This week are first trip to Seattle, long before the long-running series Grey’s Anatomy and certainly after the still clammy warmth of Texas, it was a shock to the system to feel the autumnal chill and all the rain. As I type this up it is hard to believe that my mother at the time had just turned 68 years old, just three years older than I am now.
9th of October 1985 – Marriott Seattle
Dear M and D,
I hope my birthday card arrived safely Mollie and that you had a wonderful birthday. I am sure that you enjoyed your dinner dance and weekend away. A great way to celebrate and we have organised a welcome combined with birthday party with all our friends when you arrive. We have scheduled for a couple of days later so that you are over your jet lag.
As you will see this is written from the Marriott hotel in Seattle. As usual we managed to have a few hiccups getting here, with delays at the airport and then waiting to get our hire car. We arrived eventually at midday rather than 10.00 a.m, but we drove to the hotel and dumped our bags before heading for the mountains. David’s first meeting is not until tomorrow morning and we want to take full advantage of our short time here.
Whilst San Francisco is my favourite city so far, this has to be the most beautiful state we have seen next to Hawaii. Of course it is the right time of year being autumn, the trees are magnificent and the scenery breathtaking. Back in Houston the weather is still quite warm and muggy and I am still swimming every day. Here is it cold with snow on the upper slopes and I had thankfully dug out my winter clothes that have not seen the light of day since we arrived in Texas in January.
We drove about 150 miles and ended up in a state park. It was amazing to watch salmon and trout cleverly evading the solitary fly fisherman up to his waist in the freezing water. They did say that we might see bears but thankfully we were the only spectators. We also found a shop selling the most beautiful semi-precious stones that you can scoop out of a barrel and buy by weight. A natural reminder of this amazing place rather than some of the souvenirs also on display.
David’s meeting is over by lunchtime hopefully leaving us another four hours to explore Seattle before heading to the airport. Certainly a place that I would like to return to at some point and spend more time in the wilds.
Your visit is getting closer and perhaps in your next letter you could confirm your flight number and arrival time. It can be a little confusing on arrival as there are a number of stages to go through – Immigration, collect baggage, go through customs, deposit luggage again and then go downstairs to pick it up again.
I will be waiting for you when you have been through customs. We can then go down together to reclaim your luggage.
In my next letter I will enclose David’s business card and our home address as you have to fill in a form on the plane. The immigration people will ask you the length of your stay, whether it is business or pleasure and where you will be staying. They will also ask to see your return ticket. I will enclose some dollar bills for the luggage cart from immigration to customs. I will send several as they are notorious for not accepting some bills that might be torn or damaged.
It is all very straightforward really but less stressful if you are prepared. Get that over with and we can get on with enjoying ourselves. All our excursions are planned and booked and one of the treats that I am looking forward to is going to the Renaissance Festival which I have heard is spectacular. Also Daddy… hopefully we will fulfil one of your boyhood dreams…
A week on Friday I am flying to New York to meet up with David and his boss in the middle of their grand tour touching base with their potential customers. Another iconic city to add to the wish list and I am excited by the prospect of seeing the Empire State Building etc.
Well that’s about it for now, under four weeks to go and we are looking forward to seeing you both very much.
Take care and all our love Sally and David. X
©Sally Cronin 2018
Thanks for dropping in and hope you have enjoyed our Hawaiian adventure…All the letters are in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/letters-from-america-1985-1987/
I’m so glad you got to see the Northwest when you were here, Sally, and from the photos, it looks like you beat the rain, too! 🙂
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It was a beautiful autumnal day Diana and that car park had the best view by far… hugsxx
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A lovely post – and I’m so looking forward to Mollie’s arrival and what she makes of it all.
