Wednesday, May 25 was my first day of work at GGLO in downtown Seattle. I’m really liking it so far. They are an integrated design firm of architects, urban planners, interior designers and landscape architects. They create and revitalize communities by elevating the quality and spirit of life. This approach creates a more sustainable design to spaces. Their main market sectors are multifamily residential, mixed use, commercial, office, retail, hospitality, parks & public places and single family. They were founded in 1986 and similar in size to LS3P’s Charleston office. They were about 120 people before the recession and now around 60. They pride themselves on the comfortable balance between hierarchy and anarchy, happy hours and working crazy hours. There is no dress code (that’s for middle schoolers) so jeans to work is fine by them. They have a strong community service commitment, recently winning an award for their efforts in Seattle. Most of my colleagues are very young and fun. The project I am working on is a team of 4 girls. I count my blessings every day that our transition to our new home has gone so smoothly. I'm shocked how quickly I found a good job at a reputable company. It's great to know you can trust in the Lord and He will provide for you.
My commute is about an hour door to door. Joe drives 8 minutes to his park and ride. There he joins is vanpool for an hour drive north to the Paccar Technical Center in Mount Vernon. I drive 12-15 minutes to my park and ride. There I catch the bus for a 40 minute ride into downtown Seattle. I walk a few minutes down a few blocks to the office. It’s location is great. It’s located on Harbor Steps, a great urban space which connects 1st Avenue to Western Avenue on the waterfront. There are a series of cascading fountains. Joe will pay less for the vanpool a month than he would in gas to drive himself to work. I have a benefit to pay my company $20 a month for a free annual Orca Pass to ride all buses, rail and public transportation (except ferries).
Friday after work and taking the bus to the park and ride, I got in my car and drove up to Bellingham to spend our remaining days of the lease in the furnished house there. We went to Boomer’s Gourmet Burgers Drive In for dinner since there always seems to be a good number of cars there at all hours. It was pretty good.
There is a huge race in the Bellingham area on Sunday, called Ski to Sea. It’s a 100 mile relay team race of seven race legs, each a different sport. Each team of 8 does the following activities: cross country ski 4 miles, downhill ski/snowboard 2.5 miles, run 8 miles, road bike 42 miles, 2 man canoe 18.5 miles, mountain bike 20 miles, and sea kayak 5 miles. This year the marathon race was celebrating 100 years.
Saturday we ran a few errands and then went to hike Teddy Bear Cove as a family. We were the only ones there on the beach. The water was calm, at low tide and the sun was out. Chance went right into the water to swim with no coaxing. With the lower water level, I climbed around the shoreline some to see the cool rock formations with eroded spots up close. Chance kept trying to follow me along the slippery wet rocks. Joe was nervous so I headed back to stable land. Chance on the other hand decided to climb up the steep rock hill. We had to quickly do the same to keep her in view.
The only people in sight were out on their sailboat in the cove. I could have sat there for hours, but once Joe’s seen it, he’s ready to go. We went to Win’s Drive-In for dinner. Much better burgers than Boomers.
Sunday we went to mass one last time at Assumption, which is on a hill overlooking Bellingham Bay. I hope we like the parish in Bothell as much as this one. We went into Fairhaven for the Festival for Ski to Sea. We walked around the streets within the historic district which were lined with booths selling crafts, food and featuring live music. Joe wished he had convinced me to bring Chance. We saw so many dogs out. I said no since she wasn’t allowed in the beer garden. We walked down to Marine Park to view the finish line where the kayakers run ashore and bring the bell. We walked past the first place finishing team on our way to the shore to view the number 2 and 3 team paddling in. Joe grabbed a gyro to eat and then we went to the beer garden for some Boundary Bay Brew, made specifically for this event. I had some Thai eggrolls.
Later Sunday afternoon we went to Arroyo Park since Chance was allowed off-leash on these trails. It was a little muddy, but Chance loved being free to roam and lead the way.
I unpacked our minimal things while Joe put together our new chair. He placed it in the corner of the large empty living room. When he sat to play some games on the iPad, Chance chose to sit as close to him as possible. She had the whole place to explore, but she’d rather stay close to her daddy. She really is a people person. I hope she handles it well Tuesday when we both leave her in this empty place to go to work.
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