The original reason for my trip out to the North West was to go see my friend Katie get married. She lives just outside of Seattle. My aunt and I drove there together and rented a hotel room. The room was amazing and while the bed was comfy I didn't get much sleep because the city was so loud at night. Moving just south of the river in Richmond certainly changed the volume I am used to at night.

My Aunt and I went shopping and visiting touristy things. Obviously we went to the Public Market first.I searched around for a good happy hour and found one at a really fancy restaurant. My aunt had eaten there before and hadn't really experienced a true happy hour in ages. We got cheap drinks and amazing apps! They had these friend artichoke hearts and little prime rib sliders. Also the bartender gave me a free drink! Winning!Then we went up the Space Needle. We took the little monorail over there and shopped beforehand. It was a lovely evening and I watched the sun go down over the city.The next day we went back to the Space Needle to see the Chihuly exhibit. I went to see Chihuly when he had an exhibit in Richmond with my friends and this one was just as impressive. I liked how much there was on the outside.To take this picture I did a vertical panorama. It turned out pretty well.The blue & orange here were just on fire!They had people walking around who would take pictures of you and your loved ones in front of the sculptures. My aunt and I got two taken and then they email them to you for free.The Ikebana Boats are by far my favorite with all the orbs. I could stare at this for hours and love how they lit them with the reflection! I can't get enough of it.After Chihuly, I took a ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was a gorgeous day and this is the view from the ferry. Luckily, I ran into my college roommate ON THE FERRY or I would have had to walk from the boat all the way to the wedding. Talk about good luck!Since I got there earlier than anticipated, I got to see Katie's grandparents home on the island. The house was beautiful and over 100 years old.We walked down a hill underneath where the gorgeous house was to the wedding location. It overlooked the city from across the water.This is Courtney & Kristen. I lived with Courtney for a year at JMU and Kristen and I were both involved with IV. Courtney still lives here in Virginia but Kristen took a jump across the country to move to Seattle. It was nice not to be completely alone at the wedding where I thought I wouldn't know anyone.How gorgeous is this? Katie's cousins got married in the same location earlier in the summer. Her uncles built it. And since it was so clear outside you can see Mt. Ranier right through the arch! They had all these umbrellas laid out in case it rained, but everyone used them to hide from the sun. I thought it was glorious.My adorable table setting & classic coca cola!The sun began setting and we all danced the night away. One of Katie's friends drove me back across the ferry and dropped me off at the hotel. Everyone was so hospitable.I woke up at 6am and hopped on a plane home. I was exhausted from the wedding and spent the whole time sleeping. I really want to spend more than 48 hours in Seattle!

travel: seattle

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