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Thank you Mary.. I have found the album that I put together of their visit and I reckon there will be a few posts out of it as they were there for a month.. hugsxx
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Love this Sal, and the little snippet photos of Seattle where I’ve never been. Seems the old travel protocol is the same, only with stricter securities than back then. It also looks like that swimming was paying off. Looking svelte in your winter duds! 🙂 ❤
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Thanks Debby… It was pretty daunting arriving I remember when we landed the first time… and nobody smiled in welcome.. it was a hard look and in those days before digital readers they spent ages inspecting every passport.. I was a nervous wreck and wanted to make sure that they were prepared. And yes I do miss my swimming.. two reasons I don’t here is too much chlorine and they make you wear a silly rubber cap! All the while great big hairy men who are bald wear the caps when they should be wrapped in clingfilm!!! xxx
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Lol I hear you on that Sal. I am happy that the two places we’ve spent winters in – in Arizona and Mexico, the pools had salt water, no chlorine. I never wet my hair in pools – red you know! LOL Always wear my trusty baseball caps with hair tucked in. 🙂 ❤
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At least they are attractive, those rubber caps do nobody any favours!! hugsxx♥
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Factoid! 🙂 ❤
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Sally, you have seen more of the U.S. than I have, and I live here. Seattle is one of the places I’d like to visit, but would not want to live there. All the rain would be too much for me. From your letter, I can tell you were really excited about your folks’ coming visit. I’m sure they were too.
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Thank you Lyn.. and now I live in Ireland I am probably acclimatised!! I was excited to see them and to show them some of the places we had discovered.. hugsxx
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What a fabulous tour, Saly. You are seeing the high points of the US
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Thank you John… it was a wonderful two years.. hugsx
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I’ll bet. I would have liked to do the same in Europe.l
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With a stop off in Ireland… xx
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I mean the British Isles and Europe. (What was I thinking?)
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Hugs xxx
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XXX. If so I’ll call to warn you about putting the kettle on. (or to give you a chance to run for it.)
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No worries… not going anywhere… hugsxx
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Ha haha. 😀
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So happy that you appreciated the beauty of my home state of Washington!
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It was stunning Susanne… and would not mind a return trip.x
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Washington State is so wonderful and I’m glad you got to visit it. Living in Vancouver, we spent a lot of time in Seattle and loved it. NYC next!! So glad you got to see a lot of the US while you were there.
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Thanks Darlene.. we loved the travel and I was young and didn’t mind catching the cheap red eyes. We could see no reason to not see all of this amazing country in the short space of time we were there. xxx
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Loved hearing about the beauty of Seattle. For all the times I have visited the West Coast, that is one place I have yet to experience. Now, my step-brother and his family live there but he doesn’t speak of any of the local charm. Perhaps he is just too much a Michigan Man to appreciate his surroundings…
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I think sometimes it takes an outsider to see what the insiders have become used to. It is the same in my home town where I lived for 20 years… people marvel at the sea front and other attractions but we are so used to it we take for granted.. xxx♥
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A lovely post Sally, It will be nice to see what you do when your mum and dad arrive…. A trip down Memory Lane perhaps? Pxx
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I will Paul.. I have unearthed the album I put together for them of their trip and I will do three posts to cover their trip which included a near death experience for me on our 5th wedding anniversary! XXXX
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Wow! That sound’s like an edge of the seat read! Can’t wait!! Pxxx
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Oh, I loved this letter! It is amazing how majestic the northwest is, Washington and Oregon states. My first time there, not many years ago, I felt like a little girl when we were in the mountains. And Sally, what was your father’s boyhood wish?
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Thank you Jennie.. I get where you were coming from.. the scenery had that effect. And my father’s secret boyhood wish will be revealed….. I will do three or four posts on their visit… hugsxx ♥
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I was hoping you’d say that! Looking forward to it, Sally.
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Thanks Jennie..hugsx
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You’re welcome, Sally! 🙂
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What an amazing journey. I loved your letter, Sally, and the photos. Both brought back memories of my visits in years past. ♥
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Thank you Gwen.. so pleased you enjoyed..hugs ♥
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Another happy and newsy letter 💜
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Thank you Willow..hugsxx♥
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💜
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Great write up. I really enjoyed the way you presented the photos. Takin it back to the day!
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Thank you very much.. glad you enjoyed.
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