Greetings from the beautiful Pacific Northwest (PNW)! Wow. I feel like I say this every time. But, really. I am BLOWN AWAY by the beauty that is Washington state! Never in my life have I seen such a variable landscape. I am seriously holding my breath that I don't have a wreck every time I drive because I get so distracted by the trees, and mountains, and water, and city views. What a perfect summer it has been.
A few things about our summer: 1. This is the first summer in my entire life where I have worn a sweater in July. It just doesn't get that hot here. This week the lows have been in the 50s with highs reaching 75 degrees. There is no humidity and my face is not melting off. This has never happened before. 2. This is the first summer in my entire life with out good ole' AC. That's right, no air conditioner. We do have a ceiling fan though and we have almost become immune to the city sounds with our windows raised each night. Almost. *City sounds = sirens, early morning garbage truck, random people laughing at 2am on a Tuesday morning because they obviously don't work day jobs...etc. 3. I have never walked so many hills. They are everywhere. We walk them all day long. This is especially difficult after leg day. 4. Central Standard Time Zone is my favorite time zone. In the past year alone I have lived in three out of four time zones and can now make this statement. The sun rises before 5am during this time of year. It sets around 10pm. My body is finally get used to this. Eye masks are also necessary to survive. 5.. We are here at the PERFECT time of year. It has only rained twice. I quickly learned that I blew my cover and was exposed as a "tourist" when I used my umbrella on a rainy day. These people don't use umbrellas. They just walk and get wet. My Job: WOW! I have been so fortunate to work for the home health company that I do. This contract has been my favorite yet! Everyone has been so kind and my patients are just precious. I have a very large coverage area that I am responsible for both in the city and outside of Seattle. This has given me such amazing opportunities to see not only Seattle, but tons of surrounding neighborhoods and towns. I will truly miss this job when I leave. I only have 4.5 weeks left. Ben's company is based out of Seattle so he has been able to work from his corporate office all summer. This has been a really cool opportunity for him because it has given him invaluable time to work with and get to know his co-workers and management team. He has also been traveling a LOT this summer. He is home this week and next week.. This is the longest we have been together since leaving Arkansas. He has traveled to Phoenix, Dallas, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, Singapore, and San Antonio over the past eight weeks. Whew! It will be good to have him here in Seattle for another week until he heads to Puerto Rico. Since moving to Seattle, we have gotten to experience so many fun things in the city! We live in a precious studio just a mile from Pike Place Market. It is in the perfect location and we have enjoyed all of the extra exercise by walking everywhere. Here are some of the things we have checked off of our bucket list since arriving to the PNW: 1. Seattle Mariner's Game- I was secretly cheering for the KC Royals 2. Hiked a couple of beautiful trails- one which felt like Mount Everest 3. Visited Pike Place Market- like a million times by now 4. Visited Vancouver, B.C., Canada- 7th wedding anniversary trip was a dream 5. Visited the Museum of Pop Culture- we figured out that we don't know much about "pop culture"... 6. Bike riding at Alki Beach Park- Beautiful views for daysssssss 7. Visited the Original Starbucks- we don't drink coffee, so by visited I mean "walked by" 8. Ate at the famous Athenian Cafe from Sleepless in Seattle- yummy food and I touched the stool that Tom Hanks sat on in the movie 9. Visited Portland, OR- Super cool place, however Seattle > Portland 10. Visited Bainbridge Island- the Nantucket of the west coast. ahhhhhhhhhh If you have never been to Seattle, I definitely recommend you put it on your bucket list. I know Ben and I will be coming back, for sure! Seeing all of the cruise ships headed to Alaska each week has definitely encouraged us to give it a try sometime. Ha! We still have 4.5 weeks to explore and make memories. My contract ends next month and that also marks one year that we have been traveling. Over the past year we have grown so much. Many times we often take the shape of our surroundings; it's only natural. However, this past year we have been pushed and stretched in so many ways. From living in Boston, to Arkansas, to Seattle, we are different people than when we left "home" last summer. At the same time though, we have never been more ourselves. <3 Sunni
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