The Pacific Northwest: Roller Coaster Edition

When was the last time you rode a roller coaster?

I don't mean the kiddie coaster. I mean a sky-high, drop-you-a-mile-a-minute, take-your-breath-away roller coaster. If you are a fellow Minnesotan, picture Valleyfair's unfortunately named Wild Thing. (Yes, the jokes while you wait in line are ubiquitous. "I can't wait to do the Wild Thing with you, baby." "Remember last year when we did the Wild Thing? Man, I'm so excited to do it again." "I never scream as loud as I do during the Wild Thing.")

It's crazy and fun and exhilarating and ohmyword why did I choose to do this to myself?

That's pretty much my life lately.

I'd like to promise that I'll fill you in with all the details this week. But seeing as I don't know which direction the coaster is going to crank me next, I'd best not make commitments. (Although I do have high hopes to share a few stories this week, because this week is critical to a lot of the developing plot lines.)

But I can tell you this: Kieran, Corey and I are in Seattle right now. I'm accompanying Corey on a business trip that requires my presence. (I'm so cryptic, aren't I? I could totally be a spy.) And since Kieran is a nursing machine and my favorite cuddle monster, he came along for the ride.

Here are a few pictures of our adventure yesterday (which I originally shared on Twitter).

Kieran's first flight. (He's waving to our other kids who are at home with the world's best babysitters right now.)

I love sitting next to the window. In fact, if I don't have a window seat, I compulsively lean forward every few minutes to sneak a glance out the window nearest me. (Yes. I'm that annoying person.) Yesterday was amazingly clear from the time we left Minneapolis until we got to the Cascade Mountains, at which point the marine layer captured us. I took this picture over Montana, I think. Can you see the huge lake near the top of the photo? Does anyone know what that body of water is? It had a long and fairly large river snaking out of it to the south, if that helps.

Kieran slept for about an hour, then just hung out for the remainder of our 3.5-hour flight. He was a great traveler. (And we were very thankful to the grandfather who originally had the third seat in our row. He voluntarily moved to another seat after take-off so we could have a little extra room for the baby. Sweet, generous gesture.)

Once we arrived in Seattle, we headed downtown to take a huge ferry. This is our boat as it approached the dock where we were waiting.

Having never been on a ferry this large before, I was totally fascinated. And give Seattle credit, because they have this form of transportation down to a science. Foot traffic disembarks on the upper walkway. Wheeled transportation exits on the lower road (first bikes, which came streaming off like a race was beginning, then motorcycles, then cars; so orderly). Then we were given the green light to head aboard.

Me and Kieran on the windy "sun deck" (which is how I think the ferry should label the upper deck; I know it's not always cloudy in Seattle, but wouldn't it make you laugh if the signs showed sun deck in quotes?). For the record, I'm not trying to get Pepsi so sponsor my blog. That's actually a huge glass of iced tea, which was vital after nursing a baby through a long plane ride.

If you know the area, the fact that we took the ferry has probably clued you in to the fact that we're not staying in Seattle proper. We're actually on the Kitsap Peninsula, which is a finger of land west of downtown Seattle. The ferry we rode dropped us on Bainbridge Island, which is adorable and New England-y and reminds me a lot of Maine. (Or at least what I think Maine looks like. What do you think, Jo?)

I've never been to the Pacific Northwest before, save that summer I was a camp counselor for two weeks in the mountains of Oregon. A few initial thoughts about the greater Seattle area:

1. Water, water everywhere. Which I love. Water is my lifeblood, my comfort, my joy. (If I had written the Psalms, I would have written things like, "God is my clear quiet lake" and "You, Oh Lord, are the mighty waves of the ocean; whose power is like yours?") I thought only Minnesota had water every direction you look. I was wrong.

2. It's gray. And cool. In June. Sigh. I wish the sun would come out. Because then this area would be gorgeous.

3. The trees are huge. Like, gigantic huge. I fully expect the one outside my window right now to open it's eyes and start speaking Entish to me.

4. We are staying in Poulsbo, which is a quaint, seaside village of Norwegian heritage. All the Velkomen signs and Vikings horns and Scandinavian architecture make it feel strangely like home.

And now Kieran's awake and ready to eat and we're going to head out to explore. More to come.