My second Saturday in Seattle I met up with Beth Anne and her fiancé, Robert, again in the small town of Edmonds. Edmonds is the cutest sleepy waterfront town with a ferry boat landing and adorable downtown area. We grabbed lunch at The Market; I had a west coast lobster roll which was good but not New England good.
After our late lunch we went to a small cocktail bar. Daphne’s cocktail bar has a tiny bar and one table inside- it’s smaller than most bedrooms. They have a handful of tables out on the sidewalk. We hovered like vultures until a table because available and we could order delicious Paloma slushies.
The very best part of Daphne’s is the owner, bartender, host- Desmond. He is a charismatic gentleman who makes everyone feel like family, regulars and newcomers alike. He makes loud announcements throughout the night when it’s someone’s first time there or a birthday, “Attention! It’s Lacey’s first time at Daphne’s!” And everyone claps and cheers.
Desmond and I hit it off after some banter and telling him about my trip. For the rest of the evening, anytime he made an announcement he would end it with, “and Laceyyyyyyy!” And point my way. Beth Anne, Robert, and I couldn’t stop laughing; we had the best time.
Beth Anne and Robert had dinner plans with friends that evening that they invited me to crash. I found some pants in my cargo pack on the roof of my car so I didn’t have to wear leggings to dinner and off we went. We got dinner at their local brewery while a live band played fantastic music- everything from country to Santana.
On Saturday morning, a little dehydrated, I met up with Beth Anne in West Seattle to explore both her old neighborhood and a recommended place to explore. West Seattle has an eclectic but beachy vibe with amazing views of the city and the mountains; this is definitely the neighborhood I would want to live in .
We went to Pegasus Book Exchange and walked around like the book nerds we are talking about all the books we read as we passed them. After thoroughly satisfying the book gods we went to Easy Street Records which is a famous record store. After working up our appetite we went to Marination Kai Hawaiian restaurant which is a hole in the wall place right on the water with a beautiful view of Seattle.
Easy Street Records 
Easy Street Records 
Pegasus Book Exchange 
Marination Ma Kai 
Marination Ma Kai 
Hawaiian Style Tacos 
After going our separate ways to run errands for the afternoon we met up again that night at Daphne’s to enjoy more Paloma slushies and laughs with Desmond; neither disappointed. Desmond continued to shout my name after all of his evening announcements.
There is an old movie theatre next door to Daphne’s and a local tip is to get a bag of freshly popped popcorn to eat while sipping on delicious cocktails. I cannot tell you how perfect a combination it was to have a bitter sweet Paloma slushy with savory salty popcorn.
After scouting the weather reports all week for the nicest, clearest day I made the 3.5 hour drive to Ruby Beach to see the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. Ruby Beach is a hailed as a beautiful scenic beach with large rock structures along the coast line. It is also right next to the town of Forks and La Push from the Twilight book/movie series.
As I got closer to my destination I could see what looked like purple clouds in an otherwise clear sunny sky. Once I was close enough I was able to see that it was actually fog. As I drove the last few miles to the beach I could tell I was supposed to be able to see the ocean to my left but all I could see was fog.
I parked my car in the crowded dirt beach access and was surprised to step out into cool 60 degree air. Everyone was in long sleeves and I had on my bathing suit under a coverup. I found some leggings in my trunk to put under my coverup and headed down the steep trail to the beach.
It was so foggy I could barely see the waves breaking from the beach, let alone see the massive rocks. I tried to make the most of it; I took pictures and put my toes in the freezing water but it wasn’t the monumental Pacific Ocean experience I was expecting. I had been hyping up this moment for my entire trip and it’s why I drove 3.5 hours to make it happen. I never knew if I would make it this far in my trip; I never knew if I’d get to check off this bucket list item.
The drive home took over 4 hours due to traffic and my anxiety skyrocketed. I was disappointed and somehow that showed up as anxiety that lingered for 3 days.
As my last week in Seattle was flying by I still had two major things to accomplish, the first being the top of the Spaceneedle.
I finished my workday early Thursday afternoon, bought Spaceneedle tickets, and drove downtown. I was expecting to be more anxious standing in the long line to the elevators. It took about 30 minutes to get to the elevators and by then I was feeling more nervous. A young girl was managing the line and asking how people were doing. I told her I was nervous and she said, “I was nervous the first time I came, too, and now I work the elevators!” I asked if the line to leave at the top was as long as the bottom. She told me that it was shorter and then added, “but if you’re having a panic attack we’ll get you right down.” Was I giving off panic attack vibes? Regardless, I definitely appreciated her including this detail.
As I stepped onto the elevator with about 10 other people I told the older woman in the couple next to me I was nervous- sometimes it helps to say it out loud. The second the doors shut panic washed over my body- hot and cold and nauseous. The elevators are glass and on the outside of the building so once they get past the first few floors of the gift shop you can see the city the whole way up. A recording comes on to narrate details including informing riders of the 83 second ride to the top. My thoughts were back and forth between “you can do anything for 83 seconds” and “you’re never going to make it 83 seconds.”
We got to the top, the doors opened, and people started to exit… but I couldn’t move. I decided I was just going to ride it right back down and leave.
