This seemingly non-descript picture was taken earlier this month when we decided to make a last minute decision to spend the long weekend of July 4th in Seattle. I usually balk at the idea of unplanned travel, but life has taught me to be more pragmatic. But also Seattle is a special city for me..
13+ years back, I came to Seattle. It was winter, and the famous folklore about Seattle's weather was not known to me unfortunately. I arrived in this country on January 21st, a Friday. I remember that as I went around exploring the city on foot (I started driving from 2013), my lips were too numb for the serving person at McDonald's to comprehend what I wanted to eat!
But what's with this picture, you ask. This is the apartment where I stayed for 2 months in Seattle. A beautiful apartment at the heart of Seattle downtown, I remember one morning standing in the cold balcony and seeing a huge ship sailing past. This ship was so big that I couldn't see where it started and where it ended! Seattle is one of the few things that I couldn't share with my husband. He was in India still and while I missed him badly, the city had enough attractions to keep me going during the weeknights and on the weekends.
As we roamed around the downtown on foot, some memories came back. We went to a Japanese restaurant on the same street as my apartment to have our dinner and since they had a wait-time, they wanted us to wait. As I gave them my phone number, they seemed to have a record! While we decided not to have dinner there ultimately, I was reminded me that I indeed had dined here during my first trip!
As we walked up and down the hill (Seattle downtown is like a roller-coaster!) to visit the attractions in downtown and visit restaurants, I kept marveling at how much things had changed. Or perhaps my memory had given its way, I'm not sure.
At the end of this trip, I was glad that I could share my memories with my husband and my son. It felt special to relive some special moments, like sitting near the fountain of Harbor Steps Apartment and explaining how I managed my grocery shopping, a convenience store that's not to be seen anymore, a home decor store that still has the same pieces after all these years (!)
One thing that I couldn't relive though was the sadness that I had when I left Seattle. When I went to Seattle, it was meant to be a short trip after which I would go back to India and join my husband. Instead, I flew to Washington D.C., for another work commitment. I was anxious for the new city and new people and I was sad that it would be a few more months before I get to see my husband again. To not sound over-dramatic, my husband visited me in DC in summer of 2012 and I went to India in December for 2 months before my husband relocated to US. A lifetime of experiences there!
