Photo Journal: Seattle

Sometimes, I don’t know how H can tolerate traveling with me! Before each trip, I pore through tons of websites, learning about not only the local attractions but also the various neighborhoods (it was a hoot trying to understand the different arrondissements in Paris), and – people always think I’m kidding when I say this next part – I create color-coded spreadsheets, complete with little details like operating hours, admission prices, addresses, and significance. I also pull up a map and draw up rough itineraries based on the most efficient routes.

But I barely did any of that this time for Seattle. The last time we went traveling, I nearly drove myself crazy with the planning process, and everyone I talked to berated me for doing so. “Take it easy – be more spontaneous,” they said. And so I took it easy. I still made a brief spreadsheet listing the names of the places I wanted to hit up, but that was pretty much the extent of it. The result? Never doing that again. I felt like I wasted so much time walking around without a concrete idea of my next destination, often having to repeat my routes and/or arriving at a location only to find it closed early. Maybe it’s different with everyone, and maybe I’m a bit of a masochist, but I know that even though it stresses me out, I actually do, on some level, enjoy researching and planning out every little detail. It saves more time for enjoying the new environment and allows me to look up and around my surroundings instead of constantly down at Google Maps or Google Search.

If you’re considering making a trip to Seattle, I highly recommend checking out Snoqualmie Falls, which was perhaps one of the biggest highlights of my trip – it’s outside of Seattle, but you can rent a car and easily conquer that 40-min drive to view the stunning beauty! Seattle is surrounded by gorgeous green nature, which is something I don’t get to see too often, so it was truly refreshing and invigorating soaking that in. A little tip: the upper deck offers a beautiful view of the waterfall, but you can hike down a trail that leads to the river for additional breathtaking views (keep in mind that the hike back up will require lots of sweaty, uphill walking).

Besides Snoqualmie, there’s so much nature scene to enjoy in Seattle with all of the different parks around town. Below are some great suggestions (parks and more!) for the Seattle visitor, and keep on scrolling down to see my 2-day photo journal!

Travel not to escape life but for life to not escape you.