Trip to Seattle

Picture taken at Pike's Place with my mom, first Starbucks :D

Being the first trip I planned from begining to end, have ran into quite a few issues. Just about a year has past since the trip, thought it would be nice for me to record these thoughts, just in case I have do someting similar in the future.

Make a More Versatile Plan

The third day that we were in Seattle, we got stucked in the hotel elevator, when we tried to come down and grab some breakfast :’). Luckly noo one died in the end (except the hotel manager lol), but we did lose a few precious hour of that morning, and the plan I got for the day had to be cancelled. In the end, we walked around Pike’s Place and took some pictures, checkout the image above if you want a reference :D.

What I realized was that, rather than making a plan composed entirely on when to do what, should have instead, make another category of things we can do at any given moment. Walk around Pike’s Place, visit the Central Public Library, or even just to go and checkout the Chinatown. These events, although trivial, would make a trip more fluid and flexible, helps me better adjust to the current situation of the trip.

Have Half of Day of Nothing

So I did have that on my original plan, but mainly because I ran out of things to do lol.

It was an afternoon towards the end of the trip, me and my mom ended up sitting in the hotel room, and chatted about the trip as a whole, things that we individually saw, funny pictures we took, and reflections we had.

To my surprise, that afternoon became one of the highlights through the trip. I did enjoy walking around the city and visiting new places, but really appreciate that short afternoon of doing nothing, reflecting things that we did, and exchange thoughts on how we can improve.

Might be because who I was with, my mom, who is much wiser and more mature than me. However, when places we visit would eventually get forgotten, soviourers we bought would at one day be thrown away, I still remember reflections my mom had, along with things that she said. This half day of nothing may be different for everyone, a time to organize pictures they took, a moment to catch up on sleep, but for me, thought it was a great oppotunity, getting feedback from the trip, and take notes on how I can do better on the next.

Enjoy the Trip

Really didn’t think about this until much later after the trip, but with more trips I took throughout the year, looking back, I didn’t quite ‘enjoy’ this trip compare to the other. I was solely looking for popular places around Seattle, and blindly adding them to the trip plan.

My mom enjoys taking pictures, so Chinatown or a longer visit at Chihuly Garden of Glass, would probably have being a better option for her. I perfer going somewhere quiet and just sit there, so should have marked a longer day trip at Mount Rainier, or even make a stop at the public library.

Now all that being said, it took me a while to figure out what I enjoyed on a trip. Nonetheless, do felt like I could have done a better job, at least at communciating with my parents while making the travel plan, asking them what their preference was, and make a trip that they would have enjoyed more.

Ending Thoughts

Truth be told, I still didn’t know where Seattle is at, even after we finished the trip lol. But it was, all in all, a great time visiting there :D.