Road Trip! – Seattle

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A good while ago, James & I had mentioned how much we’d both like to visit Seattle one day. It’s always been on my bucket list. Then, when our good friends, Lora and Dan, told us they were moving there in August AND hearing how much they loved their brief trip out there a couple weeks ago…it was decided. We were going! Seeing as we’re moving back to Georgia at the end of this month, James and I had to make this trip happen soon! No need waiting to travel even FARTHER to do it later on. It took 13 hours in the truck from Provo, UT to Seattle, WA. We made it happen this last weekend & love love loved every minute of it!

I have a SLEW of pictures, so I may be doing this trip in separate posts…starting from the beginning!…

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We stayed at the Marriott right on “Alaskan Way” (if you’re familiar with the area)…which is along the piers of Puget Sound. Our room with a view of boats, water, and flocking ‘gulls was perfect for the sunny weekend we stayed. We got there in the evening with enough time to wander along the piers and snag some fresh seafood for dinner at Ivar’s.

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Even though we soon found out that Seattle (or maybe Washington in general?! lol ) is full of pretty weird people – Sorry to offend anyone, but there are interesting folk around that area! – We still loved the city!

Our first morning we spent walking to the Monorail for a ride over to the Chihuly glass sculpture exhibit below the space needle – which James and I thoroughly enjoyed!

2013-04-04_0059Their monorail is – so I’ve been told – the oldest running alweg train in existence!  Been going for 50+ years! & is still running the ORIGINAL trains – no updates. Pretty cool!

2013-04-04_0011Dale Chihuly – a Washington local – creates the most AMAZING  blown glass sculptures. I’ve seen some of his installations before: Once at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and then a stunning ceiling installation in Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel.

The majority of these below were created to resemble his mother’s flower garden. His chandeliers, globes, and sea sculptures are phenomenal as well!

James’ favorite were these canoes…

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2013-04-04_00202013-04-04_0013 2013-04-04_00122013-04-04_00162013-04-04_00182013-04-04_00152013-04-04_00142013-04-04_0017Not only did it look beautiful…the gardens smelled INCREDIBLE!!! And the weather was perfect.

Later that day we found ourselves on the west side of Seattle for a scenic Segway tour! It was my second time on a Segway and James’ first. He was addicted!

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We are so glad we did it. Not only because we got a great deal via Groupon : ) , but we got an ideal view of the city from across the bay. We probably would have never made it to the west side had it not been for this tour. It’s a ritzier end of town to live and very gorgeous.

The tour was only about 1 1/2 hours & I asked James if we could drive by again to snag some more pictures. It was difficult to get any on a Segway & our group only made brief stops.

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Can I just mention again how PERFECTLY SUNNY the weather was?! The locals told us over and over again that we picked the best weekend to come…the warmest yet of the year!

…Because I’ve already posted a bleep-load of photos, I’ll make a separate one for the rest of our adventures at the Pike Place Market, on the Ferry, Orcas Island, and even a last minute day trip to Portland!

love, whit

photo shoot fun!

whitney gossling photography in the works!  …chels let me practice with her today. ha!

so folks, meet Chelsea Vose Hoer – graphic designer / artist / model / wife  – in her domain…

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Thanks to Vose Design… she designed our wedding invites just how we wanted them back in the day…

wedding invitation

here’s to a Monday full of snow, fashion, red lips, antlers, and photo fun with mah gurl!

love, whit

artsy-fartsy friday

here’s to my friday with no classes and working from home…spent on my bedroom floor…

and the finished product…

love me some chevron stripes and lots of colors!

chels and i were feeling creative today.

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goodness, there is so much to update!

but right now i have a headache and my bed is looking so inviting….

goodnight!

love, whit

walking through modern ancient rome

For me, one of the most incredible things in Rome (apart from reveling in the Sistine Chapel) was experiencing the Colosseum. You can see it from a distance in this picture I took:

anyway… up close, it is SO COOL (for lack of better words)!

Formerly known as the “Flavian Amphiteatre”, they started building it in 72 AD. Walking through a structure THAT old with so much history, is an amazing experience.

our tour guide, Alfredo – a Roman local, was so passionate and knowledgeable – he made it hard to not be even more excited about being in “Ancient Rome”…he knew everything, and smiled a lot while he talked about it…

i couldn’t help but be happy too!

pictures do not do justice to what it was like walking through this massive structure – CENTURIES old…with worn brick walls. It used to host THE main events back in its day – seating between 50-60,000 people. Obviously the main arena is worn off, but you can see underneath where there were once “elevator shafts” to let up the beasts for fights. Everything so ingeniously structured.

very fascinating.

afterwards, we wandered to The Ancient Forums … it’s a strangely beautiful combination and modern and old…

love, whit