There's a Hole Lotta Waiting Goin' On

Yep, a shameless Courtney Love reference there… Don't ever, ever, EVER, EVER go to the Canadian/US border on a holiday weekend! Departure time Vancouver: 10.30 AM, Arrival time Seattle: 7 fucking PM. FOUR HOURS of a standstill line from all three border crossings. This SHOULD have been a three hour trip! The only thing that kept us going (besides the lure of Starbucksland) was the fact that our B&B two night deposit was non-refundable at this late (same day) time.

Between the wait time, we were entertained with the occasional rain or hail storm and a Tim Horton's Ice Cappucino on the way, in Abbottsford. While Ad waited in line with the car, I was able to enter a packed Timmy's and come out with our car only about 1 metre further along the road.

Once in Seattle, we found our beautiful B&B (The Salisbury House) in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, comparable to Brookline in Boston or Vancouver's Shaugnessey. We headed out to 15th Avenue, a section of Capitol Hill containing lots of restaurants, cafés and a very cool record store. Thai dinner extravaganza ensued, at Jamjuree's. We toasted Ad's new job and our arrival in Seattle, a new world record of nearly nine hours!

Saturday got us going early with a lovely home cooked breakfast, followed by a self-made downtown walk, taking in the Public Market, the first Starbuck's in Seattle, the gorgeous new public library, a gem of a creation by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and historic Pioneer Square. We'd hoped to ride the monorail to the Needle, however it was out of commission due to a collision last winter, between two monorail trains, a first in its history!

A bit of shopping therapy and a few coffees later, we were on our way back up the Hill. Enjoyed a seafood dinner and an early night in at the B&B's cosy common room. This morning, we headed out early to explore Volunteer Park's water tower, with a stunning view of the city on top, and the Conservatory, passing the Asian Art Museum on the way. A lovely Easter morning, the sky was actually blue this time.

We spent some time on Broadway, a lively section of Capitol Hill, eating sushi for lunch and stocking up on local wine and a picnic lunch for our trip back. A stop right under the Needle for photos, along with the Experience Music Project, and we were on our way home on the 5 North. We stopped briefly at the natural splendor of one of Washington's small lakes, close to Bellingham, before a very smooth 5 MINUTE wait at the Canadian border.