seattle trip 2022 overview

Although I’ve lived in Alabama for 7 years, I’m originally from Washington State. I was born and raised up there and since we moved in 2015, surprisingly (& unintentionally) ended up visiting pretty much every year since we moved.

You can see our previous trips here –

2015 – I visited for Christmas

2016 – we visited while I was pregnant with Rylie

2017 – I was in a friend’s wedding

2018 – we came up for my brother’s college graduation

2019 – we came up for my grandfather’s funeral

I really didn’t have any plans to visit my hometown until I got the text saying my grandmother had passed away on Sunday, June 12th. After a lot of conversations and favors from friends (hey-o buddy pass), things came together for me to fly up solo and attend my grandmother’s memorial service.

After the market on Saturday (7.2.22), I showered and loaded up our car and drove to a friend’s house (well, really she’s my mom’s friend but I’ve met her a couple times and she’s amazing so she’s kind of my friend too haha) in Atlanta. My buddy pass plane ticket was with Alaska Airlines and they do not fly out of Birmingham, so I drove 3 hours and dropped my car off at my friend’s.

She was so awesome and after showing me where I was going to sleep that night (my flight was early Sunday morning, so it made the most sense to just stay the night vs. drive all night) she drove me around downtown Atlanta and was a tour guide, pointing things out outside the window.

The next morning, we woke up at 4am so we could be out the door by 4:30am. I had never traveled in the Atlanta airport, so she gave me some tips which were extremely helpful.

40minutes after arriving, I was at my gate.

If you’re unfamiliar with how a buddy pass ticket works, it’s only available to people who work with an airline and costs 10% of normal ticket prices. HOWEVER, you are on standby and risk not making it on the flight(s). After most of the passengers had been checked in, they called my name + a few others on standby to get their tickets. I was so thankful because I really didn’t want to be hanging around the airport. I got a middle seat and I didn’t even care.

Before takeoff, the guy sitting next to me asked, “are you from Seattle?” I hesitated and said, “I used to be.” “Does it rain there a lot? Should I have brought a rain jacket? That’s a stupid question, I’m sorry.” I giggled and said, “um, it’s probably not necessary right now because it’s summer. But if it was any other season, yeah, it would be helpful.”

I spent the 4/5 hour flight doing multiple things – reading, watching a show on my phone, resting my eyes, repeat.

While we were descending, our row got into a conversation (I don’t remember what it was about) and the aisle seat guy (who had asked me about rain coats) said he had assumed me and the gal sitting in the window seat were friends. We giggled and said we weren’t but it prompted a conversation and turns out she was meeting her boyfriend in Alaska. We exchanged Instagram handles and I recommended a couple places she could hang out during her 6 hour layover.

While I hustled to the bathroom to change from chill travel clothes into something more presentable for the plans I had for the day, Aaron sent me a picture of the kids’ outfits.

I got changed and then made my way to the front of the airport.

My mom captured my entrance which was nice. The gist of the video was I was excited to be there but it was also 50 degrees lower than what I’m currently used to so I might have been shivering haha

My mom and I picked up my brother and then drove out to my aunt’s house where we saw my grandma and chatted for a few hours while enjoying lunch. I also brought a loaf of sourdough bread from the market the day before to share and they were all so excited to get to try the famous bread.

After our visit, we visited both grandfathers’ grave sights before heading to Red Robin for dinner.

After dinner we walked a part of the marina (a place I visited weekly when I lived there).

Running on very few hours of sleep and a full day of travel + social interaction, we dropped off my brother at his house and then I stayed the night at my mom’s. I fell asleep so fast and woke up (7.4.22) relishing the ability to toss and turn for a while before deciding to get up and read my Bible and some more of the book I was working on.

After we were dressed and had some time to chat, my mom and I went to have a breakfast tea with her best friend and a mom I grew up with.

We had such sweet conversation and I shared a couple key childhood memories I had with her sons that made all of us laugh. She embraced me countless times and spoke such sweet, life-giving words over me.

During our breakfast tea we got to talk about what each of her 4 sons were up to (3 of them married) and I answered some questions about our adoptions journey thus far. She graciously answered a couple questions I had (in a way asking for wisdom) and it was so nice to enjoy their company.

After a couple hours, my mom and I hopped in the car and drove to my uncles house where we chatted, ate a delicious lunch and I got to ride in his 1957 truck he had restored.

From there, my brother and I left for his house where my dad’s side of the family was getting together. We sat on the deck and caught up. They asked me questions about our adoption and we had a chill bbq dinner before everyone headed out. My brother, Dad and his girlfriend walked to the same spot we used to see the fireworks every year when I was a kid. The firework show was lame, but the memories were on point.

The next morning (7.5.22) I woke up before my brother and enjoyed some time to myself, snuggling with their cat, journaling and finishing the book I started on our anniversary vacation.

I hopped on a phone meeting for our adoption and then chatted with Aaron on the phone for a little bit before Dan was up and we discussed the flow of the day. We got ready and headed into downtown Seattle where he works. He works at a camera store and he was beaming with excitement showing me his usual coffee shop and introducing me to his employees.

I was immediately drawn to their Polaroid section (if you know, you know 😉 ) and was semi nerding out on the selections. I had had my eye on one in particular for a while and asked Dan and his friends/coworkers a few questions before I decided to spend some of my vacation money on it.

