nothing to prove

no worries

Usually when you get off the plane to meet a friend; they are there waiting to welcome you home. But sometimes days get mixed up and people end up at the airport for five hours. Such was the case when I ended up in Seattle. Thankfully all my baggage and I made it there safely. Plus there was wireless internet so I was able to email Jennie Schei so she could try getting a hold of Mark. Eventually he picked me up and we headed straight to Chipotle. It definitely hit the spot. Later it was time to shower and then we went to get a frisbee and volleyball. When we got to the park some random people asked us to play ultimate frisbee with them so we gladly joined. Since neither of us had tennis shoes, we had to play barefoot but it was still a blast. Afterwards we had a few beers and headed to the local watering hole, the Ram. We ate some cheesy bacon fries and nachos with our beers before going back to Mark’s apartment to crash for the night.

The next day we got to sleep in because Mark had taken the day off of work to pick me up from the airport. Instead it was off to Lake Washington so we could canoe around the lake and the nearby arboretum. Then we had an amazing mango curry and nan (Indian flat bread) lunch at an Indian restaurant, called Cedars. After it was off to the beach with our frisbee and beach volleyball to lay out in the sun. There was also a floating platform with a one and three meter diving board on it. Of course we both had to play around on them for a little bit although it has been a long time since I have been on a board. I actually have relatives in the Seattle area, on my Mom’s side, so we met up with my cousin Shu for dinner. It was great to see him again since the last time was six years ago. That night we headed back to the Ram for some more micro brewed beer and the awesome cheesy bacon fries before bed.



Mark had to work on Thursday so I basically slept in and played around on the internet. Once he got back we decided to see downtown Seattle. First we went to the Seattle Center, which is home to the Space Needle, Key Arena, and some various museums. It was a gorgeous day so we went up the Space Needle to have a look at all of Seattle. After we were done we visited Pike Place Market but everything had just closed for the day. Instead we ended up walking and shopping around downtown for a while. Later we went back to get ready for the night and took a taxi to the Fremont area of Seattle. Our friend from college, Steph Green, met us at the Triangle Bar for some drinks and food. Eventually we hit up some other bars as well but it was great to see her again, especially since she is staying another year in Seattle continuing Americorps.



For the past couple days I had been trying to get a hold of my relatives so I could meet them for their usual Friday lunch. Finally one of them called Friday morning but Mark and I slept through the call. When I called them back I didn’t know whom I was talking to but he picked me up near Mark’s house and brought me south to the Tacoma area. Most of my family that goes to Friday lunch doesn’t have work so basically they were all older than my parents or out of school for the summer. It was still fun to catch up and see people that haven’t seen me since I was in diapers. Afterwards I did some shopping before meeting up with Mark so we could make the five-hour road trip out to Pullman where our friends Jennie Schei and Joy Strunk are living.

posted by Aaron @ 11:57 AM