Pale Ale. Manny’s is by far my favorite beer EVER. Seriously, if I were only allowed one beer to drink for the remainder of my days it would be Manny’s hands down, without even having to consider it. Manny’s is brewed by a Chinese man named Manny, in his basement and is only available in Seattle and only in kegs.
Manny’s Pale Ale, yum.
The only band I listened to more than once on the trip was Sun Kil Moon. Music definitely made the drive easier.
A few interesting things I pondered on the drive through Idaho, Oregon and Washington: 1) I saw so many wind fans harvesting the energy of the winds and wondered if any of that was actually being put to use. It seems to me that energy fans are indicative of us as a country, full of great ideas but too stuck in the old ways of doing things that our good ideas never bear fruit. 2) I learned how to drive on this trip. I learned that the left lane is for passing only and that when people utilize it as such it makes the drive easier and more efficient. I learned that Texas drivers, for the most part, do indeed suck because they use the left lane as a regular lane. Once I left Texas the drivers got better. 3) While Chris Simpson’s voice is at times very annoying, Mineral is one of the greatest indie bands of the 90s.
On The Road
Today I drove through most of Utah. I have been looking forward to this day in particular for a while because I’ve always thought Utah was a beautiful state. Today I saw most of it and I must say, Utah could possibly be the most beautiful state I’ve seen. The drive to Moab consisted of deep red rocks and canyons painted various reds, oranges, yellows and whites. Occasionally, the route would go between large rock formations on both sides, with many large rocks being held in place by only the wind that swept below them.
Nerve racking at times.
Once past Moab the scenery changes to Colorado style mountains, covered in trees until about 12,000 feet, followed by snow.
Utah is very spread out with quite a bit of uncultivated land for miles and miles as far as your eye can see.
The cities, from what I saw, were small and modest. Even the capital, Salt Lake City, was very modest compared to most other capital cities I’ve seen.
I ate dinner at a small cafe in Ogden, UT. My meal consisted of one local red beer who’s name escapes me, a cup of cold cucumber and avocado soup, a grilled chicken caesar salad and a glass of water.
I experienced two firsts in Utah: my first time to see traditional Mormons, a mother walking her 5 daughters across the street who all looked like they stepped out of Little House on the Prairie, and the worst hotel room, ever.
Last night I stayed with Colin and Dee Murphy, my good friend Michael Murphy’s parents. Shayla and I became pretty close to the Murphy’s shortly after Anna was born. A few years ago they sold their house in Cedar Hill, TX and moved to Albuquerque, NM. It was wonderful to see them again. They are such dear people to Shayla and me.
Thus far, this trip has been an interesting experience. I have been nature drunk all day and I have Idaho, Oregon and Washington to look forward to tomorrow.
The Pain Of Leaving
If we weren’t so close to our families this would be easy.
It has not hit me until today that I will be leaving my family for a while. As Shayla and I loaded up the kids’ belongings and clothes to take them to Shayla’s parents they said their goodbyes to their grandparents and great grandparents. I cannot help the overwhelming sense that I am causing our families pain. I know this will eventually subside but this is my cross for the time being. I do not bear it happily or begrudgingly but simply because it is mine.
I now have a slight understanding of what it must have felt like to be my dad or Shayla’s dad when they took their families away from the nest. The did it because it was something they needed to do. This I understand.
Understanding still doesn’t make the pain of the moment any easier. I’ve shed plenty of tears today.
