Seattle!

Okay so I think I am finally getting around to writing about our trip to Seattle for Luke and Lizzy's wedding. Longer posts are always harder to get started on, plus I am very much lacking in any photos really of the whole weekend, besides photos of riding ferries back and forth. So most of this will have to be imagined sans photos, unless at some point I get some and upload them (SOMEONE send me wedding photos!  Kearah?)

Josh and I flew out LA on Friday morning, in order to get to the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening that we were generously invited to even though we weren't actually in the wedding. We drove my car to the airport, but Josh trusted ME with the planning of getting to the airport, which meant we did airport stuff my style...at the very last minute wondering the entire time if we will actually make our flight. We've never flown to together before so it was a bit of an experience for Josh ("if we miss this flight it is definitely your fault" was said more than once). Fortunately, we didn't check bags and got in a semi shorter security line, so we did make the flight on time. Our layover got delayed though, so we ended up in Seattle later than we wanted. After renting a car, we drove over to the new bouldering gym in the city per Josh's request.  It was pretty sweet with a bunch of top out boulders (which means you can climb to the top of them and then stand on top instead of just jump down).  We climbed a ton of problems really fast and then drove toward the ferry terminal to go to Bainbridge Island, but we got there late too and just missed the ferry.

After wandering around for an hour or so we made it across and drove to the rehearsal dinner only a half hour or so late (I'm not sure I have any idea how to be on time for pretty much anything...I even miss race starts.) Once we got there and sort of de-stressed, it was pretty awesome to see friends I haven't seen in a long time!! We got to sit with a bunch of climbers and L&L so we met some new people and enjoyed the food. Food was awesome, yay carbs and chocolate dessert! I also got a chance to catch up with Bucknell people and realized how long it really has been. It was strange to be seeing everyone in Seattle - and awesome that everyone flew out for Luke and Lizzy's wedding.
After the dinner, we went back to the hotel room we were sharing with friends, although 2 of them were staying with the guys elsewhere, so it ended up being Josh, me and Kearah. I got to bed early with a sort of formed plan for the next morning that I didn't really want people to hear about since it was going to be the wedding day, NOT random running race day...
So Saturday morning I woke up at 5:45am, having gotten 6hr of sleep the two nights before (I am not one of those people who doesn't need to sleep a lot). Kearah later told us she was laughing when I woke up, because the conversation between me and Josh went something like this:
me (whispering): "Hey Josh I think I am going to go."
Josh (mostly asleep): "No."
Me: "ok."
2 minutes later
Me: "Josh, I have to go."
Josh: "No!"
Me: "You can stay here you don't have to come I'll be back soon."
According to Kearah, she figured out the conclusion of our little conversation when she heard the hotel door close.
So my adventure for the morning began. I had noticed months earlier that the Vashon Ultra on Vashon Island had a 10 mile option, but there was a wait list. Wait lists are bad because you can sign up for something thinking you won't do it, so you never really commit, but then they email you and say you got in and then you feel like how can you say no. So at 6:00 the morning of my friends' wedding I found myself dehydrated, hungry, exhausted, and driving south to the Vashon Island ferry.

I made it to the island and to the race start only to realize it was raining and I left all my rain gear in the hotel, only bringing running shoes and clothes. Nice. So I got wet and cold, but it was absolutely beautiful so I was okay with it. The trail was awesomely awesome. I don't think I've ever run a more purely fun singletrack in a race. I've run some beautiful ones, hard ones, technical ones...but this was just FUN. The terrain was great. Hilly, flat, dirt road, super single track twisty trail, somewhat muddy from the rain, but mostly just great. I took off right from the start and ran as hard as I could until just before the end where I stopped following another runner and started getting lost. But not too lost. It was interesting to race hard and feel like I was done at mile 4.5 but at the same time be motivated by the awesomeness of the trail and somehow maintain the pace. With less than a mile to go, a guy flew by me looking strong and I realized he was the lead 50k runner. Crazy. It was pretty cool to see. I figured out where the finish line was and happily crossed it, glad to be done.

