Cities of Seattle & Tacoma

TACOMA 
About 45 minutes south of Seattle was the city of Tacoma, home to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. When I heard the zoo had polar bears, I immediately added it to our itinerary. We arrived first thing in the morning, and made a beeline to the polar bear exhibit. They had a total of three bears, but only one was allowed out because its habitat was getting cleaned. The one we saw was name Glacier, and sat beside the window eating his breakfast bowl of lettuce. There was an enrichment session at 11:30, so David and I decided to see the rest of the zoo and come back.

We saw the usual suspects: cute meerkats skittishly digging in the dirt, a fat walrus bobbing in the water, baby leopards roughhousing with each other, red wolves sleeping in the sun, and giant tiger cubs that weren’t even a year old. Then we discovered the puffins – an animal that I have a slight obsession with. The birds were so incredibly cute and clumsy. A few awkwardly dive-bombed from the cliff into the water to take a bath. The others just waddled around and basked in the sunlight. I could’ve stayed there all day – and I would have if David didn’t pry me away when it was time to head back to the polar bears.

The keeper gave a brief lecture about the polar bears and their lifestyle. He then threw pieces of lettuce into the pool, luring Glacier into the water in front of us. It was astonishing seeing an animal of that stature gracefully swimming around with little effort. At one point, Glacier came right up to the glass, and peered through as if he was examining each and every one of us. It was a pretty remarkable moment.

SEATTLE
David and I ended our road trip through the Pacific Northwest in the Emerald City of Seattle. Our hotel was located downtown, which enabled us to walk everywhere. We wandered around exploring a few shops and cafés – including passing by the first ever Starbucks and the ridiculously long line of tourists trying to get in. We squeezed through the chaos of Pike Place Market, witnessing the world-famous fish toss. We also enjoyed several delicious meals: a French breakfast by the waterfront, sandwiches at a local deli in Pioneer Square, and a margarita pizza & dessert at Rione XIII so good we ate there twice.

We made sure to visit a few must-sees like Kerry Park, situated in Queen Anne Hill with a perfect view of the Seattle skyline. Although it was a bit hazy, Mount Rainier could be seen looming off in the distance. We also rode the historic Seattle Center Monorail. Built in 1962, its one-mile track gives you an elevated view of the city, travels through the Frank Gehry-designed museum, and ends at the iconic Space Needle.

We meandered over to the Olympic Sculpture Park and sat on a bench overlooking the Puget Sound. It suddenly hit us that this was our first trip where we didn’t have the urge to pack up and move. Don’t get us wrong, Seattle is a gorgeous and alluring city that encompasses everything we love: the mountains, great restaurants, close proximity to national parks. But we realized how perfect Colorado was for us, and that we couldn’t see moving away from our beautiful state any time soon. The Pacific Northwest was absolutely stunning, and feeling like we only scratched the surface, we will definitely be visiting again sometime soon.