Seeing Seattle

When I was growing up going to Seattle was a really big deal because Gig Harbor was a small town and Seattle was the big city where my Uncle Bill, Aunt Patty, Cousins Lorna, Bronwen, Jennifer, and another cousin Judy who lived with them. Judy spent her high schools living in Seattle while her parents were in Los Angeles.

Last week when my sister Barb was visiting along with our mother, and I decided we wanted to go see Jennifer. Actually we were also hoping to see Lorna as well but she was sick. Bronwen lives in Lakewood which is actually closer to Gig Harbor but I expected that she was working so we decided it would be Jennifer.

In August when my brother Jack was visiting we took the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle which takes about an hour and half including the time get to Bremerton. We could have met Jennifer at the Pike Place Market but decided better to go see her place instead in the Greenwood area of Seattle. So we drove to Seattle directly from Gig Harbor going over the Tacoma Narrow Bridge on Highway 16 and then north on Interstate 5. The traffic was a little heavy however it took still only about an hour to arrive at Jennifer’s place. Greenwood is a little north and west of the University of Washington. I find it a wonderful neighborhood to live in Seattle. Jennifer and her husband Holt have lived there I would guess about twenty-five years. They are now looking to move to the Oregon coast so likely the last time I will be there. I visited them about two years ago by myself just before Christmas. On that trip they took me around Greenwood as well as Magnolia where Jennifer grew up and Ballard. I remember both places as very nice as well. We even drove by the house that Jennifer had grown up in, and brought back so many found memories for me. Most years we visited Jennifer’s family at Christmas time along with some other times during the year. There was some change happening over the years in Magnolia along with Ballard but the change is not nearly as much as Gig Harbor.

On this trip last week we spent several minutes at Jennifer’s home then we walked to a Greek deli in the neighborhood for lunch. It is only four blocks away, and mother who is ninety-five was fine in walking. It had been raining some on our way to Seattle but the sun was out for a little while. Our walk back to Jennifer’s it did start raining again about half way. I really enjoyed walking the neighborhood of Greenwood.

After lunch we had headed back to Gig Harbor because Jennifer had to get back to work. It was a real fun time catching up with Jennifer, and what was happening in all of our lives. Like us all she was amazed the shape my mother is in for a woman ninety-five years old. Though mother walks slowly she is able to make it without any trouble. I think she is like Every Ready bunny where she keeps going on though not real fast she can get there without a problem.

Another great things about mom is that her mind is still intact pretty good so we are able to hear some pretty good stories from the past which she talked a little about as well. It is always nice to hear about growing up in the depression and especially as a young woman living in Canada during World War 2.

Though the trip to Seattle was for only two and half hours it will be a treasure to remember always. It brings back those memories of the past as well. There were times where we drove north of Seattle to either Bellingham, Washington which is near the Canadian border or going to Vancouver, British Columbia. In both cases we went to visit other relatives.

What I remember especially is returning home going through Seattle at night. In my mind Seattle is the most beautiful city in the world at night seeing the bright lights, Puget Sound, and the Space Needle. If I ever had to live in a city instead of a small town like Gig Harbor I believe I would choose Seattle. I am sure Paris, France would be a close second.