When it rains it pours, or so the adage goes. As it happened, there was great weather for my little fall trip to Seattle, Olympia, and a surprise trip to the ocean shore.

Traveling during a pandemic is far more relaxing than it should be. Not only am I OK with wearing a mask for extended periods, but I got free exit row upgrades on every flight. With nobody in the middle rows, that was an extremely comfortable aerial experience.

When I did touch down, I made sure to find the food spots. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far as the building host directed me toward several restaurants in the very building of the AirBnB. The sushi and deserts are all from the very block I was staying. The oysters, some of the fattest I’ve ever seen, were from the market, as were the fish & chips. Man, those were good. I understand one specific section of Seattle was getting a bad rap in the summer, but I didn’t see it. As in, I wasn’t in that area of Seattle to see the CHAZ, nor did I want to venture too far from where I was.

This trip was about reliving the past when my dad took pre-teen me on a trip to Seattle, Everett, Vancouver, and Mt Rainier. Without a car — and the ability to access Canada — my frame of experience was rather limited. Fruitful, but limited.

Unsure what to do on my first night, I went big on sushi. After that digested, I tried to watch the last few innings of the Brewers/Dodgers playoff game at the nearby bar. Whoops. I have never seen a bartender’s eye’s light up with that mixture of fear and wonder as I walked in, completely unaware that non-grocery alcohol sales AND consumption must end at 10 p.m. I arrived at 9:52 p.m.

I said to a few of my friends that this was the first trip in my adult life where I went to bed before midnight every night. I also watched the most Netflix while waiting for attractions and restaurants to open. The latest episodes of the Chef Show, and all of Warrior Nun and Teenage Bounty Hunters.

Seattle fed me well. But Olympia fed me far better than I ever imagined.

Unfortunately, my stomach got in the way of my smartphone and there are several photos of 14-pound briskets, homemade slaw, corn bread, and potatoes glaringly missing from the camera roll. In this case, you just had to be there. I also went on a train for the first time (in America)!

Assorted musings:

• Unlike my New Orleans gallery, many of these photos are out of chronological order. Not sure why.

• The Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit near the base of the Space Needle was hands down the most beautiful part of this trip. Picture won’t do it justice. I tried, but the depth of dimensions and color is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and probably will for a long while.

• The viewing deck on the Space Needle features clear seats that sit on an angle, daring the viewer to sit with their back on (thick) glass closer to parallel with the earth than you think you’d want to be.

• I didn’t see Mt. Rainier until I was in the departing plane at 6 a.m. Our pilot had clear skies all morning, so the passengers could see the Washington mountain is great detail. But not just one mountain. Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood were also in full view. My friend said weather like this would probably never happen again.

• Seattle also has a giant red Calder sculpture. Huh.

• I do not play Minecraft, but seeing the exhibit in the Museum of Pop Culture was very cute.

• At the “Giant Shoe Museum,” which is basically a big wall with four stereoscopic viewports, I came up to Robert Wadlow’s belly button.