We ate doughnuts from the Daily Dozen, drank tea at MarketSpice, drank soup at Pike Place Chowder, went behind the counter to sample Chukar Cherries, ate herbed curds at Beecher’s, sampled Piroshky-Piroshky pastries, and finished with Etta’s triple coconut cream pie.

In addition to sampling some delicious Honeycrisp apples at Frank’s Quality Produce, we also learnt that if one wants eggplants with fewer seeds, one should choose the male eggplants with the small round navel, rather than the female eggplants with the long wide navels.

But most exciting of all, as we were savouring the smoked salmon at Pike Place Fish Markets, the fishmongers threw me one of their giant fishes, and I caught it! I smelt like a fishwife for the rest of the day, but it was well worth it for such a quintessential Seattle experience.

1. Technological innovation. I live in the home of Microsoft and Boeing. This is the country that brought me the internet, Roomba, and my iPhone. I was able to go to the Apple keynote and see Steve Jobs in person bring out the MacBook Air.

2. Online shopping. These days, if I go shopping in a mall, it’s for fun. For all the non-fun purchases, I have safeway.com, spud.com, drugstore.com, etsy.com, ebay.com, and of course my beloved neighbour amazon.com with free super saver shipping.

3. Ice-cream. Ben and Jerry’s is available everywhere, so whenever I need a hit of chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream, a pint is always waiting for me in the freezer section.

4. Natural beauty. On many days of the year, the first thing I see as I step outside is Mt Rainier, towering over the Seattle skyline. The USA has stunning landscapes ranging from sandstone formations to lush forests to immense glaciers.

5. Movies and Television. I must say, I get excited every time I get to watch Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy and Dexter. I loved Bring It On, Clueless, Veronica Mars and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Daily Show over breakfast is a great way to start the day. And there is Disneyland on the west coast, and Disney World on the east coast.

6. The Constitution. The US constitution contains such progressive ideals as the separation of church and state, all individuals (well, men) being equal, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, requirement of probable cause before arrest, no cruel or unusual punishment. Of course, the right to bear arms was not such a great idea, and it did take the 19th amendment in 1920 to give women the right to vote.

7. Squirrels and Chipmunks. These creatures are so cute! I get to see a squirrel nearly every day, and they never cease to fascinate me. I love the way that they hold food with two hands, and glide fluidly across the path. Chipmunks come out begging when we hike, and perch up on rocks with their stripes and bright eyes.

8. Philanthropy. When many Americans become billionaires, they pour a lot of that wealth back into the community. From Bill Gates to Warren Buffet to Rockefeller, many of those who have succeeded in America’s capitalist environment have made significant charitable contributions to the world.

9. Halloween. What a fun holiday. Dressing up and eating chocolate. I wish we had this in Australia while I was growing up.

10. NASA. From Teflon to the Moon to Spirit and Opportunity to the Phoenix Lander, NASA has brought us into the space age. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has made space-exploring robots a reality.

We experienced an extreme of this culture on Saturday night, when we attended our first and only American sporting event – the university football game. The 70 000 seat Husky stadium dominates the campus, and it was at around 80% capacity when we arrived. The Huskies are ranked 118 out of the 119 college football teams, and they have yet to win a game all season. Yet, around 55 000 people came out to see them, paying anything from $16 to $127 to join in the event. Even more strangely, as we walked through the parking lot, we saw people sitting under purple and gold marquees, watching the game on television right outside the stadium.

Due to new stricter criteria, football players for the University of Washington now must meet the same admission and grading requirements as the rest of the student body. They must keep a relatively high grade-point average throughout the semester, and are removed from the team if they fail too many courses. Thus, the ranking of the team has plummeted because the players are now spending more time on their subsidised education at one of the best public universities in the USA. Naturally, fans are outraged at these new requirements. Yet somehow, the whole audience was convinced that the Huskies were the best team in the world, and cussed at the referees for every penalty that was given to the home team. We left at half-time in disgust, and caught a bus home with a freshman dressed head-to-toe in Husky purple, who declared that she wished that she had never come to UW, and that she had gone to a place with a better football team so that she could be proud of her university.

