Sabbatical in Seattle (and Victoria)
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Sabbatical in Seattle (and Victoria)
A recap of my trip!
Several months ago, my mom and I planned a trip to the Pacific Northwest for this May. So whether or not I had a job, I knew I would be hopping on a plane on May 24th. In hindsight, I am so glad I left my job when I did. I was able to enjoy my trip a lot more, and I’m excited to share a recap with you today! This trip to Seattle and Victoria was one of my favorites, and it was so neat to see a new part of the world.
Here’s a day-by-day breakdown of our travels:
Tuesday, May 23
I drove to Austin from San Antonio to catch our Wednesday morning flight. If you read my “Two Weeks” post, you’ll know that I was feeling a little all over the place, and I was excited to take a true break and go somewhere different. I didn’t do too much in Austin, just organized my parents’ pantry, enjoyed some leftover pizza, and switched my luggage over to a hard-shelled suitcase.
Wednesday, May 24
Travel day! We were treated to a view of this BEAUTIFUL mountain on our way into Seattle. Nearly screamed. Any time I see mountains I freak out a little, being a gal raised in flat central Texas. It was also amazing to head out of the airport and see all the trees and plants of a new place.
After getting to our hotel and freshening up, we were ready to explore. A common theme you’ll see throughout this trip is that we were constantly moving and grooving. No time to waste! Places to see, things to do! Gotta soak it all in!
We walked around Pikes Place, but it was mostly empty and closing up for the day. We continued on toward the Starbucks Roastery for some drinks. I had an espresso martini and my mom had the Cold Brew Spiced Rum. As I drank my cocktail I was reminded, yet again, that I do not like espresso martinis — but this was the best one I’ve had.
After killing time walking around downtown, we headed to the water for our dinner at the Salt District. It was so nice to eat by the water, and the food was absolutely delicious. We split a charcuterie board, some Brussels sprouts, and baked ziti. This was probably my favorite meal of the trip! We walked back to our hotel along the water and headed to bed.
Thursday, May 25
We hopped on the Victoria Clipper at 7:00 AM and embarked on our 3-hour boat ride to Canada. This was my first time visiting Canada, and Victoria made a great first impression. Upon arrival, we ate a quick lunch and I tried poutine. (I don’t know if this was “real” poutine, but it was french fries and gravy and cheese. So I wasn’t too upset with that.) We headed into Victoria to visit Munro’s Books and Beehive Wool Shop, both were very cute! I am excited to make something with the yarn I picked out (maybe a tank top? Let me know).
The three-hour boat ride was long enough for this silly little idea to form in my head: Run/walk the eight-mile route I found online to see some key spots in the city. I hadn’t run that far in a long time, but I quickly became obsessed with the idea of going on this adventure.
“Runseeing” Victoria was absolutely the highlight of the trip for me and I would recommend it to anyone visiting. You can also do a shorter five-mile route. I started by heading through the city and into neighborhoods that had perfectly designed yards overflowing with flowers. The amount of beauty in Victoria was overwhelming and I’ve never been in a more excessively beautiful place. I wish I had taken more pictures on this excursion, but my phone was too low on battery for someone heading out into a new city on their own for a few hours.
I looped around and headed for the next step - Beacon Hill Park. This was a lovely park full of geese, ducks, and squirrels. After walking through the park, the landscape opened up to a huge sky, the ocean, and the world’s tallest totem pole. I followed the trail along the coast till I was back in the main harbor, enjoying the breeze.
After a shower at the hotel, we headed down to the lobby for a drink and some snacks before bed.
Friday, May 26
On Friday, we went to Butchart Gardens. It’s a 55-acre display garden outside of Victoria and of course, it was beautiful. I was a little overwhelmed with everything to see, and we spent close to 4 hours exploring and taking tons of photos, which I am now using as references for drawings and paintings.
We headed back to the hotel, went out and had dinner, and then went to bed.
Saturday, May 27
Saturday was the last day in Victoria, and after a delicious hotel breakfast, I went for a 5-mile walk, this time with Mom. It was so much fun, and I’m glad I was able to travel that path again and show her the city! After our walk, we napped, packed up, and grabbed some pizza at Steamship Grill & Bar before traveling back to Seattle on the Clipper. It was super late when we got to our hotel, so we headed right to bed!
Sunday, May 28
Sunday was a full day in Seattle, and we started our touristy day bright and early by visiting the Space Needle. It was neat to learn about another structure built for a World’s Fair, and I’d like to dig more into these buildings in the future. (Some other examples are the Eiffel Tower, Tower of the Americas, and Sunsphere.) One thing I was surprised by was the number of people who go up in the Space Needle who are super afraid of heights. The spinning floor below the observation deck was a little bit disorienting but very cool! I’m happy I had the chance to visit and spend some time there, but I think it’s more impressive to look at from the ground than from the tower.
Next, we headed to Chihuly Garden and Glass which was wonderful! I’m glad I got to fit in an art exhibit visit, especially in a medium I’m not very familiar with. This was a beautiful journey through color, and I particularly loved the spheres and the garden at the end. Seeing his sculptures contrast with and complement the plants in the garden was a great context to view his work, and I especially liked seeing the big red version of this plant I saw in Victoria.
After that, we were ready to head to a winery — Chateau Ste. Michelle. We tried some tasty wines, and bought some to take with us. It was pretty busy and there was a jazz festival going in, so it wasn’t quite the relaxing experience we had expected but was definitely worth the trip out there. We ate lunch at the winery, then headed back to our hotel. We made the executive decision to chill (finally) and spent the rest of the evening enjoying pizza, wine, cheese and crackers in our room.
Monday, May 29
Memorial Day was spent traveling back to Austin from Seattle. We woke up, had breakfast, and took an UBER to the airport. It was a pretty exhausting travel day, but it was nice to know we were headed home.
Also, Memorial Day was our one super dreary cloudy day in the Pacific Northwest! Otherwise, we had beautiful weather this entire trip (although I never figured out how to dress for it).
The trip definitely felt more Victoria focused, and I would say that I enjoyed my time there more, just because of the flowers. I really fell in LOVE with the city and I plan to apply to some art residencies there in the next few years. Overall, I was very impressed by this trip to the Pacific Northwest and I can’t wait to go back and explore more! Next time I head to that part of the world, I’d like to incorporate a trip to Vancouver and spend some time hiking. I truly enjoyed all the time I was able to spend with my mom, and I can’t wait to make art based on this trip!
Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks as always for reading.
P.S – Where I wish we had gone/places that were recommended — maybe you can incorporate on your own trip:
Victoria
Red Fish Blue Fish was recommended
Victoria Bug Zoo (this started out as a joke between me and my mom but I’m kind of bummed I didn’t make it there)
Victoria Parliament (just to visit, I like buildings, but they also host a breakfast)
Seattle (I don’t have any specific recommendations but these are on my list for my next trip)
More vineyards
Hiking