My 2nd Big Fat Solo Adventure: Seattle!

Whimsy is such an underrated thing, darlings. It’s hard to create space for it in our daily lives, let alone the time. About two months ago I was notified of a flash sale on Alaska Airlines and it was just too good of a deal to pass up. So where did I go? Seattle! With no plan or agenda, no real reason to go, other than just why not. I was not even excited to go, to be frank. My very brief whirlwind of a relationship came to an abrupt end when the other person acted really dumb when they came over to my place last Saturday and then ghosted me. So, I ended it and flew to Seattle the next day.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I needed this trip! I needed the whimsy! I needed to be on my own and just do whatever the hell I wanted and take my sweet time doing it. I knew I wanted to visit the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Experience Music Project). And I knew I wanted to catch up with a friend who moved up there a few months ago, but that was it.

I hadn’t been to Seattle in ten or maybe fifteen years. Back in the late 90’s when my ex-husband and I were not yet engaged, we visited a few times to feel it out and seriously considered moving there. It didn’t work out, but Seattle will always have a special place in my heart. Going back was a serious head trip! On my own I got to take in those feels and sit with them, which I highly recommend. It gave me such peace to be amongst the wet and the green and even the cold up there.

I snapped a selfie when I got to my air bnb

I stayed in an air bnb in the Fremont area and it was a nice spot over all. Great location without being in the middle of the city. There were lots of great restaurants and shops nearby, it just had a great vibe. I had a rental car and while I didn’t explore much, what I saw just made my twisted little heart happy.

I had deleted all of my dating apps once that abbreviated relationship began. I decided the morning before I left for the airport that I would download Tinder and use it to possibly find a dinner companion, nothing more. I am demisexual so hookups just don’t work for me. I have to feel connected to someone before I even really find that sexually attractive. When I got to my air bnb I got a notification that I had matched with two people on Tinder.

I started chatting with Justin right away, he seemed geeky and chill and knew who he was and what he wanted and I appreciated that. They had just finished dinner but were up for hanging out after. I struggled to find a place I wanted to eat but settled on this French Bistro nearby called Le Coin. I made it there with fifteen minutes left of their happy hour deals. I had a nice cocktail (Tito’s & Cran is my go-to) and ate many delicious things! I felt fancy and deserved it too!

After I met up with Justin, enjoyed some fabulously geeky conversation at length, some “clouds” and later some kisses, too! It was really a lovely evening through and through! I know you must think I’m insane to go to a strange man’s house in a unfamiliar city, but I honestly felt completely safe. They had the most beautiful and luxuriously fluffy siamese cat! And can I just say how much I love it when someone tells me they want to kiss me?! Seriously! OMZ! I’ve had some really great moments in my recent # ButterSpinster life that were preceded by that statement. We even called it a night at a respectable hour and I found some apricot hard cider at the 7-11 nearby on my way home. Score!

The next day I found a great place for some espresso and a lil’ bite for breakfast called, Diva Espresso! Woo! It was tasty and I enjoyed sitting by the window and watching people and their dogs go by. Then I went to the Museum of Pop Culture which was fun, but one of my knees decided it was too cold and pitched a very painful fit for two days. I utilized every elevator in existence (there is a lot of up and down at MoPop to get to the exhibits), got compliments on my dress from the staff, and overwhelmed with emotions at a couple of meaningful spots for me. My faves were the Prince from Minneapolis exhibit, Nirvana: Bringing Punk to the Masses, and the “Scared to Death” horror film exhibit.

Diva Espresso? Yes, please!

Legendary Fashion!

I’m a grunge kid at heart, always will be, so when I walked in to the Nirvana room it was like getting hit in the heart with a brick! Having been there before it was interesting to see new items and set ups and soooooo many of Kurt’s old guitars in various stages of destruction. His handwriting can make me emotional and his doodles always move me in a way I have no words to share. He was such a tender soul and I see how his impact is still alive and well in Washington. I considered driving to Aberdeen to his memorial site but it would have been a 3 hour drive each way and I ran out of time. There was a documentary about the music scene and more specifically the origin of Sub Pop records and all of the bands of that era. It felt like an old friend.

From the exhibit: Nirvana – Bringing Punk to the Masses

Kirt was always a feminist and anti-nazi! <3

I wasn’t “Scared to Death” but thrilled for sure!

