Despite knowing that Seattle is synonymous with rain and cloudy weather, I’m not gonna lie, I was slightly disappointed to have just left 85 degree sunny days in the Midwest, for 50s and drizzle. But nevertheless, not willing to waste a weekend watching TV in our new 400 sq ft apartment, we made the best of it and decided to take a couple days to explore the area and made a trip out to Rattlesnake Mountain for a hike. For those who know me, I’m not what you would call an “outdoorsy girl.” I like to wear dresses, enjoy a nice day, lay in the sun, and while I’m not afraid of getting dirty, I am not the kind of person to jump into the ocean and start kayaking with whales (yes, that is a thing you can do here). I’m kind of a huge wuss. I’m all for exploring the tidepools at low tide, but only if none of the stuff touches my bare skin, or if Patrick is there to move rocks so I can see the crabs scatter from underneath. I’m fascinated by the idea of it, but its that same knowledge of knowing it exists that keeps me from jumping into a lake or the ocean. I have issues. I know. Oh yea…see that red stuff that looks kind of like some gross fabric? That’s seaweed and yet another reason for me to never find myself in the waters of the Puget Sound or ocean. Just sayin’.

The photos below were taken at low tide at Alki Beach in Seattle. As you can see, it was a delightfully drizzly day and neither Patrick or I had any sort of rain coat (we later decided it was a necessary purchase – just in time for it get sunny and not rain for a week, figures..). It was here that I saw my first ever starfish, and though I’ve now seen tons more, I’m still in awe of their brightly colored exterior. So cool!

As I mentioned above, we made a trip out to the Rattlesnake Mountain Ledge hiking trail to do as the Pacific Northwesterners do. Of course, despite the weather reports for sunshine, it downpoured for about 15 minutes when we first arrived and then finally lessened enough for us to venture out. (Dont mind the iPhone photos, because of the rain I didn’t want to take my good camera out in case it downpoured again). In addition to our lack of raingear, neither of us have any hiking shoe of any kind. We made the decision that if a trail requires hiking equipment other than a pair of tennis shoes and maybe a backpack of snacks, then maybe it’s not the right trail for us (mostly me). When we got to the ledge, Patrick of course ran right to the edge over big crack in the rocks that I was (of course) terrified to climb over being so high up. Some tears may have been shed after I got over it and realized I had to cross it one more time in order to get back. Poor Patrick….he probably should have married someone more adventurous and less of a scairdy cat like me. 😉 He’s stuck with me now. Haha

Snoqualmie Falls – There was so much mist and fog from the lookout that these were the only photos I could manage to get.

Below are some old trains that Patrick thought were really cool and of which he wanted to climb under a fence to take photos. The textures were really cool and I loved that there were trees and plants sprouting off of their surfaces.