Much to my surprise when I woke up, the sun was shining and the grey clouds of the night before had been banished. When I went to bed, the forecast said it would be a day of off and on drizzle, so I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the unexpectedly lovely conditions. I grabbed a bagel and coffee from Cherry Street Coffee, then decided to take a walk along the waterfront promenade, starting with the ferry terminal. that was right across the road from my hotel window.
In the evenings, there are cars snaked all throughout these lanes, going home on various different ferries.
This would also be the day that I would realize the Space Needle was kind of everywhere in the city, and it felt a little bit like it was looming, watching you. I wandered along the waterfront and ended up at the Olympic Sculpture Park. As far as I could tell, its primary function during the off hours was as a dog park, though they do have all sorts of events there.
Usually, this kind of color effect requires film simulations or presets, but this happened all on its own.
I snaked my way through downtown and up into Queen Anne, with roughly the aim of getting to Fremont eventually. A photographer I follow had a book for sale at a local bookshop there, and I was hoping to pick up a copy. It was around this time that I realized the Space Needle was visible from all over the city, especially as you got higher up. I began to chuckle to myself and photograph it every time I saw it, hoping to have a series of images called The Space Needle Is Watching You. I would collect a couple more the following day, too.
It seriously followed me all over the city.
I passed through the small main corridor of Queen Anne and stopped into Trader Joe’s to grab some snacks before heading up to Mt Pleasant Cemetery. It had a beautiful view of Lake Union and Fremont. I’ve always liked seeing the history of a city through its cemeteries, and this one was a lovely place to spend an hour. I did eventually make my way back down to the bridge and over into Fremont. By pure luck, it happened to be restaurant week, so I got a full meal at 19 Gold for an absolute song, which was fortunate because I was about 23k steps into my day, and I needed real food. Fortified with tasty beef soup and milk tea, I went to the bookshop that was ostensibly the whole reason I walked all the way over to Fremont, but they didn’t have the book!
I walked back over the bridge, marveling at the weather and wondering if Seattle was trying to charm me. I followed the western bank of Lake Union and came across these houseboats that honestly could not have looked more vibrant and adorable if they tried. I have to wonder how often they’re photographed.
One friend remarked that this looked like a puzzle, and I kind of have to agree. I should see about getting one made from it.
Now looking at well over 30k steps and sore feet, I dragged myself into my hotel room for a small nap. Then I woke up and the FOMO hit again. The light! Pike Place! I dragged myself back out and reveled in the glorious west coast sunset.
