we spent the first couple of days in olympia with ariel's grandmother, annelise - an extremely heartfelt woman who was nothing but caring and inclusive towards me. annelise suggested for me to visit the state capitol in downtown olympia, which turned out to be a magnificent suggestion. home to impeccable architecture, the olympia capitol was a wonderful way to jumpstart our washington adventures. i'm especially proud of this moment:
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| planking on the steps of the olympia capitol. |
following our visit to the state capitol, we headed to downtown olympia for some secondhand shopping. there weren't many known stores, but i was impressed by the amount of secondhand stores available for browsing. particularly, there was a store filled with antique magazines, books, minks, jewelry. it was divine, and i regret not purchasing anything from there earlier. we'll save it for my next trip to washington, because i will definitely be back someday. i also visited this somber, new age medicinal shop - i believe it was called "midnight sun". there wasn't anything particularly interesting, which was somewhat of a letdown. even their collection of herbs was not too impressive - but still, i was lucky enough to happen upon their celtic jewelry, something i am fascinated with. i decided not to purchase anything. instead, we made our way to a nearby café, where i purchased a rich chocolate ganache cake. first smart spend of my trip.
ariel's family and i then made our way to enumclaw, washington - location of the crystal mountain ski resort. i had never seen snow prior to this trip; if anything, i had been to ice palace and seen the resulting ice shavings from skaters' blades. the snow was entrancing, and unlike anything i had expected. i had the urge to shove incredulous bits of it into my mouth like i had seen on man vs. wild. the temperature was also wonderful, for in a past life, i believe i existed as a black bear.
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| lying in the snow was not one of our greater ideas. |
our lodging accommodations were also quite nice. in our small apartment, me and ariel's room was only accessible through climbing a ladder above the kitchen. this is very hard to explain, but it was a loft, i believe. this little apartment proved extremely useful in the 10º weather. also, during our stay at crystal mountain, we dined at the "snorting elk." i mean, in a place where there's an abundance of white powder, what else would these elk be snorting?
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| will the real snorting elk, please stand up? |
after the second day, filled with gondola rides, skiing, a screening of bridesmaids, french onion soup, dogs in the snow, and snorting elks, we departed back to olympia where we rested for a couple of days. we toured seattle uni, and u of w, and eventually shopped at urban outfitters (huzzah! it exists!) we then took a two-hour drive to downtown seattle, where we stayed at the edgewater hotel - a place seemingly ghetto from the outside, yet luxurious from the inside. the beatles stayed at the edgewater during their stints in seattle.
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we took some time to feed the seagulls outside of our room, which turned into something out of "birds: the movie." the seagulls would hover right in front of our window, expecting food. ariel and i made a run for it and hit downtown seattle's shopping district.
i could take multiple posts glorifying the downtown seattle shopping district, but i feel it is something that must be experienced. we explored the many inlets of this vast area including: urban outfitters, h&m, the six story nordstrom, j. crew, american apparel, free people. it reminded me much of union square in san francisco; ariel claimed it was very much like times square in nyc, and i shall be sure to visit there someday. i made many purchases including the long sought after denim jacket, cardigans, sweaters, stationary, teas, and etc. overall, i completed a lot of retail therapy - something so necessary as of recent (i will explain this crypticness eventually.)
the next day in downtown seattle was spent at pike place market. i've become so enamored with this city, and will make sure to come back someday. the market was mostly specialty foods, and one thing i regret not trying was the seafood. i have a hard time trusting seafood from places outside of hawaii, but what's done is done, and i will just have to experience it some other time. i was intrigued by the woman selling ocarinas. she sold a special-zelda ocarina and when i asked her to play "zelda's lullaby", she smiled back and played it effortlessly. twas a beautiful moment, and i thought of getting one for my friend, x; however, i budgeted myself on these last few days of the trip due to a shortage in funds from my prior retail therapy. i hurried on and made one of my proudest purchases from a cute little chinese man. he sold me this sterling silver owl ring, and although i'm not one for rings, i haven't taken off this ring since the trip.
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| (to those who doubted its existence) |
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| my old man hands modeling "my precious." |
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| fresh seafood! |
interesting story: the fishseller yelled at me for taking pictures of his fish, rather than purchasing one. i don't know what i'd do with an entire dead fish, especially with no place to prepare one (nor do i know how to prepare one...) after pike place, i did a bit of self-adventuring and happened upon this wonderful alley:
i bought a hazelnut truffle from rose's chocolate treasures and was offered a bit of a chocolate-coconut brew from perennial tea room. both were simply delightful. i was disappointed that the white horse trading co. was closed because where else would i purchase a white horse? in all seriousness, their sign said they sold "books, ale, & wine" and in an ideal world, these would be the only things that existed. alas, i went around the alley into the building it was nestled under, only to discover another antique shop. twas similarly wonderful like the first antique shop i had visited in olympia, only, things here were way expensive.
we spent the next day exploring seattle center. ariel and i ventured to the top of the space needle where we saw an incredible view. i don't believe it was as spectacular as others made it out to be. if anything, i could find something more spectacular at home, after climbing diamond head. nonetheless, we took some pictures at the top.
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| thug lyph at the top of space needle. |
we eventually took a ferry over to bainbridge island, where we stayed with auntie andrea's friend peggy and her family. their home was so lovely, and they had a piano. i took some time to reacquaint myself with the black and white keys, something i had abandoned for awhile due to the trip. their backyard also had a trampoline, something ariel and i utilized and had too much fun with. future investment: trampoline.
the day before our return to hawaii, we stayed in a best western near the airport. ariel, auntie andrea, and i shuttled to the westfield center, which was large beyond my greatest expectations. quite frankly, it was larger than any mall i had ever shopped in, and i got lost multiple times. from the mall, i bought a nice pair of jeans from h&m, and spent some time adventuring on my own. we all met up at around 5:30 pm and saw "the hunger games" together. after seeing the movie, i now wish to read the books; i had felt they were overhyped, but now i understand.
overall, this trip provided be with a great appreciation for the world outside of hawaii; more importantly, it made me realize how much i appreciate the opportunities i an bestowed with. i hope to do more travels in the future, for as much as i love hawaii, there are many places i've yet to discover.
hopefully that's everything; there is far too much that i can't recall, but i believe this covers most of it. xx
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