Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

12/24/2005, Seattle trip day 1: Arrival, visit with Mom

Akemi and I took a trip to Seattle from 12/24/2005 to 12/31/2005.  It was mainly a chance for me to see people and places I had missed, but we did quite a bit of sightseeing, too.  For a summary of the trip, see the last day.

Travel to Seattle

We took separate planes, because we bought our tickets on different days.  At first, we didn't think Akemi could get the time off from work.  However, I arrived only an hour after she did.  No big deal.  Akemi stopped in Seoul.  I went via Vancouver.  I rather liked the Vancouver airport.  It feels very new.

Native American art all over the place.

More Native American art.

Very modern feeling.

I caught this small plane from Vancouver, BC to Seattle.

The view from inside, coming down into Seattle, was great.

Not sure where this is, but it's pretty.

Pretty scenery from the plane.

Almost on the ground.

Akemi's trip via Seoul, Korea

During her layover in Seoul, Akemi stopped and got some spicy Korean food.  Not so good for the gut, but surely tasty.

Akemi took this, apparently to tease me.  I love this stuff, too.

And here's the rest of the stuff.  Lots of Japanese food, for the Japanese travelers who come.

Apparently, Christmas has appeal in Korea as well.  Those are Korean letters near the bottom.

Riding around town with Mom

Upon arrival, my mom took us for a delightful ride around town.

Seeing normal things like buses was somehow magical for me.

Akemi liked this church.  I think she likes anything that seems historical, even if it's not really all that old.

We stopped in for coffee at El Diablo.  This made me really happy.  I had been hoping we could go straight to a coffee shop when we arrived.  I have missed this place and others like it.  And, Akemi and I were both jet lagged.

The guy at El Diablo has this amazing talent for making pictures in your drink.

Above all, I was really happy to see my mom.  And, vice versa.

Sitting with Akemi in one of my favorite Seattle hang-outs was fun.  Sort of a bridge between my two little worlds (Japan and Seattle).

After that, we stopped home, and then went for a ride to see Christmas lights.  We were a little tired to get full benefit from the experience, though.  Something like 20 hours from Akemi's door to my mom's, not including the riding around.

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