Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Thank you Aunt Cheryl
Hi everyone. Contrary to what we may have said before, we will be coming home!! We will still be quite strained but it is much better now. We WERE looking at $1500 tickets, $400 car rental, $1000 for a place to stay and food and that wouldn't even touch presents. We had pretty much decided that going home wasn't going to be an option. We want to thank Aunt Cheryl very much for her donation to the cause. She gave us a big boost PLUS tonight we found tickets for $1272 after taxes so we bought them and we will be flying into Detroit again, this time in December, the 17th. We will be home for 17 DAYS!!!! We do need some more help if it works for anyone...Aunt C has also been kind enough to offer us a place to stay but we would rather not have to be all over any one person's space for 17 days. If anyone has a cat free option that they think they could host us for. PLEASE let us know. Originally we were thinking of getting a furnished apartment (the majority of the $1000 mentioned above) but it seems a bit silly with so many friends any family places to stay right?!? Hahaha, we are excited and we are very great full and feel very loved to have someone give us help and to reaffirm that we have so much support back home in MI. We love you all!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Cultural learnings of Seattle for Make Benefit Glorious City of Grand Rapids
Today, we went on a sightseeing venture to the Seattle Center. It was a busy day and we managed to spend from 8:30a.m. until 7:30p.m. out of our hotel room. We went apartment hunting at 2, but before that we found somethings out. These are some things that we have observed in the great land of Seattle that may be of interest:
1. If you want to get anywhere a distance from home in any reasonable time, you have to grab a warm body and pull them in your car so you can go in the diamond lane (carpool, 2+ people). Which means, when I have to go to corporate, I'm alone and therefore, I'm screwed, it takes 60 minutes for a 33 minute trip. But with Stashia and Tryson at my side, we are a powerful force that can zoom by cars at 2 to 3 times their speed. Also, there are stoplights at on ramps to control traffic flow. Oh, and to round out the traffic differences, there are no "Michigan lefts". If you want to turn left, you wait for a light, not a convenient median.
2. The city is beautiful and all the attractions are amazing, and in my opinion the best ones are free. The space needle is what everyone talks about, but I am not about to pay $32 so that my family can go up there. I'm an engineer, not a doctor. Second of all, if you want to eat up there it is about $40-60 a plate. Again, engineer...not doctor. The sculpture park on the other hand is free to visit and even has a Calder sculpture! If you love gardens and woody plants, there are plenty of those for free as well. Viva Seattle!
3. This is kinda from yesterday, but we discovered a huge Steve & Barry's store in the Everett Mall. Let's look at some pictures:
Only in Seattle would some put a Michigan shirt anywhere near an Ohio State shirt.
WARNING, NEXT PICTURE IS NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN A STORE IN THE MALL:
I have no words for this, it was funny seeing the look on Stashia's face though.
In summary, we have found Seattle, hard to get through, beautiful, confused and naked. More to come, I'm going to have Stashia write a blog soon, maybe tomorrow.
-Chris
1. If you want to get anywhere a distance from home in any reasonable time, you have to grab a warm body and pull them in your car so you can go in the diamond lane (carpool, 2+ people). Which means, when I have to go to corporate, I'm alone and therefore, I'm screwed, it takes 60 minutes for a 33 minute trip. But with Stashia and Tryson at my side, we are a powerful force that can zoom by cars at 2 to 3 times their speed. Also, there are stoplights at on ramps to control traffic flow. Oh, and to round out the traffic differences, there are no "Michigan lefts". If you want to turn left, you wait for a light, not a convenient median.
2. The city is beautiful and all the attractions are amazing, and in my opinion the best ones are free. The space needle is what everyone talks about, but I am not about to pay $32 so that my family can go up there. I'm an engineer, not a doctor. Second of all, if you want to eat up there it is about $40-60 a plate. Again, engineer...not doctor. The sculpture park on the other hand is free to visit and even has a Calder sculpture! If you love gardens and woody plants, there are plenty of those for free as well. Viva Seattle!
3. This is kinda from yesterday, but we discovered a huge Steve & Barry's store in the Everett Mall. Let's look at some pictures:
Only in Seattle would some put a Michigan shirt anywhere near an Ohio State shirt.WARNING, NEXT PICTURE IS NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN A STORE IN THE MALL:
I have no words for this, it was funny seeing the look on Stashia's face though.In summary, we have found Seattle, hard to get through, beautiful, confused and naked. More to come, I'm going to have Stashia write a blog soon, maybe tomorrow.
-Chris
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Family, Departure and Arrival
We're in Seattle! Well Everett actually. It took a lot to get here and we are happy to get a little settled at least.
Stashia, Tryson and I want to thank everyone for everything they did to help us keep our sanity. There was so much work to have done over the last couple weeks that we would have never made it if we had done it alone. So THANK YOU to our close friends and to our families for doing so much for us at the drop of a hat, we really do appreciate it.
To continue on with the story version of things, flying was not stress free. Three large carry-ons, a backpack and a car seat are enough to carry for 3 or 4 people, but somehow Stash and I managed to carry all that plus passing around Tryson from time to time. Both flights were delayed due to mechanical issues, but we arrived only 30 minutes late. Got back to the hotel around 10pm Seattle time (1am on our body clocks) and crashed around 11:30.
This morning I woke up and was stuck in I-5 traffic making my commute twice as long. There was much relief after I arrived at Boeing though. Very relaxed atmosphere, a very beautiful corporate office, just happiness. I'm excited for orientation on Friday.
For now, Stashia, Tryson and I are going to go out and explore/shop Everett today. We may venture into Seattle in the next couple days, but as always...there is still a ton to do.
Stashia, Tryson and I want to thank everyone for everything they did to help us keep our sanity. There was so much work to have done over the last couple weeks that we would have never made it if we had done it alone. So THANK YOU to our close friends and to our families for doing so much for us at the drop of a hat, we really do appreciate it.
To continue on with the story version of things, flying was not stress free. Three large carry-ons, a backpack and a car seat are enough to carry for 3 or 4 people, but somehow Stash and I managed to carry all that plus passing around Tryson from time to time. Both flights were delayed due to mechanical issues, but we arrived only 30 minutes late. Got back to the hotel around 10pm Seattle time (1am on our body clocks) and crashed around 11:30.
This morning I woke up and was stuck in I-5 traffic making my commute twice as long. There was much relief after I arrived at Boeing though. Very relaxed atmosphere, a very beautiful corporate office, just happiness. I'm excited for orientation on Friday.
For now, Stashia, Tryson and I are going to go out and explore/shop Everett today. We may venture into Seattle in the next couple days, but as always...there is still a ton to do.
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