I had the opportunity to visit Seattle during Thanksgiving break of 2022, opportunity in this case meaning I had saved just enough money and the flight ticket is cheap. From LAX to Sea-Tac takes just until 3 hours. Funny thing is the public transportation from Caltech to LAX is comparable to the flight time, at just until 2 hours with the combination of bus, metro, then flyaway bus from Union to airport.
I booked a hostel, since I’ll be outside for most of the time, and I could get a place close to main attractions with my budget. In fact the place I was staying was just next to Pike Place Market.
The night I arrived was Thursday Thanksgiving, so all restuarants were closed except for Hard Rock Cafe unfortunately. Yep, dinner was a 2000 calorie cheeseburger with 2 IPAs.
Friday, the rain poured, but I still decided to go for a run. In fact, running in rain makes you less tired. I guess all the sweat gets runned down by water, and I don’t have to worry about dehydration.
The highlight, however, was next day, which was renting a truck and driving down to Mt. Olympus National Park. I took a metro to the airport rental, and got a Toyota Tacoma, which I did not fully appreciate at that time.
From Sea-Tac to Mount Rainier National Park is around 80 miles, crossing multiple small towns and gorgeous lakes and forests, like the one below.
During November, Mt. Olympus National Park has one visitor center open: Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, which is in Paradise area. Even though the road is open, all cars (except for 4x4s) are required to have snow chains. Luckly Tacoma I rented is a 4×4 off-road truck (yep, this is when I fully appreciated my rental, since putting chains in rental cars is prohibited).
This was my first time driving on snow, and it was a rental car (sorry, Alamo). Luckily, nothing happened.
This trip was pretty awesome. However, I wish I had someone to go to split the cost of rental and etc. Maybe next time.
Brayden Noh 