So this time, I get to flip the script. I’ve written about places I’ve been to before that Kevin had never visited, and now, I can write about the opposite.

Kevin’s dad’s family almost entirely resides in Washington. His dad was born and raised there. Kevin can remember the many times that, as kids, he and his sister were dropped off with their grandparents, who lived in the tiny town of Maple Valley. Their uncles, aunts, and cousins lived either right next door or just down the way.

Since then, Kevin, his dad, and his sister have taken a couple of road trips to the area to visit—and yes, that’s driving all the way from New Mexico to Washington and back. However, this time, Kevin’s parents wanted to fly there. Kevin thought that the opportunity couldn’t have been better for us to join them and for me to meet his grandparents and see Seattle for the first time. We set the dates, bought the tickets, and coordinated other aspects of our stay. Then, the time was quickly upon us!

Alaska Airlines has multiple nonstop flights from Tucson to Seattle every day. We arrived at Sea-Tac Airport with no issue and just several minutes before Kevin’s parents touched down. All four of us made our way to pick up the rental cars, and we were off before we knew it. It was some of the easiest air travel and car rental I’ve done in a while.

The first order of business for any weary traveler? Finding and heading to the hotel. The second order of business? Choosing a place to eat on the way and getting food. For us, this meant leaving Sea-Tac and driving to Federal Way, where we stopped to eat at a little place called Ivar’s Seafood Bar. My father-in-law quickly informed us that it was very well-known for its clam chowder, even back when he lived there. Naturally, I ordered a bowl, but I foolishly chose to get it in the cup, not a freshly baked, sourdough bread bowl (that was remedied, as you’ll see later on). The chowder had bits of bacon in it, which was new to me, and it was delicious. Kevin ordered the fish and chips made with cod, which was also awesome.

It was too early to check in at the hotel, so after we ate, we went straight to the retirement community where Kevin’s grandparents live. No one on my side of the family currently lives in a senior care facility, meaning those arrangements were all new to me. I didn’t get to see that much when we went, but based on what I heard, the scheduling, meals, and other activities aren’t bad. It was an interesting experience, walking the halls and spending time there.

More importantly, I was introduced to my grandparents-in-law. They’re both over 90 years old now. Neither of them stood up when we entered. Besides struggling to remember my name, Kevin’s grandfather was really easy to talk to and could hold a conversation. He’s still of sound mind for someone of that age, and it’s sort of amazing. He worked for Boeing for a long time, and he told a story of how he actually flew around the world during a single trip. He seemed very proud of that. Kevin had the foresight to film both grandparents sitting together, and he caught the whole telling on video.

Kevin’s grandmother, on the other hand, has officially been diagnosed with dementia. She didn’t talk too much; when she did, she mostly talked about her great-grandson, who she adores, and told us about how noisy it can get in their room—and that was proven while we were there. She giggled sometimes as well and not necessarily when anyone else laughed. She has a peculiar accent, one that Kevin hasn’t ever been able to place, and when I heard it, I certainly couldn’t either. She was really sweet and kind, though, which apparently hasn’t always been the case!

When we left the community for the day to go to the hotel, Kevin’s grandfather got up and walked us to the door with his cane. He shook my hand and said goodbye, thanking Kevin and me for coming up to Washington to see them. Kevin’s grandmother had dozed off at the kitchen table by that point. My father-in-law later told us that he was surprised to hear his dad say that to us. I thought it was already nice of him to say so, yet to hear that after the fact made it special.

We were all bushed, and we drove over to the hotel, unloaded our suitcases, and unpacked our things. Besides going out for McDonald’s, we spent the rest of the night in our rooms, planning for the next day.

The four of us met downstairs in the morning to have breakfast and discuss what we would be doing. Of course, the number-one priority for Kevin’s dad was spending as much time with his parents as he could. All of us went to visit with them again for a little bit. Since it was my first time in Seattle, though, my father-in-law wanted us to do other things and go have fun.

Kevin, his mom, and I started out with The Museum of Flight. That ended up being an all-day affair, which was totally worth it. The Museum of Flight is home to so many noteworthy airplanes and other vehicles, thanks in no small part to Boeing. The museum’s Aviation Pavilion alone includes airplanes that you can walk through, such as a 787 Dreamliner, the 747-121 (the first “Jumbo Jet” ever built), and SAM 970, which served as Air Force One for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. I loved the Personal Courage Wing, one floor with World War I fighters and the next with World War II fighters, one on top of the other and connected by a staircase. There were old-fashioned radios playing the tunes, news reports, and political speeches of the times. The engines and gunfire of these planes roared from the speakers over our heads. There were impressive and detailed models of many fighters encased in glass. It was so immersive. When we were done, we drove back to Federal Way for the night and met up with Kevin’s dad for dinner.

