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Tag: Chihuly Garden and Glass

  • ABJS Meeting in Seattle

    ABJS Meeting in Seattle

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    Wednesday: Arriving in Seattle

    This trip’s idea began a year ago, as 2023 has a milestone birthday for me, and Yan will finish all her training and begin work as an attending. Our calendars align the best in July and August.

    I started booking everything in the fall. On January 5, Yan and I both got on our computers and hovered on the reservation site, hearts pounding, to snag a spot at Brooks Camp. Our trip’s schedule will have to revolve around that.

    Finally, the day has arrived. We leave Ontario and arrive in Seattle on a direct flight. Public transportation on the 1-Line takes us downtown. This is a trial, a practice run for Saturday when we will have to haul everything from here all the way to Vancouver to meet our cruise ship.

    After platform gaps and hills and ramps, we arrive at the Fairmont Olympic, check in, get lunch at Mod Pizza (the kids’ favorite place), and walk to Pike’s Market. The kids are tired and not impressed. Macaroons did nothing to lift the mood.

    We return to get ready for the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons Welcome Reception. Jayden is so tired he falls asleep.

    Thursday: Tour of Seattle

    In the morning, I attend the ABJS scientific session, while the rest of the family escapes to the aquarium. I join them afterward in Target and walk to lunch at Xi’an Noodles in Westlake Center. Daphney and Jayden enjoy the ride on the Seattle Monorail to Seattle Center. We visit Chihuly Garden and Glass. They had seen a glass-blowing demonstration at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach, so this tour rounds out their experience.

    The best part of the Seattle trip will be the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. This is where we have the ABJS evening reception. The kids immerse themselves in reading about the planes and exploring the control tower. They both fall asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel.

    Friday: Seattle Excursions

    I am in the meeting all morning again. The rest of the family goes to the Pacific Science Museum, where they watch the IMAX on butterflies. Afterwards, I take an e-scooter ride to Seattle Center and meet up for lunch at Blue Water Taco.

    In the evening, we meet up with friends for a barbecue dinner and take a group picture. The last time we were together, Daphney was 2 months old.

     
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  • Washington Trip

    Washington Trip

    We’re heading to Seattle for me meeting at the American Orthopaedic Association. This first flight for Daphney goes well, and she isn’t the least bit bothered by the cabin pressure changes.

    Aside from the meetings, Seattle brings us great opportunities for sightseeing. Daphney gets her first rental car ride. She visits the original Starbucks. We have breakfast at Lowell’s and do more touristy things. We bring her to the Space Needle and nearby Chihuly Garden and Glass. The after dinner hike up to Kerry Park gives us that expansive view of Seattle’s skyline.

    Then, we visit nearby national parks: Mt. Rainier and the Olympics. Our trip to Mt. Rainier National Park marks Daphney’s second month. Then, taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island, we tour the northern part of the Olympic Peninsula. We enjoy lunch at the Oak Table Café in Sequim, catch up with friends, and tour lavender fields. Then, we journey to Hurricane Ridge, where I run into a former resident, Chad Harbour, and his family. Lake Crescent Lodge has the most beautiful dining views. At the end of the day, we take the short hike to Sol Duc Falls, where triple waterfalls cascade over rock outcroppings.

    We wake up on our last morning to the view of a lovely sunrise over a calm sound, silhouetted by Mt. Baker in the far distance.

  • Part 1, Sightseeing in Seattle

    Part 1, Sightseeing in Seattle

    It’s Friday, and we’re off for vacation to celebrate Alice’s birthday! Dad and Mom went up earlier to do some Seattle touring and shopping while the rest of us worked. After a really busy week, we all meet up. It is going to be an escape of sorts—that’s what the cruise line advertises, anyways.

    The chilly air sunk its teeth early Saturday morning. Along with that, there’s the smell of ocean. The first stop, Pike Place Market, wakes us up even more, with the cacophony of sellers, buyers, musicians, and hordes of tourists like us, and the wafting breeze of more ocean and fish. We skip the long millipede line at the original Starbucks, choosing instead to have breakfast at Lowell’s. Our parents then hop over for a snack at Ivar’s Fish Bar, reliving some sentimental moment decades ago. Andy and I tour the Seattle Art Museum.

    Chinatown exudes a different type of smell—one that is common to all the Chinatowns I’ve been to. Ripe. The artistically presented Wing Luke Museum interprets the Asian immigrant experience. The exhibit that would become my favorite sits in a small alley and catches my eye: thirty-nine (39) questions for WHITE PEOPLE.

    Andy drags me along for a Segway tour, and it turns out to be fantastic. After a wobbly training session, we zip along the waterfront, up to Seattle Center, and loop back through Pike Place.

    We take a relaxing afternoon driving and sampling tour. One slice of chocolate mocha cheesecake at Bakery Noveau weighs us all down. The arboretum is peaceful, but the Japanese garden is closed for some private moon viewing event. For dinner, we immerse ourselves in New Orleans gourmet at the Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge. After overeating, the stroll to Seattle Center jumpstarts the digestion, and we end or tour in Queen Anne’s. From Kerry Park, the city lights up under the rising moon.

    After breakfast in the Armory, the whimsical creations of Chihuly Garden and Glass capture our imagination. My favorite areas are the Glasshouse and the Garden, where fragile shapes bloom and bud like resident plants. Here, under the towering Space Needle, we have our parting shots of Seattle before heading to the cruise terminal.

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