seattle, wa

as promised, here are the highlights of my trip to seattle.

after work a few thursday's ago, i drove to Becky's to hang out for a few hours before flying out of DIA on Friday. i haven't flown since before i began at letourneau, so i experienced the increased security of post-9/11 for the first time. i didn't check any bags, had my boarding pass printed out, didn't have my laptop along, and was wearing flip-flops, so getting through security was quick and painless! Sarah had flown into DIA a few hours before I arrived. i got to the gate an hour before takeoff and our flight to seattle was delayed an hour, so we had plenty of time to catch up!

i don't particularly enjoy flying because of the hassle, but i love it once i'm on the plane!! i still get a kick out of being on a machine that powerful -- tractors and combines are big, but not near as large or powerful as a boeing 757! i also really enjoy looking at all the farmland, cities, mountains, and whatever else going by beneath me. i've never flown during irrigation season, so i got to see the pivot circles and the various colors of the land this time!

i only took one pic on the way to seattle. this is mount rainier and, wow, was it gorgeous!


once we landed, Sarah's brother (who lives in seattle) and mom started showing us the city. we went to a park that looked over the skyline, mountains, and eliot bay. here we are posing with coffee for added effect:


then we were off to the space needle -- beautifully lit up against a gorgeous blue sky:


next we drove across the puget sound and took pictures of the lit-up skyline:


the next morning we went to the pike place market and walked around shops for a few hours. the most popular shop had lots of fresh fish (i've never seen that much at one place! -- nebraska barely has rivers much less fishing boats). every time a customer ordered, the workers tossed tossed the fish around and whooped and hollered. here is a more relaxed moment at this shop:


many of the shops sold t-shirts, but this was by far my favorite:


we also ventured to the site of the first starbucks:


the view was wonderful from the market:


another view from the market -- that's mount rainier floating in the sky:


then Sarah and i went to Kyle and Lisa's wedding. many of my friends are married, but i've never been to a wedding where i know both bride and groom so well! we sat next to some of Kyle's family friends from saudi arabia during the ceremony. i couldn't believe how many of them had flown in! the ceremony was great -- short, sweet, and beautiful! they exited the sanctuary to the top gun theme. :)

the reception was entertaining, which wasn't too surprising considering the bride and groom. :) we sat with Lindsey, Jonathan, and Kyle's roommate from last year (i don't remember his name :-\ ), so we did a lot of reminiscing. Kyle's sister introduced herself to me -- she definitely has her brother's energy! here is a pic of the letourneau group with the gorgeous bride and groom:


after the wedding the Randow clan and i went to a few more parks (Sarah's brother knows all the great places that tourists don't know about!) and to a mall, where we browsed at the lego store and the discovery store.

the next morning they all drove me to the airport. once on the plane, i listened to air traffic control (which was very interesting!) and watched the ground below me. then i spent a few hours with Becky before driving home.