Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The emerald city


We decided to go on a 'babymoon' during the fifth month of my pregnancy. After a long debate we chose seattle and started on a four day vacation. I have to admit that despite seeing some spectacular sights of eastern and western America (thanks to my husband), I was not prepared for the sheer beauty and breathtaking wonder of the pacific northwest.

One of the benefits of visiting seattle is that the city has something to offer to everyone with majestic mountains, woodland trails,waterfalls,beautiful islands with small towns,ski resorts and its close proximity to Canada (british columbia).


On the first day, we reached anacortes and took a ferry to orcas island which is one of the san juan islands north of seattle.Orcas Island is not the largest island, but is thought by many to be the most scenic, with a varied topography offering a mix of forests and pastures. Many people choose to stay in the island overnight or even for a few days. We reluctantly came back the same day to keep up with the schedule. Orcas island is a photographer's paradise. At the upper most point of the island is a wonderful look-out, where the major mountains, waterways, and islands can be seen. On the way back to anacortes, we even got some fabulous sunset pictures! On the second day we headed out to Mt.Rainier, northwest's largest mountain. Mt.Rainier is snow covered all through the year. We caught some breathtaking views as we drove through the national forest but the winding road upwards was a little tedious. We were told by the locals that we had chosen the best season(August)to visit Mt. rainier and I knew why once we reached the peak. The whole mountain was covered with wild flowers and it was a sight to behold! The next day we took the scenic road through the cascade loop and reached the Snoqualmie falls. Its located in the beautiful foothills of the cascade mountains and I was quite surprised to find out that the snoqualmie is a good 100 feet taller than the Niagara. We took a small hike towards the bottom of the falls for a better view. The dramatic torrent of water from the snoqualmie river somehow brings to mind how small we are compared to the grandeur of Mother Nature. Some of the quaint little towns we passed along the cascade loop looked like they were right out of a greeting card.

On the last day we started early and reached the pike place market, one of the largest and oldest markets in the world. Ive never seen so many shops all at one place before. It was a great experience. From there we went to the Chittenden Locks, a complex of locks that sit in the middle of Salmon Bay, part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. We saw the fishes jumping across the fish ladder and also got the opportunity to see some of the exotic kinds of salmon.
There are so many beautiful places to see and things to do in seattle but we could not see everything due to lack of time.I promised myself that I would return again someday to visit this fabulous city. I do love houston but I cant help envying people who live in a place like seattle surrounded by such diverse landscapes and lush green neighborhoods. It was a great retreat for us and I cant wait to go back again!

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