Retrospective: Our first year in Seattle

In preparation for moving over to a computer with a smaller hard drive, I've been trying to streamline my iphoto library, which is somewhere around 45 gb!  I was deep in 2008 today, and inadvertantly went into 2009 as well.  Here are some highlights from our first year in Seattle.

We arrived in Seattle July 2008.  This was the view from our first place - a condo we rented in Lower Queen Anne.  It was a wonderful introduction to the city to see such beautiful sunsets and have a view of Elliott Bay.

My husband left soon after we got there for a visit to Korea.  I stayed behind to settle in, unpack, and get ready for the school year.  I was fortunate that a good friend from high school was visiting.  We caught up while we scrubbed ourselves clean at Olympus Spa, a Korean sauna.  She introduced me to some of her close friends who lived in Seattle.  We ended up having dinner at a friend of a friend's where we had delicious grilled peaches with ice cream.

 

We took advantage of living near the Seattle Center and walked to Bumbershoot as well as the Folk Festival that year.  I remember being able to pick up cheap tickets for the former at  Starbucks and still getting in free to the big show (unlike now).  We also found great art for our place at Bumbershoot's Flatstock poster sale.  At Folklife, I remember the beautiful weather and hanging out on the lawn with friends. 

I tried to find my bicycling groove, which has been hard.  I loved riding on the lakefront path in Chicago, but the hills in Seattle have been a challenge.  That first year, I took a bicycle repair class in Fremont, which forced me to bike once a week, even if it was rainy or cold.

We threw lots of parties at our place - starting with a Halloween housewarming party, followed by a New Year's Eve party (since we had a view of the space needle and the fireworks from the hallway), a pi party, and finally a birthday party for my husband.  They involved beautiful views, lots of food, and often included a lot of Rock Band playing as well.

I found a place to dance at Velocity, where I took hip hop and West African dance classes at Oddfellows Hall in Capitol Hill.

Our first June in Seattle, I went to the Fremont Solstice Parade to see the naked bicyclists, belly dancers, and crazy floats.  The year ended with a trip back to the Midwest for our wedding and a move to a new apartment in North Capitol Hill.