Washington Wrap Up

As promised, here is one last update before I get on my plane to head back - of course the weather here is amazing making it even harder to leave. Why couldn't it be cold and rainy??

On Friday morning, my mom and I headed to the track at my old Junior High School to get some exercise and take advantage of the great weather.

Meridian JH Track

I tried running again (very slowly of course) and actually made it two miles almost pain free. Woohoo! I never usually run on a track, but I actually kind of enjoy it - I'll have to do it every once in awhile when I get back. Just a cute side note... this is also where I learned how to ride a bike when I was little. Awwww.

The rest of the day was spent running a few errands - then that night we went to the cheapo movie theater and saw "Identity Thief." My mom and I have both been wanting to see that... it was pretty good! And it was also a great excuse to get in some air conditioning.

Saturday morning started early for the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale. I want to have a bucket of flip flops at my wedding for people to use if their shoes hurt, so this was a good opportunity to stock up on them. The limit was 5 pairs per person. Oh Daaaad!!!!

Dad and Mom, waiting in line FORVER

In order to get 30 pairs we each had to stand in line twice. It took us a total of 90 minutes to get all of them, but we ended up saving $88, so that was worth the wait. Later in the afternoon we made the trek to the Tulalip Casino (it wouldn't be a visit home without making that trip). We played for probably about 3 hours or so, and when all was said and done, we left up $2. Alright!!! Haha.

Something about being in a casino makes me feel like I'm on vacation

Yesterday (Sunday) was my last full day back at home. With the wedding next summer, I'm not sure when the next time I'll get to come back here will be, so I wanted to spend some time in Seattle - mainly at Pike Place Market and the Waterfront.

Before heading into Seattle, my mom and I hit the track again for some exercise. After lunch we headed to REI - I ended up getting a backpack and a helmet for my new bike! I love REI.

The door handles are ice picks :-)

After REI it was time for some Seattle time. First we went to Pike Place Market - it was so hot outside, and with all the people in there...whoa.

Pike Place!

Flying Fish Peeps

It was snack time while we were there - I got a white nectarine that was the juiciest piece of fruit I've ever had. My mom and dad split some raspberries that were also apparently delicious. It's not hard to find some nice looking produce there.

Fruits...

... and veggies!

I also got some artwork for my new apartment. Yay!! With the market crossed off the list it was time to head to the waterfront. There's a ferris wheel on one of the piers that hasn't always been there - my parents and I decided to ride it since none of us had ever done it.

The Great Wheel

The views from inside the gondola were pretty cool. And an added bonus... they were also air conditioned!! (I should mention that even though I said the weather was great, the temperature was 95 degrees, so it was great...but really hot).

A ferry - plus the Olympic Mountains in the background

Small section of downtown

Ship yards, stadiums, and more ferries

All in all, a very fun trip downtown. Back at home it was time to do laundry, pack, and go through more boxes...

Four boxes later it was time for fireworks!!! I can't stand that you can't buy fireworks in NY so I made sure to get a couple to do here before I left. Granted, my choice in fireworks is very lame - I was caught on fire by a firework when I was a little girl, so I'm always cautious to pick fireworks that are predictable (no jumping fireworks). Bring on the pop-its and the sparklers!

Expelliarmus!

Sidenote - it was 10:00 at night and you can see it's still somewhat light outside. The sun comes up a lot earlier and goes down a lot later out here than back on the East Coast.

The grand finale!

So there you have it - the wrap up of my trip home. I don't want to leave, although I'm glad I'll get to see Andy again. Plus I suppose I need to start packing. See you again on the other side!