I’ll start this by saying how odd it is to be back on this time zone. It made work and checking in with my family really difficult while I was on other time zones, but it made being able to talk to my friends and some of my favorite humans a lot easier. I didn’t have to do the math every single time I sent a text or needed to call. It was grand. Welp, here we are back to doing math all the time again. For sure makes sports a little easier for me though – very grateful I don’t have to stay up absurdly late anymore.
ANYHOW, let’s get into what y’all actually want to know about – my time in Washington! I obviously didn’t get a post up in between Spokane and Tacoma/Seattle, so this blog will be a combined one.
Spokane:
I arrived in Spokane around 1AM and it was pouring rain. I could not have been more surprised to get off a train for the first time in 38 hours to rain… Krissy picked me up from the train station and we headed back to her apartment. It was nice to be in a “familiar” location as I had visited her last year. Caught up for a little while before I realized my body was like “Nope, Monica. It is 4:30AM cause of time changes. You need sleep.”
Slept in a bit, made some breakfast and continued to catch up and fill her in on how the trip has been going. We then decided to go on an adventure and headed to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to check it out and explore a little. Sat by the lake for a while, walked around town, and got some lunch. It was pretty laid-back before making the drive back. On the drive back, we passed by a dam which of course prompted me to tell her we had to turn around and go find it. She was game too so we headed on a mission to find the dam which was in Post Falls. It was a super cool little park where you could overlook the rapids. We hung out there a bit and then continued our drive back to her place. Along the way, we stopped by her aunt’s store and said hello which was great to see her again after many years. Hung out at her place for a bit and then went out for dinner at a local Thai place she had been wanting to try for a long time. It was delicious. We called it a pretty early night by watching some Netflix and just being with each other because we knew we’d have an early morning.
The next morning was what is called Bloomsday. It’s a super famous 12k race that is put on in Spokane every year. They shut down the whole city and thousands of runners/walkers/people participate. We did not intend to participate so we walked to town after it had started and stood by the finish line watching the groups come through. It was very cool and definitely inspiring to watch these people finish SO quickly. We met up with one of her friends that had raced and walked around with him for a little before walking back to her apartment. I headed to Starbucks to get some work done, and she headed for a nap. We rejoined a few hours later and stopped by the mall to shop a bit then went to see a movie before calling it a night before I had to take off on the train. We ate some dinner, watched some more Netflix, took a power nap, and then off we were to the train station around 1AM! Then I was on the train headed to Seattle!
Train ride was absolutely spectacular. Oh my goodness. Slept through most of the “boring” parts, but woke up to the majesticness (so not a word) that is the Cascades. Wow, breath-taking. Pictures don’t do it justice either. I was just staring out the window for many hours watching the snow-capped mountains pass by and us follow along the river. Stunning. Eventually, I arrived into Seattle and did some work while waiting for Dylan to pick me up. From Seattle we made the commute back to Tacoma where their house is. Got to the house and I dropped my stuff off, grabbed some food, changed, and soon we were off to explore a bit of what Tacoma is. We drove through downtown, along the waterfront, and through the scenic 5-mile drive in Point Defiance Park. Some spectacular scenery and very cool to see where they take the dogs and what routine looks like to them. Dylan had to take off to school after that so I made some phone calls to my lovely people, did some work, and laid out in the backyard for a little. The weather was epic after coming off of freezing weather and the sunshine was a great change of pace. That evening, when Mel returned from work and Dylan got back from class, we went out to one of their favorite local bars, the Top. Watched the Spurs game and caught up for a bit before heading back to the house for the night.
Slept in (which has been my favorite) and took the dogs to the dog park in Point Defiance Park and took a little stroll in on the trails too. They overlook Gig Harbor and it was a fairly clear day so there was a great view of the bridge and the surrounding water which was awesome. It’s been so nice to be back in mountains and nature again. I then caught a bus into Seattle from the Tacoma station. The bus was easy (I’m becoming queen of other cities public transportation) and dropped me off right near Pike Place Market. A fellow TWLOHA alumni intern, Daylee, and I were heading to The Summer Set show. Daylee is super rad, and lives about an hour from the city, but came into town to hang out with me and to talk to Emily (see Chicago post for more about talking to Emily). We had decided kind of last minute that “hey! The Summer Set is in town – that means we can go talk to Emily!!!” We grabbed dinner prior to the show and got to know each other better – very cool how quickly you can become friends with people in the TWLOHA family and how nothing feels awkward or uncomfortable. So eternally grateful for this community. The show was super rad. We got to talk to Emily. And hug her. Then I was back to Tacoma for the night.
Slept in (again!!) and then Dylan and I went out for an adventure to find some donuts and to check out the Chihuly Bridge of Glass which is one of Tacoma’s more famous tourist attractions. Very beautiful and talented. Cool to see that part of Tacoma too. After our little adventure – I did some laundry, packed, showered, and took a super quick nap. We went to the Rainiers game who are the minor league team for the Mariners. Mel and Dylan have season tickets and the stadium is about a 7 minute walk from the house so we headed over there for Star Wars night. As many know, I love baseball, so of course, I wouldn’t pass up a game. Because they are a minor league team they pull out all the stops for entertainment. We were all in tears dancing along as well as watching the light saber fights between the dark side and the Jedis. The mascot was hilarious. We had a great time. Took it easy after the game, and I prepared for my long train ride tomorrow.
- 24 hour train ride!
- Recapping and processing
- Reunited with my state
This was my last official stop of my train trip, but I will be doing one last recap blog that will be posted when I return home.
With hope,
Monica
Train Trippin 