Not Quite Flying Solo

Tako was still exhausted from all the excitement and heat of Portland, so I decided to make Day 9 a rest day.

It had nothing to do with the fact that I took two naps, had about thirteen phone calls to make, and needed to do laundry so badly that I was wearing my bikini as underclothes. Absolutely nothing. It was definitely the dog’s fault.

When Sumit got home from work, we did a little sightseeing in the blessedly-cool night air. Our first stop was the Jimi Hendrix Memorial in Renton. I have a clip of the interior up in my Seattle stories highlights.

A small sign welcomes you & asks that you keep the space litter free, signed “Stay Experienced, The Hendrix Family.”

If you love Jimi Hendrix, then Seattle is definitely a destination for you. The city has five or six different memorials, ranging from his grave to a bust at his high school. I’m sure someone has created a Seattle Jimi Hendrix Tour…

Our next stop was the giant Hat N Boots, brought to me by the wonder that is Atlas Obscura.

According to the Wikis, back in the 1950s, this spot was a gas station, and the hat and boots were the gents and ladies restrooms.

I didn’t know until we arrived that the Hat N Boots have been incorporated into a city park, with a community garden attached. The garden is full of beautiful tiling. I’m a bit in love with it.

From there, we drove to the Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach. The Kubota Garden is very cool — it’s a Japanese style garden using native Northwestern plants. Your dog is welcome to join you on the walk through, and visitors tend to be very quiet so it’s very peaceful (just as a Japanese garden should be).

And, finally, once it was dark, Sumit and Ashwini took me to a dock on the city outskirts to see the city lights over the water.

New discovery: my phone does not like taking night photos.

It was about 11p.m. when we got back to the house (it stays light until 10ish up here in the summer!), and we finally ate dinner. Tako helped.

Or tried, by scooping up anything that fell on the floor.

This conversation is why Sumit is one of my favorite people:

Kaitlin: Can I help you somehow?

Sumit: No, just relax.

Kaitlin: Can I help you by pouring you some wine?

Sumit: Yes. Do that.

Then he made me a snack of leftover seasoned french fries, and I sat at the counter while he and Ashwini made some noodles for all of us.

All in all, a pretty relaxing day.

 

High

#1: Napping with the pug to escape the mid-day heat. We had a fan and everything. So decadent.

#2: Catching up with Ashwini 1-on-1.

#3: Discovering that my uncle is in Vancouver right now, not Thailand, so there’s a possibility I can go see him!

 

Low

#1: Feeling like I peaced out of my first day in Seattle due to exhaustion. I have to keep reminding myself that there’s no point in this trip if I push myself too hard to enjoy it.

#2: Trying to work out a round trip to Vancouver in a single day since I’ve made plans for every day in Seattle & pre-paid all of my accommodations for the next two weeks so can’t push them back. (face palm)

Breakdown

Driven: 1503mi

Hiked: 20mi

Written: 3k

Listening to: 40DD Mix

A little weird, but I’m listening to the playlist that Timothy Goodman created for the Disney World trip within the 40 Days of Dating experiment. The playlist is so awesome and eclectic that I took the time to recreate it on Spotify as best I could if you want to join in on the fun.

Neither The Beatles nor Aaliyah were available on Spotify, unfortunately. C’est la vie, I guess. So honorable mentions go out to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “We Need a Resolution” respectively.