Needlers’ Getaway To Seattle

Diane Cazalet

“The Seven” pose in front of the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit

“The Seven” pose in front of the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit

In late April seven of the High Prairie Needlers took the train for a two-night stay in Seattle. When we took our seats on Amtrak upon departure from Vancouver the conductor didn’t bother to check our tickets but instead exclaimed, “Oh, you are ‘The Seven’!” We had a few laughs about our new name and from then on referred to ourselves as, ‘The Seven’.

Our trip felt a little like being back in high school or college again even though all of us, except one, were traveling on senior fares. We shared lunches, snacks and stories on the train and enjoyed the carefree travel. On arrival we went by bus and monorail to the Seattle Center for the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit. It was the highlight of our trip as we spent  hours there photographing and viewing the exquisite glass works both inside and out in the gardens. It was such a beautiful setting with spring blooms, flowering glass and the Space Needle above us in the background.

For the next two days we kept busy with much walking through downtown Seattle and Bainbridge Island. We took the ferry to Winslow (on Bainbridge Island) to shop and have a leisurely dinner in a local fish house and pub. We all had to take photos of the rock art in the gardens. There were multiple figures made of basalt and other stones. They were almost life size, walking, running, riding a unicycle and doing handstands. ‘The Seven’ all wanted to make figures for our own gardens on our return but decided that would be something we do together later in the year.

Our hotel was out at the Sea-Tac Airport so we took the local ‘Link’, or light rail, to our rooms each night. We shared our evenings together with wine, snacks and much laughter. We felt no different than we had 40 to 50 years ago at a slumber party. Such fun for those of us who had not shared rooms with girlfriends in decades. We returned with many good memories, but I am told that several of us took a good day to recuperate from all the activity. One of us had pedometer and it recorded that we walked around the city over seven miles in one day. I guess that did not discourage anyone as we are already planning our next adventure together.

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