A few weeks before the end of my internship, my parents came into town to visit me in my new city. With only four days to explore an entire area, and with me still working fulltime at Microsoft, we had to be clever about filling our days with fun activities. With the help of my roommate Nanxi’s GPS, I shuttled my parents all over downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond. One of my favorite nights was walking along Alki Beach at sunset, since the beach offers a spectacular view of the Seattle skyline. Strolling along the beach with them reminded me of walking along Pacific Beach in San Diego when they came to visit me last summer while I was working with Qualcomm – I am so blessed to have parents who can come share my summer adventures with me in each city! We grabbed fish and chips for dinner from Suds and sat on a picnic bench to watch the orange-splashed sun cast silhouettes of sailboats and their shadows across the ocean’s surface. You can see a picture from the evening below!
On Monday night, we made reservations at a famous seafood restaurant in Ballard called Ray’s Boat House. One benefit given to Microsoft employees is a Prime card. The Prime card offers a number of discounts to restaurants, including a buy-one-entree-get-one-free at Ray’s Boat House. We celebrated Dad’s birthday while eating some delicious crab and seafood dishes at sunset. For the second night in a row, we watched another breathtaking sunset over the ocean. We also visited Golden Gardens Beach, and I showed my parents the sand volleyball courts where I played this summer. After a few days of visiting, I wished my parents a safe trip as they continued towards Vancouver, Canada to explore the area.
After another couple busy weeks at the office, my best friend from high school Angie Johnson flew in for a weekend. We spent a lot of time hanging out with my Seattle friends. We also spent a day exploring the famous Pike’s Market, and tried not to react too much as we walked past cases of scaly fish packed in ice – their dead fish eyes look like they’re staring at you! Ha ha! We also played games at the carnival downtown by the symbolic Space Needle. After riding the roller coaster along the shore, we decided to grab some fresh roasted corn from a vendor (check out the picture below)!
I spent my final weekend with four Microsoft intern friends: Brian, Michael, Sandy and Tushar. We decided to pile in a car and drive to Mount Rainier National Park. The hiking at Rainier was not as spectacular as my first visit, largely due to the weather. This round we found ourselves hiking against a misty landscape, with a thick layer of dew quickly coating all objects. At the top of the trail, we played on a glacier for awhile which reminded me of snow and Colorado! We spent the night in Portland, Oregon. The next day we went white water rafting and even did a class 5 waterfall! To survive the 15 foot drop over the waterfall, we had to literally hold ourselves to the bottom of the raft using tethers to avoid being thrown out (the raft was completely submerged under water for about a second!). It was a wonderful way to spend my last weekend. You can see the picture of us after surviving the waterfall below:
Leaving Seattle was actually much more difficult than I expected it to be. Saying goodbye to many new friends, an incredible team and office environment, and my two roommates was an emotional experience; it is amazing how we can form such deep relationships with people in only a few months time. Luckily, the world we live in today is “always connected,” and staying in touch with my Seattle friends is actually trivial. Nevertheless, as I returned my rental car at the airport and prepared to board my flight home, I found myself overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. While part of me was aching to return to my friends and family in Boulder, another part of me had become very comfortable in Seattle. Again, I find myself humbled and blessed to have experienced living in another remarkable American city.
Now you can find me in a study room on the CU campus. The never-ending Boulder sunlight is shining through the windows as I write the final sentences of this Seattle blog. Since returning home, I have adjusted quickly to my busy school life. It is a relief to be back among many of my best friends – I always feel so warmed by them. Today I had miniature pre-21st birthday party with my parents and all four grandparents (my birthday is tomorrow!). Eating cupcakes with six of the most important people in my life, while raving at the incredible Rocky Mountain view, was the perfect beginning to what is sure to be an epic week of celebrating my birthday milestone.
If you read my very first blog entry from this summer, you may remember that I was overwhelmed by the scale of Seattle and Microsoft at first. I am now happy to report that I have another city on this planet that feels like home. Where will you find me next summer? I am still undecided at this point, but you can be sure that I will record my adventures down in another blog to share with you. Until then…
All my love,
Katie
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