The next morning, we decided to all hop in one car and explore Maple Valley. With Kevin’s dad at the helm, he drove us around and explained how different things were compared to his childhood. He took us to Lake Wilderness and the adjacent arboretum. He suspected that many of the flowers, bushes, and trees growing there could have been donated by his parents, since they ran their own nursery when he was younger. Then, he drove us by what used to be his parents’ house. We passed his sister’s along the way, and his brother’s wasn’t far. On the same land as their house, there were shells of the nursery’s former greenhouses still standing. However, the house itself had since been remodeled and updated. Kevin described how he could still remember himself and his sister riding their wagon down the dirt driveway.

We spent a good half day taking the tour of Maple Valley until we felt like we had seen enough. My father-in-law wanted to get back to Federal Way to see his parents once more. Meanwhile, the trio ventured to Snoqualmie Falls, which wasn’t much farther out. Kevin swears that the falls were low and not running as heavily as when he last saw them. Regardless, they were a sight to see. We tootled around the lodge nearby and its gift shop before making the drive back toward Seattle.

We didn’t have as much time left in the day as we thought, and with the weather getting worse, we could only make a couple more stops in the city. One was Gas Works Park, the site of a former gasification plant run by the Seattle Gas Light Company, located on the north side of Lake Union. We saw the cityscape across the lake, and I even witnessed a seaplane landing in the water! The plant, blocked off by fencing, was rusty, vandalized, and covered in vines, but still cool to walk around. The other stop was Burke-Gilman Brewing Company, and the three of us each had a flight of beer and some pretzels to warm up. With another day done, we returned to our hotel in Federal Way once again and picked up some pizza for dinner.

Finally, it was our last day in Washington. This is when Kevin and I split off from his parents. They went to mass, had lunch with old friends, visited with the grandparents one more time, and had to be at Sea-Tac for their flight home earlier than we did. The time had come for Kevin and me to have a full day in downtown Seattle.

We began by walking up and down Pike Place Market just as the stands and shops were opening up. There was no fish throwing at this hour, unfortunately! We bought some piroshky, even after having the free breakfast at our hotel, and that was extremely tasty. We headed for the Space Needle and arrived right as it was opening for the day. We got our tickets and meandered around the gift store for a few minutes before undergoing security scanners and boarding the elevator to the top. It was spectacular and dizzying up there. The moving, glass floor was a trip. We took photos and video of us as we circled around the top on the outside as well. The views of the city, lakes, and Olympic National Park off in the distance were stellar, despite the cloudy weather.

When we came down, we traversed back along the piers and walkways and had lunch at Ivar’s Acres of Clams. This time, we tried a chowder sampler (honestly, the best part of the meal), a clam linguine, and the actual acre of clams. All of it was still fantastic. Once we finished with that, we made sure to pause at Pioneer Square, where a band was playing.

Then, there was a stop we needed to take to fulfill one of our 52 weeks of adventure! We walked through and rode bikes around Seward Park to complete week 45: Old Growth Forest. THAT was super cool. In Washington, I discovered that moss covers just about everything, not only trees and branches but even the roads and sidewalks; it fills every nook and cranny. At Seward Park, there was moss all over the place, yet at the same time, ferns were growing up tree trunks and into the branches. Ferns belong on the ground! It was definitely wild, and Kevin and I both got great pictures of it.

At long last, we had to fill up the rental car, return it, and get back to Sea-Tac to catch our flight. However, we couldn’t leave without going to Ivar’s one more damn time. I got the illustrious clam chowder in the freshly baked, sourdough bread bowl, as previously mentioned. Kevin ordered the same. It’s always too much food, so I barely touch the chowder until I’ve eaten the bread lid. The warm, chewy, sourdough taste must be enjoyed sans chowder first, in my opinion.

Anyway, we dropped the car off and got through the airport seamlessly. We had enough time to sit at our gate for a while, and we even got to see the end of the AFC Championship. Long story short, I’m a Broncos fan, and the Chiefs and Patriots are our two greatest foes, so I hated cheering for either of them… though it was disgustingly satisfying to see the Chiefs’ hopes and dreams dashed.

I have one, glaring issue with Seattle, and that’s the rampant homelessness we saw throughout the city. Kevin’s dad said that it was like that everywhere. And no, no—it certainly is not. I have never seen that many homeless people, tents, or trash scattered across one city. It was, frankly, both heartbreaking and an eyesore.

But I’m not here to end this post on a downer. Seattle was a new, fun city to experience, on the whole. Most importantly, however, I got to spend more time with my husband’s family, and I had the pleasure of meeting his grandparents at last. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier that I was traveling to Washington to see them both alive and well and get to know them a bit, rather than going for a funeral, having missed the chance to be with them at least once. I do hope and pray that they continue to have years ahead of them. They’ll be over 100 before we know it!