Steve and I landed in Seattle today. We flew Delta out here, a change from our usual Southwest flight. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was a new plane with free individual entertainment with touchscreen consoles on the back of each seat. I was able to watch movies Steve has no interest in like Beauty & the Beast and Hidden Figures.

Once we landed, we headed to the light rail and took it to packet pickup. It was at the convention center at the Seahawks stadium, which is right next to the Mariners stadium. Packet pickup was easy, organized and didn’t take too much time.

We stayed at the Hyatt Olive 8. The staff was incredibly welcoming. The room was a good size and quiet so far, a welcome change from the Andaz in San Diego.

After checking in, we went to Pike’s Place Market. I think most of Seattle decided to visit at the same time. It was packed with people, flowers and goods. So packed that at times you were forced to standstill. This type of crowd panics me, and I had to ask steve to leave. As much as I’ve wanted to visit and check it out since Real World Seattle, I couldn’t handle the crowd. We ducked into a restaurant with lovely views of the sound instead.

On Steve’s list for this visit was taking me to the restaurant he used to manage on Pier 55. It was nostalgic and a little odd sharing this experience with him. We had a drink at the restaurant and then strolled back along the bank of the Sound. 

It started raining, and I convinced Steve that we could be nice and dry if we visited John Fluevog and checked this location off our list. After ogling shoes, we had an early dinner with friends we hadn’t seen in years. The restaurant was great, but the company was sensational.

Off to bed. Tomorrow we run a few hills.