We spent the day in Seattle. Well, we spent a few hours in Seattle and the rest of the day driving back and forth.
En route, we got our very first glimpse of Rainier.
Unbelievable. No matter where we were, it was almost always visible. How can it not be? It's UBERNORMOUS and in your face and majestic and ice covered and a bunch of other stuff that's hard to describe.
Imagine seeing this as you commute back and forth to work.
Pretty incredible. Minus the potential for the mountain to explode and spew debris and lava that will destroy you and all you love. ;P
Since the initial planning stages of this trip, I have been looking forward to going to the Flagship REI store in Seattle. Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Seattle Aquarium anyone? Nah...my primary objective was to visit the REI.
Most people just don't understand. REI to me is like taking an Elvis fan to Graceland, a road racer to the Tour de France or a terrorist Muslim to a suicide training camp. Ohhhh…...a little bit of heaven, right on earth. Well, except for the terrorist Muslim.
A "Motherlode of gear" is an understatement. This place has it all - right down to the NPS/USFS Ranger Station in the middle of the store. Nuuuhhh-uhhhhhh?!!!
We spent several hours there and didn't even get through the whole place. This is probably good considering they carry gear and gadgets not found at the other REI's and I felt compelled to buy it - even stuff I don't need or know how to use. I think I need a mountaineering compass, crampons, and an ice pick. I'm not sure why, but they're on sale and they're cool. :)
I buy pretty much all of my gear and a fair amount of my clothes (technical and casual) at REI. We earn a lot of cash back every year with our REI Visa. It is a wonderful place. :) I think my mouth was open and my head on a swivel the majority of the time I was there. Looook!!! WWWHHHOOOAA, check THIS out!...Awwww, beloved REI store, how I love your beautiful displays and hordes of outdoor gear.
At one point, I was accidentally shopping in the "extended sizes" section. A store employee walked over to me to point this out. I said "Oh. I'm from Maryland. None of the REI's in the area carry extended sizes". I was proud of this response because what initially went through my head pre-filter was "fat girls can't buy clothes at REI back home". Who said I'm not tactful?
After our REI experience, we walked around a bit and stumbled on a street with vendors from the Pike Place Farmer’s Market. We bought some peaches and ate them while we walked around. Yum!
Since time was of the essence (we were going to have to deal with rush hour traffic to get back), we got an early dinner at Mad Pizza right across from the lot where we were parked. We left at 5pm and wrestled with traffic. Signage is awful if you don't know where you're going, so we had to, uh, "squeeze in" to a line of traffic so we didn't miss our turn. We got the horn. Hello! Read the tags people, we're not from around here. Can you just be kind and give us a break? I guess the "people are friendlier out here" motto doesn't apply to the city folk. Not surprising. City folk, regardless of which coast, just aren't very nice. Or so it seems.
We stopped at a mall in Puyallup to get a pillow wedge to help me sleep better. Haven’t slept well in nearly two weeks. Makes for a grumpy camper in the mornings. Just ask Bill. In my defense, it's hard to be chipper when I wake up hurting every day and have rested very little. There. I whined.
We bought a pillow thingy, picked up the next few seasons of SG1 that we found on sale (this falls under the entertainment budget and is a welcomed low-key time suck with our current level of inactivity). As we were leaving, we saw the Orange Julius in the food court. Humpf. Didn't know they still existed. A large Strawberry Julius for me, please. Mmmmm....just as tasty as I remember.
We drove the rest of the way "home" and were graced with witnessing yet another phenomenal sunset. Why can't the sky look like this in Maryland???
It was a long day for the Boys, but after a few laps around the campground, they seemed content to come back and settle in for the night. They're such good dogs. :)
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