At half-time, 3000 students from high school marching bands around Washington gathered to play the Husky theme song “Bow down to Washington”. It was quite a spectacle. 

The time has come to leave “the greatest nation in the world” and to find a home that is more in line with our values and our ideals. Next month, we will be spending three months in Australia, before starting our new home in Leuven, Belgium.

Now, the sand was grey rather than golden, and the water was glacial, but there was a super-cute puppy called Sara that entertained me throughout the evening. She is a delightful miniature beagle, and I took her for lots of walks up and down the board-walk. I was very surprised that this meant that all sorts of people stopped to talk to me, and made me consider that a Belgian puppy might be a great people-meeting tool.

Adrian spent the afternoon chasing the two-year-old around, following him down slides, across beaches, flying him across the water, and burying him in sand. He is so great with children – full of enthusiasm and ready to be silly and energetic and fun. I am much more reserved and self-conscious – afraid that I will break the kid, or at least do something of which that the parents won’t approve.

As the sun set beneath the mountains, we gathered around the fire-pit to warm ourselves and enjoy another beautiful Seattle day. It was a great party, filled with so many of the wonderful friends that we have found here over the past two years. I am glad that we had one more evening all together, where we could relax, watch the ferries go past, the flames flicker on the logs, and hear the laughter of good people on the beach.

All photos by Liannabanana.

Lydia:
I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Lydia [...] may not be joined in matrimony to Adrian [...].

Adrian:
I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Adrian [...] may not be joined in matrimony to Lydia [...].

Celebrant:
As no impediment was declared, I ask you Adrian;

Do you give to Lydia the love of your person, the comfort of your companionship, and the patience of your understanding? Do you share equally with her the necessities of life as they may be earned or enjoyed by yourself, and do you respect the dignity of her person? Do you offer yourself wholly and joyfully, and do you choose Lydia as the person with whom you will share your life?

Adrian:
I do

Celebrant:
Do you, Lydia, give to Adrian the love of your person, the comfort of your companionship, and the patience of your understanding? Do you share equally with him the necessities of life as they may be earned or enjoyed by yourself, and do you respect the dignity of his person? Do you offer yourself wholly and joyfully, and do you choose Lydia as the person with whom you will share your life?

Lydia:
I do

Celebrant:
Please turn to face each other and join your hands and repeat after me:

Adrian:
I call upon those persons present to witness that I Adrian [...] take you Lydia [...] to be my lawful wedded wife.
To grow with you and learn with you.
To cherish you for who you are.
To be a loving friend and equal partner in marriage.
To laugh with you and live life to the fullest with you.
You are my best friend, and you bring out the best in me.
You have brought me my greatest happiness.I love you dearly, completely and utterly.

Lydia:
I call upon those persons present to witness that I Lydia [...] take you Adrian [...] to be my lawful wedded husband.
To share hopes, thoughts and dreams
To communicate fully and fearlessly
You are an amazing and extraordinary person
You have my deepest friendship, respect, trust, confidence and love.
I give you my hand and my heart
as a sanctuary of warmth and peace
I ask you to share this world with me.

Celebrant:
May I have the rings please? Love is a circle of happiness, wonder, and delight. Let your rings be regarded as a symbol of the love you expressed today.

Adrian, Take Lydia’s ring and place it on the ring finger of her left hand.

Adrian:
Today I give this ring as my gift to you. Wear it and think of me and know that I love you.

Celebrant:
Lydia, take Adrian’s ring and place it on the ring finger of his right hand.

Lydia:
Today I give this ring as my gift to you. Wear it and think of me and know that I love you.

Celebrant:
Lydia and Adrian having shared your vows and exchanged these rings, now by the authority vested in me by the province of Alberta, I pronounce you husband and wife.