Days 76-79: Seattle, WA (Last days and travelling)

Long, long overdue: here is finally my last post of this amazing trip describing the last three days in Seattle.

The first thing I wanted to do in Seattle is to get all the packing material for boxing my bike sorted. Bret and DeAnne were so kind to lend me their pick-up and pointed me to some nearby bike shops. The second one already had a bike box (including some convenient packing material) which I could have. At the U-haul I bought some bubble wrap and tape. During the afternoon I made a 20min bike ride to Museum of Flight. I didn't get to visit this museum the last time I was in Seattle and was glad I could this time... awesome collection of even more awesome aircraft :) After my bike ride back I had dinner with my hosts, after which I spent the remainder of the evening packing my bike. It appeared the bike box that I got was much smaller than the one I used to fly to the US, but in the end I managed to take my bike apart far enough to squeeze it in!

The second day started with a visit to the Boeing factory. Again, one of the things I didn't get to do the last time I was here. My hosts were again kind enough to lend me their (other) car to drive up to Everett where the Boeing factory is located. The tour itself was truly fascinating... a must-do for anyone visiting Seattle. After the factory tour I visited the nearby Flying Heritage Collection, a collection of (mostly) World War II aircraft of which most still fly. On the way back to Seattle I stopped at a shopping mall to get some new sneakers (as they are much, much cheaper in the US compared to back home). After dinner again with my hosts I went to downtown Seattle during the evening. I stopped at the waterfront to enjoy the view of the setting sun and.... to enjoy my victory cigar! I had already bought the cigar in Astoria, but didn't have a good, i.e. dry, moment to enjoy it yet... until now.

The third and last day I took the bus downtown and from there I took the monorail to the Seattle Center. I decided not to go up into the Space Needle since I had already done that last time. I did visit the Experience Music Project (EPM) a large music museum focused on music from the Seattle area, such as Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, really cool to visit. The rest of the day was easy going, walking around town, enjoying the weather and not actually doing that much at all. I treated myself to a lovely seafood dinner.

And then there it was, the final day in the US. DeAnne was so kind to drive me to the airport. At the airport I said goodbye and thanked her (and Bret) from the bottom of my heart for being such a fantastic host for the last couple of days. The checking-in of the bike was must quicker as it was in Amsterdam. The flight itself was uneventful, other than that I was siting next to a crying baby for the complete flight, which seems to be my thing when flying :P. At Schiphol I was welcomed by my mother and three of my friends (Ruud, Emil and Marc). On the one hand arriving in Amsterdam marked the end of a fantastic experience, on the other hand I was again in good-old Holland, between friends and family, which was something I missed quite a bit. We had quite some coffee and lunch at the airport, after which my mom drove me home, where I spent the rest of the day cleaning up my stuff and getting ready for tomorrow, when I'm going back to work and normal life starts again........