Day 3: Hello Seattle

Nephi and I were going to go to Hoh Rainforest…but our shoes were still wet from our beach experience, so we decided to op out (hiking in flip flops really isn’t a viable option in Washington).

Instead we headed to the Dazzled by Twilight store. It was actually pretty cool. They had made the inside look like a forest and it was really fun. They had some goofy merchandise, and it was cool to look at everything and realize…even though I am in Forks, I am definitely not the biggest nerd who comes here. I decided on a pretty basic Forks t-shirt. It has the zip code on it, which I thought was pretty subtle.

We did see this shirt that had golden eyes on it and said vegetarian underneath. I really wanted to buy it for my sister, Megan, as she is a vegetarian…but I was about 99% sure that she wouldn’t wear it (she despises Twilight and its “anti-female perspective”). Anyway…it was good to go.

They had a bunch of sweatshirts, but they were $70, so we headed to the local Thriftway to buy a sweatshirt there. It was almost exactly the same, but I got it for $25 instead. That was good.

After that we started our drive back to Seattle. We made a quick stop in Port Angeles for lunch at Wendy’s. I decided that Port Angeles is the armpit of Washington. The whole place is a little gross.

From there we decided to take a different route than the one we had come by. Our new route required us to take a ferry across the sound, and I thought that would be a fun experience. We entered the town of Kinston at about 2:08. The ferry left at 2:20, and I was pretty sure we were going to miss it and have to wait for the 3:05 one. We made it just on time…I was pretty happy about that. We drove our car onto the ferry then got out to check it out. I really like being on boats…as long as I am outside. If I am inside I start to feel yucky…but for some reason being outside is fine. I really enjoyed the ride…it was fun.

Then the real fun began (this statement is fraught with sarcasm). As I am 23, it would cost me about $30 more per day to rent a car than it cost my old 26-year-old husband. Up to this point he had been doing quite well. In all honesty, Nephi isn’t a bad driver…I just hate not having control and he REALLY doesn’t listen to me. Not at all. So I have a hard time with him driving. Like I said though…it had been going really well. I wasn’t freaking out and he was driving better than usual. However, when we got to Seattle I realized why I had been okay. Before, there had been no other cars. In Seattle…there are lots of cars and I found my entire body tense for the entire drive. It really isn’t a fun experience for me, but it is probably a good thing. I need to learn to let go every once in awhile.

When we were planning this trip, we were trying to be cost effective (especially on the Seattle part). We decided that instead of staying in a hotel, we would try this website called airbnb.com. The general concept is that people rent out extra beds that they have in their house—whether it is an air bed, a sleeper sofa, a shared bedroom, or a private bedroom. We decided since it was our first time we would go with a private bedroom with an attached bathroom. We paid $30 a night instead of the $100 we would have paid for a hotel in the same area. It is a good deal, but…a new experience.

We met our host Maddy. She was very nice and accommodating…though so far, the experience is awkward. It is weird being in someone’s house. I don’t know if I should tell them when we are coming and going, or just come and go and not worry about it. The room is really nice, but the parking is a bit frightening!

We settled in and Nephi took an hour nap while I planned the night. We ended up going to a Chinese restaurant called Twins Garden. We ordered crab rangoons, seven flavor beef, and General Tso’s chicken. It was all pretty good…though not amazing. Nephi really liked it.

After that we headed to a movie. We saw How To Train Your Dragon. I really like it, but it made me miss my kitty cats. After the movie, we went next door to the cheesecake factory and got dessert. It was yummy!

Well…farewell for now!