My son and I are a blend of homebodies / travelers. We enjoy travel. The pandemic has put a hold on that, of course. After gratefully receiving our vaccinations, our top priority was visiting family in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, Seattle had only reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit three times before. Remarkably, in one heatwave, highs in the city topped 100 degrees three days in a row. While we were there. Worst timing ever. What I’d intended to be a gleeful return to travel turned into a sad panda of a trip. But we made the best of it. We were up and out the hotel door by 7 am some mornings, and back by early afternoon to beat the heat. Some days were so hot that restaurants shut down entirely. Several mornings we engaged in more touristy activities than ever before like visiting the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden. We also enjoyed a ferry ride out to visit family. My son’s grandmother drove us around amusingly named places like Useless Bay and Point No Point and we had a lovely day at the beach. After returning home, news of the more contagious Delta variant spiked. I’m not sure when we will be comfortable flying again but I’m glad we squeezed this trip in, as flawed as it was.