The couple I had talked to looked at me expectantly as they were planning to exit behind me; with my terrified eyes and shaking voice I told them I couldn’t get off yet. The woman told me I’d be ok and they continued off.
The elevator operator and another worker already on the top floor were looking at me. I asked if I could just look out the door to see how long the line to go down was. It wasn’t long and they told me I could leave whenever I wanted.
A side note in this story, when I was with Pam’s family in Montana they told me about taking Caden up to the top when he was little and they were in Seattle for his treatment. I had told Caden I would do it and he had asked me over a text message a week earlier if I had gone yet. My legs were shaking stepping off of that elevator but I kept thinking about how if this brave little boy could fight cancer (and jump off a bridge into Lake Ennis like it was no big deal) I could certainly take one lap around this damn Spaceneedle.
I walked through what feels like a lobby onto the outer viewing deck. There are huge glass walls with benches in them and so many people are just sitting their calmly basically hanging over the side. I took a few picture and did my lap and went to get in line for the elevator. As I was standing in line, convincing myself I didn’t need to go down to the level below with the glass floor, I took a deep breath and said, “screw it, you’re already up here.”
I got out of line and headed down the staircase to the lower level where there is a 360 degree rotating glass floor where you can see all the way to the street below. There were tons of people walking on the floor or laying on the floor taking pictures while I walked along the inner strip of carpeted flooring.
I ended up standing next to a woman and her child and we got talking about being scared to step onto the glass. I asked her if I could take a picture and she agreed. I laid down on the glass with half of my body still on the carpet and she took a picture in which I look like I’m dying. I asked if we could try again and she enthusiastically agreed. She started encouraging me and cheering me on to get back on and “scoot back” to get a good picture. I appreciated her level of energy and support SO MUCH! She got a great picture and I immediately rolled off the glass to safety.
After thanking my new friend I headed to the elevator line- eager to escape. The line wasn’t too long but I just missed fitting on the first one that came. I had a lot of nervous energy coursing through my body; my legs were shaky and my palms were sweating. I was listening to the teenage boys in the family behind me talk about being nervous and how their feet were sweating off their sandals which I really appreciated. Unfortunately, the mother read the sign outloud explaining that it could take 8-10 minutes between elevators arriving which was not at all helpful for my anxiety and I would have rather not known and just expected that at each minute one could arrive. The elevator finally came and then I was finally on solid earth again. I sent a proud text to Caden letting him know I did it!
On my way back from the Spaceneedle I stopped at Kerry Park to check out what is known as the best view in the city. I took some pictures and was in awe of how huge Mount Rainier is in distance behind the skyline.
Once I got home I texted my family who surprisingly all said they couldn’t have gone up the Spaceneedle. What?? It’s hard to explain, but sometimes with anxiety I can’t tell what is normal people hard and what is anxiety. It came as such a strange realization that many people wouldn’t be able to do this because of a fear of heights. While the height was scary for me on the glass floor my biggest fear was not being able to escape and possibly embarrassing myself by freaking out. Regardless, adrenaline was pumping through my body all night which made it nearly impossible to get to sleep. My nervous system doesn’t seem to recover quickly after my fight or flight adrenaline kicks in.
The last thing on my to-do list was to ride a ferry boat. For anyone who is a fan of the show, Grey’s Anatomy, you know ferry boats are an understated character of sorts in the show. I had pushed this off because they are mostly ferries you drive your car onto to explore one of the many islands in the sound, however, due to COVID they had been asking that people stay in their cars during the trip instead of coming up to the decks. There was no way my anxiety could handle being locked in my car in the belly of a boat.
Beth Anne let me know there was a walk-on ferry in Edmonds that goes to Kingston which is a short 30 minute trip. I decided last minute on Friday I was going to make this happen and jumped in my car. When I arrived the sign said there was a 2 hour wait and while part of me felt relief, a larger part of me was really disappointed. I parked my car to find out if the delay was for just cars or passengers, too, and luckily it was only for cars and I could get on the ferry leaving in 15 minutes- score!
I sat on the top deck looking out at the sound and the beautiful mountain ranges in the distance and was so happy I made this happen. A couple with a German Shepherd sat in the same vicinity and after asking the woman to take my picture we got to talking about Seattle and my trip. It was great to connect with her and tell her about my blog. She told me to sit on the other side on the way back so I could see my new love, Mount Rainier.
My mountain….
I only stayed in Kingston for an hour because the whole point of the trip was the ferry boat ride itself. I got a drink and an appetizer at the Kingston Ale House right off the dock and then took the next ferry back.
Arriving back in Edmonds I figured why not head to Daphne’s to say hi to Desmond. He gave me a huge hug and because there weren’t any tables open he sat me with a regular couple who didn’t mind sharing their table. We chatted about my trip and then their friend, Elise, arrived and joined us. Elise is an inspiring woman who does a lot of her own exploring and traveling and we hit it off; she even paid for my drinks. I also got a ton of great recommendations for when I am in San Fransisco and San Diego later in my trip because Elise is from San Diego and the man in the couple is from San Francisco.
I liked Seattle more and more as I spent time there and ended up liking it more than I ever expected. It is the perfect blend of water and mountains; it has an awesome vibe and more parks than you can find time to run in. I can’t wait to go back.
Where My Feet Are 