I did not expect to get as excited and stoked and happy about the horror exhibit but damn, I got hyped! Seeing props from The Walking Dead and Video Drone and so many other classics made me feel like a kid! There was a sci-fi room and a magic/fantasy room, too. When I walked in to the Sci Fi exhibit I was stunned in place! I was faced with Mork’s uniform! Such a big part of my early childhood right there in front of me! WOW! I choked up a bit! I couldn’t understand why no one else was stopping to look or read the little plaque.

Sexy red lighting!

The Walking Dead: The Governor’s aquarium

Bio Hazard! Or am I the bio hazard?!

I wasn’t too into much of the rest, though I did pause and take in see Spock’s shirt from the original series. I mean to see it up close, though it was faded and appeared more lavender than blue now, the gold stitching was still shiny and intact. While I’ve never been a big fan of Pearl Jam I did go hang out in their exhibit and watched a lengthy slide show of their career set to their catalog. It is an odd feeling to know that all of your musical heroes are dead and yet this one band from a very important and developmental time of my own life is still going strong. It was also strange to hear Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains announcing things over the loudspeaker at the SeaTac airport, but these are just wild times, friends.

Mork, from Ork, Uniform <3

Spock’s Shirt, so cool!

I went nuts over this chandelier at the pizza place!
It’s just a regular small brass one but they hung a bunch of rosaries all over and I LOVE IT!

I got to meet up and catch up with a good friend I’ve known for nearly twenty years. We used to work at a music store together and have stayed in touch. They live two hours north of Seattle so we hung out and caught up on our mutual life stuffs at my air bnb for awhile. Finally we decided we wanted Italian food and ended up in this kind of hipster pizza place nearby, Lo Bocca di Lupo. Their pizza was sublime, I had one with mortadella, fresh mozzarella and pistachios! I also got to introduce my friend to the magic of burrata! YUM!

Me being a mega dork

I had wanted to go out that night, I tried to go out that night, but in the end I decided that giving my knee a break would be best and so I stayed in and watched the Astronomy Club on Netflix (new sketch show). It was good! I had a couple of those apricot ciders, and went to sleep at a reasonable hour. I had felt bad at first about not going out, like, I’m in Seattle I should make the most of it, but that whole thing about doing whatever the hell you want? It’s addictive! Ha-ha!

View from the street of my air bnb on my last morning there

The next morning I met up with Justin downtown for great espresso and some lovely breakfast sandwiches. We talked for three hours! There were so many dogs, too! Seattle has too many dogs, possibly, especially for how effing cold it is, but I understand wanting a dog in your life. Honestly, I had a really good time all weekend. So what if I didn’t “get out” and do things like I thought I wanted to. The beautiful part about traveling solo is that I don’t have to worry about a damned thing but my own self! I never even felt anxious the whole time I was there.

Now both of my flights were 100% full and that made me a bit nervous. I did get to check my bag at the gate for free both ways, but I had concerns about a full row of people next to my fat ass on a plane. However, I did not have any issues at all! In fact, on my return flight, they didn’t have a seatbelt extender right away and said they’d bring it to me. While I was fishing the attached seatbelt from beneath my lusciously bountiful butt I decided to see how much extending I was actually going to need when lo ad behold **Click** the seatbelt actually fit! Now I am not placing any good/bad/value/judgements on this, it was a fluke for sure, and it only juuuust fit, but it was a nice surprise just the same as the attendant forgot who had requested the extender. Ha-ha! For reference, I have 62″ hips and a big ole B-belly, I find Alaska’s seats comfortable though not roomy for sure. This was my first time flying with them both ways with a full flight, meaning someone in the middle seat beside me, I had the window. Both ways there was a petite woman in the middle seat and no one complained or seemed uncomfortable.

I am really glad I took this little trip. I am fortunate and very grateful that my ex-husband could watch my sweet lil’ puggo while I was away. He even kept him an extra night just because. When I got to work I felt refreshed! On a Monday! Who knew?! Ha-ha! I think I just needed a lil’ break from the madness that was the last two weeks and before the coming onslaught of holiday nonsense. I also needed to check in with myself after that whole relationship debacle. I’m not sad about it at all, not for a second, and not even a little bit. That part alone almost freaked me out, I tend to feel all the things very deeply, but that was also a sign that I needed to reset so to speak. This being only my second solo leisure travel adventure, I can’t say I’m hooked, but the world does seem to be opening up for me in this new fun way. Without the pressure of others, I can roam, or not, as I choose! Watch out world!

Waiting for my Lyft home at SJC

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I’m here for realness and sincerity, honesty and vulnerability, I’m here for the good and juicy bits of life that shine for me when I know I’m heading in the right direction.

Rad Fatty Love to ALL,

<3
S

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