Photo by Dirk Handke: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21903966@N02/

 I felt bad about asking for my award (1st woman!) early, but I had a wedding to get to! And I was hoping I could get back before anyone really noticed I was gone. The race people were super nice about it though and got me on my way with a gift certificate to West Seattle Runner, a sweet Blue Sky t-shirt, and a hand held waterbottle. I jumped back in the car, JUST missed the ferry back (by about 30 seconds - or make that 20s), waited for a half hour for the next ferry, and drove back to the hotel. Kearah and Josh spent the morning buying food and car decorations for the wedding car, so at least they didn't wait toooo long. By the time I got there though, Kearah had left, so Josh and I went to get Mexican food lunch, which I needed pretty desperately at that point (that's an understatement). FINALLY, we drove to the guest house where the guys were staying and spent a relaxing couple of hours just hanging out. It turned out they had gone on a trail run that morning too, although I had tried to run with Adam and Luke before and only barely hung on since they decided to more or less race the whole thing. Even though this is now years later, I doubt much has changed. :) It was super awesome to catch up and relax (more relaxing for those of us not actually in the wedding I imagine).
I wish I had photos of the wedding. I've never been to the non-city part of the Seattle area, but I can see why someone would want to get married there. When we arrived, there was a little drama relating to how to tie a tie, but in the end it all worked out. :) All the wedding flowers and food and other supplies came over by ferry, which is pretty amazing. Luke and Lizzy were awesome and looked great, even not in climbing clothes. Lizzy's dad had sculpted the bride and groom figurines for the top of the cake, and the first reaction of most of the people I knew was hey they are wearing Miuras! (For the non-climbers reading this, Miuras are a model of climbing shoe.) The rain held off (or went away) for the wedding, so we got to enjoy the beautiful outdoors of Poulsbo. Seating was creatively divided up by climbing area (each table was named after a major climbing destination). Our table was mostly Bucknell people and I think all climbing people. The food was pretty amazing. I think we each had a least two servings in order to try all the different dishes. I am not super good at describing weddings, but in the end Luke and Lizzy got married and it was a great evening! Josh and I were both excited to be there!
Josh and I found out Adam and Kearah were going to be around for awhile before going on their camping trip, so we decided to fly out Monday evening instead of Sunday, which left us with a day to hang out in Seattle. Sunday morning we debated whether or not to try to make the ferry to get back to Seattle and drop Ben off at the airport since it took us awhile to get started (tired!!). We decided to go for it and just got on the boat, which was good because we had two cars and this way we could park the cars and all hang out together.

Eventually it was decided to explore Pikes Place market a little bit more (Josh hadn't been there yet). Its quite the place. Adam, Kearah and Ben were there before the wedding and had figured out the good spots to eat. :) We had some pretty awesome Russian food at a place I don't remember the name of, but it was great. Then we were convinced to check out the mini doughnut place they had seen last time and ordered a LOT of mini donuts. Ben was dropped off for his flight (yay I'm glad we got to see each other again!) and we dropped off the rental car before joining up with Adam and Kearah for a GPS adventure on our way to returning the tuxes. Somehow, 3 people with GPS only sort of got us where we wanted to go, but we figured it out. I needed to spend my race gift certificate, so we checked out West Seattle Runner. They have some cool stuff, so I got a new running top (in bright pink, which Josh is worried about since he has to look at it when we go running). We were all pretty tired - at least I definitely was after not enough sleep, a race, and a wedding - so we went back to the hotel and everyone fell asleep. It was pretty great for me. Usually I'm the one who is exhausted and just wants to sleep but has to keep going. Its great to be able to take a nap when I need one. Really great! We managed to find enough energy to walk to Thai food dinner, and then walk back, and then go back to bed. :)
The next day, Josh found the Underground Tour of Seattle and said he really wanted to see it, so that's what we did.

It was cool because its not something I would normally think of doing, but it was definitely worth it. The tour goes under the streets of Seattle where the old ground level of Seattle was (they explain it in the tour). It was neat to go down through a random door on the street and then be walking UNDER the sidewalks! Weird, but cool. I'm glad at the end of our trip we got to learn a little about Seattle itself.

After stopping to get some chocolate, Adam and Kearah left with the car to go camping for a week (very very jealous me!). So Josh and I and our stuff decided to check out the Mountain Hardwear store kill time before getting the train back to the airport. We talked to them for awhile before continuing our "tour of outdoor supply stores." I didn't even know Feathered Friends was in Seattle, but Josh pointed it out. Its my kind of store. They had brands I've never seen in actual stores in the US. After a little more walking Josh got to see the flagship REI store complete with a mountain bike trail. I actually like getting around Seattle on foot and with public transportation instead of by car. I think its easier, and you get to see more. We had fun walking back to downtown with less getting lost than on the way out. Its a great city, as far as cities go, and we had a ton of fun exploring it with Ben, Adam, and Kearah, and then on our own.
We found the train station and took the train back to the airport, although I missed the whole ride because I fell asleep. Its okay though I mostly remember it from previous trips. Its nice traveling with someone. I travel alone so often that I really realize how convenient it is to have someone be able to watch your stuff or make sure you don't sleep through your train stop. It's quite a bit easier. Plus, Josh and I do car trips so often for climbing or running that adding in the air travel factor isn't a big deal and things went pretty seamlessly. Seattle was an amazing trip in pretty much every way so hopefully we can go back soon (and climb Rainier?).