Your first trip alone is always a scary adventure, especially going to a different foreign country (even if it’s just a hop skip and a jump to the US). I am extremely grateful that I got to experience this adventure with my partner Cooper. We were a ragtag duo of one who has not travelled outside of the country since they were 7 and a person who is bad at directions and hangry. And oh my gosh was it fun, I loved adventuring with Cooper and to do the main goal of the trip; to go see my dream artist, Clairo!

I think the US gets a really bad rep sometimes especially with their politics, but Seattle was such a wonderful place. Still, somethings were different, people did not typically say thank you when leaving a store or getting off the bus. In Canada, when someone leaves the store it is almost expected to say thank you, the employees wait for it. Another thing, was when we would compliment people randomly, it would take a second to register that we were talking to them.

Which is something I find particularly interesting, it reminds me of a piece I read in Digital Media on how people will act invisible until interacted with and then following back to invisibility. But that is a topic for another blog post…

Day 1: Pike Place Market, Aquarium and the Clairo Concert

Our goal for the day was to stick around Central Seattle and close to our hotel and concert. We explored the depths of Pike Place Market, and found some of the coolest stores we had ever seen. Osara Com was this cool Japanese artists store filled with clothing with her designs on them. Pike St. Press printed their own personal stickers, shirts, things in their store! They had some really cool stickers and cool notebooks.

Next, was the aquarium and although it was quite busy and filled with children running loose it was amazing. I got to see animals that I cherish deeply, as much as I did in grade three when I wanted to be a Marine Biologist. Getting to watch Cooper experience the aquarium helped me see real beauty and appreciation one has for the animals and learning. My favourites were the sea otters and the aquariums new section where there is a domed tank with sharks, rays and fish.

After the aquarium we grabbed some Chipotle and made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the concert. When we got to the venue an hour early we accidentally started in the VIP line and once we realized this mistake we had to book it towards the general line, which wrapped around the block. But despite that minor mistake we had a pretty good view of the concert and it was so fun. I danced, I cried and I was so overjoyed to get to see my favourite artist perform. Cooper’s favourite song was Echo, and now without fail everytime we are in the car I hear the song at least once. I am so grateful I got to go to the concert with Coop <3

Day 3: Museum of Pop Culture, Shopping and Traveling Back Home

As our trip came to a close, we went on our last adventure around the city. Our first stop was MOPOP (Museum of Pop Culture) this was a dream for both me and Cooper. We were able to let out our inner nerd and it was so neat seeing some of our favourite pieces from media. I really enjoyed seeing the FBI badges from X Files and all the Star Wars things that were there. Cooper really loved seeing the Star Wars stuff, Doctor Who and so much more.

After MOPOP we visited Pike Place Market for the last time and ventured around the hidden buildings and shops. Our very last stop was a small thrift shop near our hotel. I bought a little pinky ring and Cooper bought this super cool keychain.

We then caught a ride to the airport and went through TSA, which was so much more intense than I had originally thought, the security dogs were super cute although I could not pet them I was able to stare and wish that I could. When we touched down in Vancouver the shift in attitudes between people was noticeable. We had some confusion with our luggage but the Westjet employees were incredibly helpful in the step by step to pay less for our luggage.

I found Seattle such a beautiful city with some super kind people. I met some really cool people at the concert but also some cool people while traveling through out the city. It was cool to see the art culture and the fashion that was present in the city. It was sick to see pop up shops for thrifting and cool graphic designs. I feel that my city is on path to be similar to Seattle, it will take a couple years for sure but step by step Kelowna is becoming a huge hub for culture.