I finally made it to the halfway point in this crazy quest of mine! State #25 on December 7, 2024. When I was thinking of the halfway point state, Dave said it should be a memorable one. When I figured out that ASHA (speech and language national association) was having their convention in Seattle in December 2024, I found a race about 2.5 hours from Seattle. So, a business trip combined with a race, and I would finish 25 by the end of the year. Plus, Dave had been there before for a conference and really liked it and wanted to go again with me. The race itself was a small race that would probably be made up of locals and it involved running a path 6 times to make 13.1 miles. But we would have a great time with all our other plans in WA. So super excited about the trip, even if the race was only so-so.
After attending my conference for 1.5 days and getting all the CE's I needed, we had a half a day in Seattle to explore.
Seattle Convention Center
I got to walk to the convention center in an underground passage that connected to other stores and hotels. Nicely decorated!
Had to go to Starbucks in Seattle...even if for apple cider and not the original one
The convention center was in 3 different buildings and there were so many people attending!
Dave spent Thursday walking around Seattle and getting tickets for the Space Needle for Friday.
We were able to have dinner at Ivar's by the waterfront on Thursday night. So yummy!! And we walked around the area. It was an easy downhill walk to the waterfront. Not so easy of a walk back!
The bottom of the stairway!
The famous gum wall. It had been cleaned off recently, so the amount of gum was less than usual. But it was still a lot and kind of gross.
Friday was the end of my part of the conference and our day at the Space Needle. Before our ticket time, we were able to have lunch at the waterfront (clam chowder in bread bowls) and visit the Public Market where they throw fish. We only caught the end of a throw but were able to see the fish for sale.
More gum wall pics!
The fish were welcoming ASHA!
The first Starbucks. The line was too long for us.
It is a small Starbucks
We left the waterfront for the Space Needle. Our tickets also included the Chihuly Museum. This was a museum of glass sculptures, and they were so cool!
These were in the ceiling
They had sculptures outside as well
This view of the Space Needle makes it look like the sombrero at South of the Border!
We went to the Space Needle next, and I was getting nervous as I had figured out that to get to the top, you had to ride an outside glass elevator! I am not a fan of those. In fact, I closed my eyes the whole way up! We also got to read about the history of the Space Needle as we were waiting for our turn to go up. At the top, Dave stood on the glass bench by the glass barrier. It was a good view, but there were spaces between the glass pieces. Not big enough to fall through, but still, spaces!
The Christmas lights at the very top of the Needle were reflected in the glass
After you left the observation deck, you then walked down a level to the revolving floor...a glass revolving floor! (I really don't like heights) There used to be a restaurant on this floor.
The glass floor
It was now time to leave Seattle and drive to Yakima. We stopped for pizza on the way, but didn't see too much because it was dark. Our trip so far was memorable, but I still did not have much hope for a memorable race...I was wrong! Saturday morning was an early start with the race starting at 7. Our first job was to scrape the ice from the car. It was below freezing kind of day with some light drizzle.
Then the memorable part started.... the race had been canceled! We drove to the address they gave us, but then drove around thinking we were in the wrong place. We were getting a little frustrated. Apparently, they had sent out an email Tuesday that was in my spam. They didn't give a real reason for the cancellation but did answer my emails and texts about the race that morning. The race was part of US Road Running. But since I was there and had trained and has spent money to get there, I ran. By myself. All 6 laps of the walkway by the Yakima River. And within a week, I got my medal in the mail.
The start of the "race"
It was a cold, dreary day. And there was some ice on the path. But there were a few other people, not runners, that were out walking as it was a public path.
So, my WA race was memorable, but not for the usual reasons. Some states are like that though. But I always find something fun to do in the state before and after I run!
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