seekingmygreaterperhaps

This past summer was a huge summer of transition for me. I moved from Brazil to the UAE, but had about 7 weeks where I was “homeless” (which my mom hated me saying because I was in fact, staying at “home” haha). Of course, I had many highlights and saw many people that I love, starting in NYC with Chelsea, then driving to Cranberry and staying with Lauren, then making it home. I spent time at a lake house with my family, and Kya was along for all of it. I love my dog, and she is definitely my ride or die- she rode a lot this summer, ha! All that to say, it’s now January, and I have let a lot of time lapse in between writing. This is a bad habit I’m in, and instead of shaming myself about it, I will just write when I can. If I make blogging not a chore, then maybe I’ll be better about doing it more frequently. Cheers to 2026, right? And with that, let me unpack my super fun cousin trip to Seattle!

Alaska Airlines has a direct flight from Indianapolis to Seattle- what? I had a window seat, which I never choose because I am tall, but it was quite the view flying to Seattle! My beautiful and wonderful cousin, Elizabeth, lives in Seattle with her husband, Nathan. My other charming and gorgeous cousin, Teresa, flew up to hang out with us for the long weekend, and we had SO MUCH FUN. For the non-family members reading this (are there any, I’m not sure, ha!) I have a bundle of cousins- 54 on my dad’s side, and growing up we had cohorts of us in the same age group who hung out all the time. Elizabeth and Teresa are sisters, and they are in my “age tier” of cousins, so it’s safe to say, we go way back.

Elizabeth did an epic job of planning tourist activities for us, and if she were a travel agent, I would 100% recommend her.

My flight arrived super early, so when I arrived we went out to breakfast! Elizabeth did a great job of keeping me awake and helping me soak in all the details, especially that first morning. Then we jumped on the incredible public transportation to Chinatown and walked around a little bit, got some snacks and dumplings, and then headed towards the Klondike Gold Rush museum – it is free and part of the National Parks Service. You step back in time and get to choose a character and then at the end see if you struck it rich or not. I loved the artwork in the back as well with local artists, and you can also see your weight in gold.

Next up was the Seattle Secret Underground tour. It felt like stepping into a secret layer of the city’s soul. Beneath the bustling streets of Pioneer Square lies a maze of forgotten sidewalks, storefronts, and remnants of 19th-century Seattle that were buried after the Great Fire and the city’s decision to rebuild above them. As our guide led us through the dimly lit passages, sharing quirky tales and unexpected history at every turn, I found myself transported back in time to a Seattle most visitors never see, where the grit and ingenuity of the city’s early pioneers still echo off the brick walls below. Our guide was really funny, and her storytelling made history come alive. Did I know how important toilets were to Seattle’s history? Nope, but I do now!

We had absolutely beautiful weather, and walking around the Pioneer Square area was very neat. We headed back to Elizabeth’s home to await Teresa so she could join the party.

The next morning, everyone went with me to try a breakfast spot that had biscuit boards that I saw on Instagram. Honestly… they were fine, but nothing extraordinary, so instead of promoting that, I get to promote my awesome family. They were troopers for sure. 🙂

Teresa, Elizabeth, and I spent the day in Bainbridge, a short ferry ride from Seattle. Our first order of business was getting some pretty incredible fish and chips before we walked around the cute businesses that make up this town. There was an awesome fabric store, a neat book store, some cute souvenirs, and more to make up our stroll along Bainbridge. On the way back to the ferry we got some New Zealand style ice cream, where they crush the berries right into it, which was also delightful.

The next day, we made our way to meet some of my step-extended family. We were invited for a family Sunday lunch, and it was so nice to be apart of a big extended family gathering again (that wasn’t a wedding). My step mom lived in Seattle, and a lot of her family is still here, so I have heard about them through her stories, and they have heard about me the same way, so our worlds combined in a beautiful gathering with a ton of food- thanks Sam for hosting!

On the way to the lunch, we stopped at the Salmon Locks and got to watch some salmon jump through, and some others get eaten by the seals. It wasn’t quite the season for it, but very fun to watch. We also stopped at the Fremont Bridge troll to say our hellos. You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friends nose… instead pick the troll’s nose!

^ Elizabeth and Nathan really did an excellent job of planning all the tourist spots. Like, we even went to Gasworks Park and got a bag of Dicks (burgers of course). I really really value someone who puts time and care into planning of activities. I know how much work it is to make a trip happen, and I usually have to figure out all the details myself. When Elizabeth took the reigns, it was such a freeing feeling, and I brought positive energy and excitement to the trip. In hindsight, probably should’ve helped a bit more, but when they come to visit Dubai, I got them covered 😉

Does it even count as going to Seattle for the first time if you don’t go to Pike Place Market? It was SO COOL! I loved seeing the fish throwers, sampling tea, and tasting the chocolate covered cherries. YUM. The apple cider outside was also amazing! I loved the scent of the fresh flowers, and if I wasn’t traveling, would’ve bought a bouquet.

Is the gum wall the grossest thing ever? Yes. Did we learn that Elizabeth is the queen of blowing gum bubbles? Yes. Did we also laugh so much and giggle like little kids? Definitely yes.

Next tourist spot- the Seattle Space Needle!!! There was a little bit of a line to go up, but that’s natural in the peak tourist season. Teresa and I did get a little scarred because there was an elderly person who was having a medical emergency in front of us in line, and there was no where to us to go while we waited for paramedics to arrive. And of course, there are kids in line and kids are naturally curious, and my educator comes out like- you don’t need to watch this happen, go find your adult. BUT- once they were safely in the hands of medical professionals, our collective anxiety came down a little bit.

Guys, it is really cool up there. It is high, and the floor is glass, but it was built for the World’s Fair for a reason, ya know? Plus the lego recreation in the gift shop is *chef’s kiss*

Right next door is Chihuly’s Gardens and Glass, and it was honestly incredible. Is it expensive, yes. BUT, the glasswork is truly awesome. And we went on a nice summer day, so it was really nice to walk around the gardens too. We also watched a live demonstration of glass blowing, which is also neat. Does it drive me nuts that Chihuly is so famous, but doesn’t actually do any of the artistic work? Yes. In case you didn’t know- he suffered an eye injury early in his career, so he can’t actually do the glass making now. He has a team of artists who do it, and he designs the sketches. Sigh.

We finished our big tourist day with a visit to the Starbucks headquarters, where they have different menu items than your everyday Starbucks. I got the espresso martini flight, because I don’t really like coffee, but I do like drinking, haha. All of them were absolutely divine. 10/10.

Our final day, we spent time at Seward Park, and took a deep inhale of the fresh air. I love trees (I say this sitting in Dubai… very tree-less) and was so happy to walk around this park. We had a lil picnic lunch by the water too.

The grocery store we went do was quite the experience. It was like a museum in there, and how lucky are people who get to shop there daily, they didn’t even notice the Elvis room, or the back to future car, or the James Dean phone booth!

I ended my trip at Full Tilt, the neighborhood ice cream place close to Elizabeth and Nathan where we got delicious ice cream AND played arcade games!

This was a great reminder for me that there is still SO MUCH of the US that I haven’t visited, and how beautiful different parts of the country are. I cherished the time with my cousins as well, and we all got along. It’s amazing what adulthood can do. We talked about how it was cool that we were friends and didn’t have to have our parents to hang out with each other, something that it took us until we were in our 30s to realize. What an incredible experience in Seattle. Who knows where we will meet up next?