Adios, Seattle

Seattle has been a pretty awesome place to live (despite the incessant rain).  And truly, if there was more sunshine and my family lived closer, I wouldn’t mind sticking around.  But alas, we are nearing the end of our nomadic journey and preparing to leave this mysterious place.  So, without adding more fluff than necessary, these are the reasons why I think Washington is a pretty epic place:

1.) Mountains!  Really big ones that you can see for miles!

I’m going to miss this view of Mt. Rainier.

AND..

1.5.) Mountains means skiing!!  We lived about an hour away from 2 different ski resorts, so we were able enjoy plenty of winter fun to make up for lost time in previous winters in SC.

2.) The food here is pretty darn good.  Once you get into the city, there’s a plethora of options (and seafood!) that have no association with a food chain.  Win-win!

3.) Seattle is situated in the middle of the state.  It’s about 2 hours to Portland (also a foodie’s paradise), 3 hours to Vancouver, and an hour from ski slopes or from open ocean.  We were able to take several mini trips to see more of the area, and each one was better than the last!

4.) The scenery is absolutely gorgeous!  Granted, we went from dry desert in Texas to rainy mountains, but it is truly one of the most beautiful parts of the country.  The trees are so big and sturdy, the grass is green even in the winter, and the mountains keep rolling for miles.  What’s not to love?

5.) The rain.  I don’t love the rain, but I don’t hate it.  But I say the rain is a perk here, because it makes you appreciate the sunshine so much more!  On the few clear days that we had, I couldn’t help but finding a dry patch in the grass and lay down in the rays for hours.  It made me really thankful for the times when the clouds did part.

 watching the sunset

6.) The wildlife here is unbelievable!  Maybe I was so impressed because we don’t see animals like these in SC, but it was so cool to drive down the road and see some elk graze in a pasture or a bald eagle fly overhead.  Sure beats snakes and squirrels any day!

Hey big guy!

All this to say I’d do it again.  Seattle was indeed pretty darn cool.