Seattle, Washington
The Pacific Northwest. Words cannot do justice to the beauty of this place. Like many of our adventures, our trip to Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, grew out of one of my passions (or, as Matt will say, “obsessions”). This time, it was figure skating that inspired our travels.
For a very long time, I have been following the Canadian ice-dancing duo of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the most decorated figure skaters of all time, and the winners of three Olympic gold medals. They took home the gold medal in Pyeongchang in February 2018 with their sexy-as-hell free dance set to a Moulin Rouge medley.
Naturally, the night that I saw them win, I was so wound up that I stayed up until 3am, consuming information about their performance. During this insomnia-fueled process, I learned that T&S would be touring with the rest of the Canadian figure skating team from April to May, performing in a show called Stars on Ice. Within seconds, I bought two tickets to the show, selecting Vancouver because—well, why not?
The next morning, I sheepishly confronted Matt as we were getting ready for work. “Hey so . . . it’d be super cool if we took a trip to Vancouver in May, right?”
He saw right through me. “So the ice dancers will be there in May?” he asked.
I nodded with bated-breath, waiting for his reaction. “Yeah, we should go,” he said, shrugging as if I’d asked if we could get take-out instead of cooking dinner that night.
“Yay!” I cheered, pummeling him with a big hug before adding, “because I already bought tickets to their show.”
With the most good-natured smile, Matt laughed and kept getting ready for work, totally unfazed. (And that sense of adventure, combined with his willingness to go with me to the ends of the earth while I pursue what I love, is the exact reason I married him).
Just weeks later, clutching two tickets to Stars on Ice, we boarded a plane to Seattle and settled in for our first trip to the wild and beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Delta, props to you. Our trip from Nashville to Seattle was the single greatest flight we’ve ever taken. The views were absolutely so stunning.
Originally, I’d envisioned myself napping throughout this entire 5-hour flight, but I was so captivated as we flew over the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains that I was afraid to blink, lest I miss anything.
As we flew directly over a series of mountains covered with snow, whose peaks jutted up above the clouds, I wept happy tears. What a blessing, I kept telling myself. To see this type of beauty on our way to see Tessa and Scott perform—aren’t we the luckiest?
After we descended into Seattle, Matt and I settled into our rental car, a brand new Nissan Rogue, and drove to downtown Seattle to make a quick stop at the famous Pike’s Place Market. With the show scheduled for 7pm that night in Vancouver, we didn’t have much time, but Pike’s Place was something we refused to miss.
Famous for flying fish, tulip displays, local artists, the first Starbucks, and boisterous vendors, Pike’s Place is the definition of a fun work environment. Matt and I stood in awe as we watched vendors fling freshly-caught fish across the air to their customers, something I’d only seen on YouTube.
We walked along the harbor to take in views of the Space Needle before settling into a cozy spot overlooking the water to dig into a hearty omelette and fresh Seattle coffee.
After brunch, we “oohed and aahed” at seeing the first Starbucks store, bought some local art, nibbled on some fresh baked goods, and said a bittersweet goodbye to that pungent fish smell.
To Canada!! During our drive north, we kept pointing out things that were “so Pacific Northwest”: the smell of the air, a fresh, wooded, rainy fragrance, like an old cedar chest or a morning rainfall; the greyish-blue cloud coverage with just a hint of rain in the atmosphere; the pine trees and evergreen trees thick with spiny needles; the signs warning us of moose crossings and bear crossings; the increasing number of Tim Horton’s restaurants; and the coastal views flanked by snow-capped mountains.
So quickly that it surprised us, we reached the Canada-U.S. Peace Arch border crossing, where we were graciously welcomed into Canada (although Matt was disappointed that we didn’t see a Mountie).
Vancouver is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful city: modern, shining glass buildings arching against the sky; a sunny, bright blue sky, fluffy with white wispy clouds; everything in bloom, from tulips to hydrangeas to bougainvillea; a suspension bridge joining different parts of the city; the blue water of the sea expanding the city into the ocean; and of course, the mountains. I will always love a city in the mountains.
Matt and I quickly checked into our bread and breakfast, which was situated on the cusp of Chinatown and Gastown. A few hours later, after showers, a pizza dinner, and a last-minute trip to the drugstore for hairspray, we walked to Rogers Arena for the show.
I immediately purchased some merchandise (a signed picture of Tessa and Scott during one of their performances), and we eagerly settled into our tenth-row seats.
The show was everything I could ever want.
Matt was gracious enough to film all of Tessa and Scott’s appearances, including their now-famous Olympic-gold-medal-winning Moulin Rouge routine, while I just tried to keep the tears at bay. And although we came for Tessa and Scott, we were both highlyimpressed with the rest of the skaters.
The Canadian Olympic team is a group of incredibly talented skaters, some of the best in the world.
It was SO good that Matt and I were both buzzing by the end, so much so, that we stood outside the arena for three hours to get a glimpse of Tessa and Scott leaving. And we did get that glimpse, as they started walking towards the exit where we waited!! However, security guards quickly made them turn around once they saw that a group of people were waiting outside for them. Still excited, but one million times more tired, we grabbed a cab and passed out as soon as we got home (2am).
In the next post, I’ll talk about why this trip was one of the best we’ve ever taken together—expect mountains, gondolas, ramen, waterfalls, and more Olympics!
