Story by Nicole

On our way to Anchorage, we had an 11-hour layover in Seattle that we used to visit a friend of Jason’s and explore Seattle, which he had never seen. We spent the time walking about 15 miles around the city, from Capital Hill to Pike Place Market. 

I adore the Pacific Northwest, and Seattle decided to go even further and spoil us with beautiful weather. The clouds slowly cleared throughout the day, so we went from slightly cold to a little hot during our 15-mile walk around the city. We ate great food, we saw the sites, we hung out with an awesome person. It was a good day. 

Thai iced tea with lunch (Photo/Jason Rafal)

What Nicole thought was a giant coffee roaster in the Starbucks Reserve (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Pike Place Market (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nice branding (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Delicious and adorable empanadas (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Tuesday we had a leisurely morning to recover from the previous day. We had brunch at the Snow City Cafe, which was packed with people and had tasty food and a lively atmosphere. After brunch we drove up to Talkeetna, where we were supposed to take a plane ride into the park. Unfortunately the weather refused to cooperate with our plans and the planes weren’t flying, but we enjoyed the cute town and spent some time hiking around in the Talkeetna Lakes Park. Next time we’re in Alaska we’re going to take a little longer and spend some time in Denali National Park, so this was a good teaser. 

Drink offerings at Conscious Coffee (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Rainy day latte (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Moss being photogenic in Talkeetna Lakes Park (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A very attractive mushroom (Photo/Jason Rafal)