Seven years ago I landed at Seatac International Airport and took a bus to downtown Seattle. I opted for a local route rather than an express, hoping to see more of what would be my new home. I meandered through suburbs I have never revisited, and marveled at the sheer amount of greenery.

In downtown, I checked in at a hostel. All my belongings fit in one big frame pack. I walked through the skyscrapers of downtown and got my first cell phone, with a brand new 206 number. After a few days a friend from college arrived, and together with a third girl we found on craigslist, we moved into an apartment in Wedgwood. We lived a simple life, snagging free wifi from the neighbors and free doughnuts from Top Pot (another free wifi hotspot) while we searched for boys online. Well, I was also searching for a job, but my two roomies were in grad school and Americorps, and we were all bright eyed young things, straight out of college. We didn’t have a television; craigslist provided us with all our entertainment.

Eventually I found a job, and a boy, but not before I posted this fabulous bit of wisdom on this very blog. Seven years later, I still think I’m funny.

so I moved to Seattle, right. Turns out, the city’s broken.

That sucker pulled
several gallons of water
out of the air each week.

Interestingly enough, my first winter in Seattle nearly broke a record for consecutive days of precipitation. It was 29 days long, if I recall correctly. We perched our tiny fake Christmas tree atop the dehumidifier in our apartment and hoped that the spots in the bathroom weren’t the scary kind of black mold.

But I stuck it out and eventually saw the sun came back. I experienced the mythical Seattle summer full-on, working as a kayak guide and spending weekends out in the mountains. Eighteen months later, I was self-identifying as Cascadian.

People still ask me, from time to time, if I’ll move back to Alaska. Well, I sort of did in 2011, but only for a six month stint. And I went to Southeast Alaska, where sunshine is also a major event. At this point, I have a lot of things going on in Seattle, and while I’ll never stop telling people that I’m Alaskan, sometimes I say from Seattle, too. After seven years, it feels like home.

If you ever find yourself in my fair city, here’s a few of my favorite things to do in it.

1. Ride on boats

• Take the Washington State Ferry system
• Go kayaking with Alki Kayak Tours
• Go sailing (or just walk the docks) at The Center for Wooden Boats

2. Ride on bikes

• Rental bikes available from Recycled Cycles, University District
• Burke Gilman Trail goes most of the way around Lake Washington

3. Go hiking

4. Visit Seattle landmarks

• the Seattle Center. That’s where you’ll find the Space Needle.
• the Ballard Locks
• the Fremont Troll
• Pike Place Market, with famous fish market

• Boats (The Center for Wooden Boats)
• Art (SAM, SAAM)
• Natural History (the Burke)
• Airplanes (Museum of Flight) – I haven’t actually visited the exhibits, but my taller half went and was entranced

• Arboretum
• Volunteer Park (with Dahlia Garden & Conservatory)
• Discovery Park (walk through the woods & get to the beach)
• Seward Park (on Lake Washington)
• South Seattle Chinese Garden
• Alki Beach, West Seattle
• Golden Gardens, which is actually a beach