After his work, we went to my favorite bagel place ever – Blazing Bagels!

From here, Dan and I took a drive to Rattlesnake Ridge for a 3mile, uphill hike.

I was really excited about this because I used to love hiking as a kid and even though I knew I would be rusty, I was pumped.

However, I didn’t realize how out of practice I was ;P hahahah I was huffing and puffing up the incline like a newbie and laughing at myself the entire way. But the top view was worth it and taking in the sights and fresh air was incredible.

We hiked back down while chatting and got in the car to drive back to Dan’s house and chill for the evening.

We showered and then I started looking at some pictures in the photo room (think pantry style). My dad heard us and came downstairs to mention we needed some older photos to display at the memorial service. We pulled out photo-books from 1954-2012 and hauled them upstairs so we / the family could look through them.

The three of us spent the rest of the evening eating Panda Express while looking at old photos that Dan and I had never seen. My dad shared some stories of what he remembered of his childhood and we laughed, awed and grew silent together.

I found a few old photos that I really want, but they need to be digitally scanned into the computer first, so I wrote my name on a sticky note next to the ones I wanted. This picture of my grandma and grandpa was one of them.

Wednesday (7.6.22) morning Dan and I launched the day with a trip to Black Bear Diner – only my favorite breakfast spot in the northwest.

On the way to breakfast, I told Dan I was really considering getting a tattoo. This was honestly something I had been thinking about most of the trip, but I had spent my morning quiet time journaling it out and it felt right.

Dan and I spent the breakfast time chatting ideas, meanings, etc. and drove to a couple different tattoo studios with no luck.

We went back to the house and I tried one more studio, saying “I know it’s a long shot, but my brother and I have a funeral to go this afternoon but we really want tattoos. Is there any way you can squeeze us in!?” the artist had to get a couple things figured out on his end, so while we waited, we played RockBand4.

Once we got the green light, we ran to the car and booked it to the studio, knowing our window of time was short.

Dan went first and got Mt. Rainier –

I went next and got random mountains (because I honestly didn’t really want a specific mountain scene… they’re all special to me) –

It was so special to get to have that experience with my brother.

We flew out of the studio to run into the house and get changed for the funeral. We arrived at the church with 10 minutes to spare (we were technically supposed to arrive 30 minutes before the service, but it’s fine ;P ) and we were very proud of the reason we were slightly tardy (even though no one knew yet! 😉 ).

The service itself was simple but a great representation of Grandma through the stories that were shared by those who attended.

After some mingling, we went back to my Dad/Brother’s house with the fam and looked through some of the old photo books together before reading through the will.

Once that was over, we hung out for a bit before I took up a crazy but wonderful opportunity – to see my childhood home.

So I was raised in the house behind my grandparents (I lived there from 2-16 years old) and the new owners bought it 10 years ago, a couple years after we had moved out. They had a relationship with my grandparents and were at the funeral service. We got into a conversation and when I sheepishly asked if I could see the house, they were giddy with excitement and told me to just walk on over whenever I was available that evening.

They were a lovely family and their house was wonderful! They were genuinely interested in how it looked when we lived there and intently listened to a couple of our childhood stories that came to us as we saw things in the house. We kept the tour as brief as we could, but it was hard. They were delightful people and I truthfully just wanted to sit down and take it all in.

But the extended fam was leaving and I really wanted a cousin picture before they left, so we thanked the new owners profusely, Dan said he’d be in touch with them later, and we walked back over.

I said my goodbyes to my family, and one of my cousins said, “don’t take so long to visit next time, yeah!?” I chuckled with an “I’ll try.” and waved as they all left.

I sat around the table with my brother, Dad and his girlfriend for a little bit, chatting about some legal stuff about the will before my mom picked me up to make one last visit before I flew out. A dear mama I babysat/nannied starting at 12 years old and lasting until I moved to Alabama was dropping her son off in Alaska for college and was gone the whole time I was there, but we overlapped just enough for me to be a tag-along in the airport pickup and home drop off.

I got a tour of the house (they updated it since I was there) and we chatted for about an hour before I admitted I really needed to go to bed and gave her the tightest hug I could.

I got to bed around 1am and woke up 3 hours later at 4am to pack and leave for the airport. I said goodbye to my dad and his girlfriend before heading out, thanking them for their hospitality and complimenting them on their levelheadedness throughout the memorial and will distribution.

Dan dropped me off at the airport and we reluctantly said goodbye.

I navigated the airport crazy and got myself situated as I waited to find out if I made the flight. Shockingly, I barely made it! Praise GOD!!!! I even got an aisle seat.

While we soared, I snuck a picture of the mountains and did some offline computer work that needed to get done for the adoption.

When I landed in Atlanta, I could instantly feel the temperature difference (from the cold, high 50’s I left to the 90’s I landed in).

After I got picked up from the airport and dropped off at my car, I drove roughly 3 hours before walking through the door I call “home.”

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I am so so so thankful for all the people who pulled together to make this trip happen for me! The buddy pass flight tickets, the free stay and ride in Atlanta, the meals and visits I got during my stay, the adventures and memories I got to make – all so beautiful and now hold a special place in my heart.

Until next time, Seattle…