Early mornings, lost luggage. . . and coffee

Whenever we planned two back-to-back trips, we had convinced ourselves, very naively, that we wouldn't slow down a bit, that we'd bounce back after one, raring to go on the next. I have to admit, we were wrong. Last week it was like pulling impacted wisdom teeth to get us motivated to prepare for our flight to Seattle. And knowing that our very early morning flight meant getting up at 2:30 a.m. didn't help matters. Between catching up at work, washing 9 days worth of laundry, packing for Seattle's sure-to-be cold weather and simply trying to focus on the tasks at hand, I just wasn't into it.

However, come Friday night, my bags were packed, my list was made, my wooden knitting needles loaded and I knew that somehow, regardless of my lack of enthusiasm, we'd certainly make it to Seattle, with or without enough underwear for the week or batteries to refuel our camera.

And we did. Make it, that is. We are here, safe and sound. It was an early morning, the airline lost our luggage, we arrived too early for check in at the hotel (which meant no much-anticipated nap), but we did make it. And I am glad to be here.

The hotel misunderstanding played to our advantage, as instead of napping to catch up on our sleep, we were tossed into the streets (not literally, but I did feel a little lost, no home to call my own and no luggage to lug around) and that gave us a chance to explore.

We quite literally just walked out the door and started browsing around downtown Seattle. We found ourselves at the wharf, stumbled across the Public Market, even perused "So Much Yarn" on First Avenue. A stop for coffee (of course, this is Seattle) at Seattle's Best and an incredible Monster Cookie from a local bakery and we were rejuvenated and managed to get a lot of walking in before we made it back to our hotel (where our luggage had been safely delivered).

Once inside, we collapsed, contemplated going out for dinner and decided instead just to nab something at the hotel. Lack of sleep, the two-hour time difference and all of that walking had caught up with us. Crab cakes and chowder were enough to fill us and put us to sleep.

We're up bright and early this morning, this time the time difference is playing in our favor. Our hope is to catch the monerail to see the Space Needle, hit a Sci-Fi museum and spend some more time in the market area. I have spied yet another yarn shoppe that might be within walking distance.

Planning to take a boat tour, maybe take a less-than-convential tour of the downtown area and maybe even drink some coffee.

Initial observations:

Beautiful city, so much green space.

Dogs, dogs, dogs everywhere. A city has to be great if it respects and encourages pet-owners.

Love the "green" atmosphere, appreciation for recycling, respect of the environment, whether urban or the Sound.

Photos:

-The Public Market.

-Elliott Bay (part of Puget Sound).

-Coffee, of course.