Oh Seattle, where art thou?

Recently I had a quick layover in my favorite city of all time, SEATTLE. Though just being in the vicinity of this marvelous city and not able to reach it made me sad (I only had an hour therefore could not leave the airport)

Just the precious moments I was there to smell the salty air and see the sun trying to break through the cloudy sky reminded me that I do love it there.

Have I ever lived in Seattle, you ask? No.

I have been in love with this city since I was 10 years old, when I met my best friend Alyssa. Her family had just moved to the Bay Area from Seattle and Alyssa was the new girl in my class... we were instant best friends! I don't why or how my love affair with this city started, but it could

have been that her family was so wonderfully nice, it

was a distant place I have never been, was by the water and the mountains both at the same time, had interesting buildings, had house boats, wildlife, home to my favorite Orca whales, or that it rained all the time and I love rain... who knows! But I fell in love with Seattle well before I had even been to the state of Washington.

As life comes, three years after meeting my best friend my family moved to Arizona and a few years after that Alyssa and her family moved back to Seattle.

It wasn't until junior year in high school that I got a chance to visit Alyssa in the lovely Seattle. We tooled around Mill Creek (the suburb to the North where they lived), went up in the Space Needle, took a fairy ride across the sound... all of the things you would expect to do. It was New Year's and we even got to see fire works coming from the Space Needle. Though it was winter the weather was gorgous, at least to me. It was rainy, but some days the sun popped its head out. Longing for my best friend who I missed dearly made me want to move to Seattle. So my love affair with the magical city grew stronger.

The first chance I had to try to move to Seattle was college. During my whole love for the city my father dispised it. I applied to University of Washington and Western Washington

University, really hoping to call UDUB my alma matter... very sad to say (and sad to admit) that I was not accepted to the University of Washington BUT did to Western Washington. After the disappointment I decided to not go to Western as it is still a long way from Seattle, so not quite close enough. Strike one.

While we were both attending college, me in Arizona and Alyssa in Washington, we got to visit each other a few times. I remember visiting one summer. We went to the aquarium, Pikes place market, the original Starbucks. All of that made we want to live down the street from the market and downtown. Plus the weather was gorgeous.

When I graduated college I tried desperately to get a job out there but to my luck I landed my dream job but not in my dream city. I was now in Phoenix. Strike two.

No one really understands my love for Seattle... I even think Alyssa doesn't even understand it. But it is strong. The years have passed and I have been up to Seattle a few times for her wedding and other things and each time a little piece of me gets left behind there.

Then I wanted to share my love of the city with my other love, Rene. One spring I took him there to visit Alyssa (and her husband Scott). We had SUCH A BLAST (but would it have been any other way?). We spent a few days in the city eating

crab (my favorite, yum), touring the market, going to China Town (yes they have one in Seattle too), Gasworks park, the Troll Bridge... and discovering even more wonderful things about the city I did not know. We even found a bar called THE WHISKEY BAR, which was icing on the cake (thats the name of our dog). Though it was spring time and the rainy season the sun did try to poke its head out a few times, but I appreciated the cool damp air as well. It never really seems to pour down rain like here in Arizona, mostly a light mist all day. Now Rene found Seattle to be quite fun too (how could he not)! And we agreed that someday we would live there (YES, I converted him!).

So now I am just waiting.... waiting to for the opportunity to arise where I can finally call Seattle home......