Lucky 13: Things I Love About Seattle

My move from Nevada to Seattle was only one part of some drastic life changes for me. After the thrill of a new place had worn off, I went through several months of terrible homesickness. Nevada will always be home in my heart, but if you aren’t changing, you aren’t growing. There are some things about Washington that I love having in my life every day. Here are a few of them, not necessarily in order of preference.

A flock of umbrellas downtown.

1 Rain. It’s the one people seem to think of first, so let’s get it out of the way. When I was preparing to make my move up here, I was ready to punch the next person who said, “You’re moving where? It rains a lot.” It actually rains more in St. Louis, Memphis, Houston, Miami, New York City…lots of places. Yes, it rains a lot here, too. But I am not yet tired of dew-clean air and pattering on the leaves and the roof.

2. Pegasus. Not the mythical horse, although he’s cool too, but Pegasus Coffee House. It’s Seattle’s oldest and best, in my opinion, and has stayed local. If you want these organic teas, coffees, and baked goodies, you have to come and get them. It’s also a cozy place to camp out and write. I’m writing at Pegasus right now, and rain and wind are murmuring at the window.

Life is good.

3. Pike Place Market. Restaurants, fresh organic produce and flowers, exotic treasures, oddities, street music, coffee, sweet treats, the Gum Wall, statues of pigs, fish tossing! You name it, you can find it here. Except for the ghosts. I haven’t found a ghost yet.

With green tea frappaccino from the original Starbucks, naturally.

Dream Girl loves pigs.

The Mukilteo – Whidbey Island ferry.

4. Whales. I have fallen in love with living so close to the ocean, and it thrilled me the day we saw orcas from the ferry. The Puget Sound/Salish Sea area is home to three pods of approximately 90 killer whales. (Fun fact: orcas are actually the largest members of the dolphin family.)

5. Speaking of ferries — ferries. They’re cool anyway, and with cold water and a breeze, they are the cool place to be on a hot day.

6. Green. I’ve mentioned that I am a native of sand and dry and brown. Even the lawns stay green year-round here, not to mention evergreens and ivy and moss. I love being surrounded by my favorite color.

7. The Great Wheel. Most places you have to wait for a carnival to come to town. The Ferris wheel here was the largest on the west coast when it opened and it extends out over the water of Elliott Bay, off Pier 57. For honor, I am forced to admit that because of my fear of heights, I enjoy other people enjoying it. I still like it. Some day I’ll be the right amount of buzzed to go on it.

8. Liberals. I know, people get really ticked off about politics and I’m not going to go there, other than to say it’s a pleasure to belong to the majority for once. If you like diversity and a culture that embraces it, this is the place to be.

9. Dick’s. Another Seattle institution, Dick’s serves a simple menu of burgers, fries, real ice cream shakes, sodas, and floats. That’s it. You can fill up for about four bucks, less than it would cost to cook it, and at a drive-in, not a drive-thru.

View from the reading room, Seattle Central Library.

10. This wonderful library. Does a library get any better than this? The building is amazing, and so is the e-lending, allowing me to “go to the library” without even getting off the sofa. Bonus.

11. Football. Not the Seahawks — never! I’m a Forty-Niner Faithful girl. I’m deep in enemy territory up here. It’s fun being a subversive. And the quickest way to get a seat on the train all to yourself in Seattle is to wear your San Francisco gear.

12.  Autumn. Not since my childhood have I lived where Autumn brought such beauty with it. It’s one thing to enjoy photographs of beautiful seasonal color. It’s entirely another to have orange and red and yellow and gold of a thousand different shades, fluttering in the smallest breath of breeze, right in front of you.

13. Sasquatch. There have been more sightings in the Pacific Northwest than anywhere else. I know no one’s proved Sasquatch exists. No one has proved it doesn’t, either. I hope we never prove it, one way or the other. We stupid humans screw up every natural thing we can. I love the idea of that one wild thing that we just can’t seem to get our grubby mitts on.

Rock on, Bigfoot.

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