Jumping Salmon!

Day 8. This was our last full day in Seattle and it all started with a bus ride once again. Running on three hours of sleep, LL and I begrudging woke up to our alarm to get ready and cab it over to the bus station. Our very short stay in Vancouver was over so soon. We boarded the bus once again trying to claim seats all to ourselves but with this bus making a stop on the way there, it looked unlikely but we succeeded. When we got to the Canadian border we had to once again take everything off the bus and go through customs. Once again, we were able to talk them into to stamping our passports when they weren't doing it for others. Some manners and some charm can get you places sometimes. The previous nights escapades of drinking and eating late night McDonalds didn't exactly do my stomach any favors and I didn't want I have to poop in the bus bathroom so thankfully we were stopping in Bettingham again where I made my way to a grocery store and used their bathroom and finally eat and drink something. I wasn't hungover at all; just super tired and dehydrated and on a bus. At the Bettingham stop more people were getting on so LL and I faked sleep so no one would sit next to us and then we pretended not to hear the announcement if any seats were open. Ooooops. Did I mention how polite and charming we were to the customs agents? That should offset our selfishness on the bus seat front. But you tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing??? And we were most def not the only ones.

Once we reached Seattle we headed to our new hotel. It was a bit of a hike with all the luggage but since we couldn't find a cab at the bus depot, we walked it. This time while in Seattle, we didn't stay at the same one as before because it was too expensive on a Sat night. We were actually staying somewhere else but I got credited my account from hotels.com because they overbooked us here the first time around and had to move us to a different hotel. We cancelled our original hotel so we could use the credit and save some money. We ended up finding a nicer one cheaper than the one we had AND got to use the credit. How's that for being a smart shopper?  My mama didn't raise no fool. This hotel was a little more centrally located than our other one but equally nice. Ll laid down for a few and I walked around doing a little shopping. We then met up and walked over the the flagship REI store. I believe it all began at this one. It was HUGE. Quite a site and had tons of fun outdoor gear and even a huge climbing wall. As I was scoping out the sale rack of the running department, I actually found the sports bras I wear and they were on sale. And in cute patterns. That was a done deal. I also bought a 4-pack of Nuun hydration tablets which won't go to waste with all the summer running (and drinking) still to come. All in all, it was a pretty successful trip out there.

Next we had to figure out what to do next since we had seen all the main tourist attractions downtown; most of them more than once. We went back to the hotel and spoke to the concierge about what to do and she suggested the Ballard Locks. This is where you can see the salmon migrate and jump the latter. We had to take a bus (Seattle public transportation) to get there as it was not walkable for us. (I always like to see public trans in other cities and compare it to NYC's.) While heading to the bus stop, which was close to Pike Place, we began to notice how many homeless people there were in the area today. So many.  And many iof them super creepy. It's still a pretty touristy area so it was strange to see them in droves and a lack of police presence. We took the bus to Ballard, the neighborhood where the locks are located and although it seemed kind of suburban, was still part of the city. It was a really cute neighborhood with what seemed to be many people my age. There also happened to be a street fair going on. Had we not recently just eaten, I could have def done some damage because everything looked so good. After walking through the fair, which reminded me on being in NYC on a summer day, we set out to find the Locks. We weren't totally sure how to get there because the map we got sucked. On the way looking for it we must have asked at least six different people for directions along the way and they all told us something different causing us to walk in circles a bit. It took LL and a lot of time to find the Locks, but we finally did after walking around way more than necessary. We had taken a wrong turn at a fork in the road because of directions given to us and from there it was just comical how long it took us to find this place. Once there though, it was kind of neat. We saw some boats being held in the Locks to help move boat traffic flow through Lake Washington (PS I want a boat so badly!) and then we saw the salmon jumping the ladder. These things were huge!!! I didn't realize how big salmon are and what a struggle it is for them to get back to reproduce by going against the current and up the ladder. It looked strangely difficult for them but seeing them jump was super cool. After seeing enough LL and headed back downtown on the bus again and back to the hotel where I proceeded to fall asleep for almost an hour. I never nap, but needed this one apparently.

After some rest time, LL and I went to dinner at a nearby restaurant (Tap House) and the walked down to the Pike Place public market one more time to see the sign lit up at night. This however, meant we had to walk passed Third Avenue and all the homeless and crazy people again. Seriously, it was kind of scary and once again I was appalled at the lack of police present in such a high traffic area where tourists would tend to be. Mind boggling.

My time in Seattle is over and now its time to head to San Francisco solo. This part of the trip I am doing alone and as nice as it is to have company when traveling, I do like my special alone time. I have never been to SF before and am pretty psyched for all that there is to see. I have four days there so I know I'll get it all in and hopefully much more. And oh yeah, eat In N Out at least once! Maybe twice if I'm lucky.