While I’d found myself wanting a companion in Portland, I found it easy to pass the time alone in Seattle for a few days. I had an Airbnb in the basement of a nice couple in South Seattle, which situated me great both for my frequent trips to the city center as well as for a quick excursion to Mt. Rainier National Park. Highlights of the stay included Ollie playing in the snow on our little hike in the park, a David Bowie tribute band at the Crocodile on Halloween, a rare view of both the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier from Kerry Park (I had uncharacteristically phenomenal weather for the duration of my stay…), and sunset at Alki Beach.

Lowlights (no pun intended?) included the spontaneous decision to dye my hair a shocking red for the aforementioned David Bowie show and making the bathroom of my Airbnb resemblant of a murder scene no matter how much bleach I took to the shower floor. The box claimed the dye would come out of my hair in 10 washes but I looked like Ariel for months; I came to a respectful and reasonable settlement with my hosts for staining their shower and made a mental note to only dye my hair in the comfort of my own home in the future.