Washington
Where the Northwest left us wanting more.
Seattle · Olympia · North Cascades
The Journey
Washington State was mostly defined for us by Seattle.
We stayed for almost a week near Belltown and really got to experience different sides of the city. We crossed the bridges, shopped through Pike Place Market, visited the famous Pike Place Starbucks, explored the Amazon headquarters area, walked through Olympic Sculpture Park, and, of course, visited the Space Needle.
Seattle felt vibrant, young, creative, and alive. It was one of those cities where I immediately felt I could spend much more time.
At Pike Place Market, the girls enjoyed all the colors, food, flowers, and people moving through the stalls. Rachel especially loved getting a cup of fresh warm apple cider and walking around with it while we explored.
But Washington was not only Seattle. We made our way into North Cascades National Park, which became one of the most scenic national parks we had visited anywhere in America. The drive itself was magnificent. Mountains, forests, winding roads, and lakes with water so intensely blue and turquoise that at times it hardly looked real.
Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to explore nearly as much of the park as we wanted. That became something of a theme for Washington. There was always more.
One day we drove south to Olympia, where we visited the State Capitol, continuing our journey through every capital in America. We also spent time at the Hands On Children’s Museum, where the girls found a little stage with wooden microphones and decided to put on their own concert. They stayed there for what felt like forever. They sang, performed, pretended to be stars, and barely cared that nobody had actually bought tickets.
They also loved the water exhibits, sending balls floating and moving through the different channels.
Washington became one of those rare states where, as we left, we knew with certainty that we had not even come close to finishing. And that was perfectly fine. We will be back.
Jewish Washington
Our Jewish Washington experience was mostly about simply living Jewishly in Seattle.
We davened at a local shul, found plenty of kosher food, and experienced a Jewish community that felt well established in this far northwestern corner of the country.
Seattle also has a particularly interesting Jewish story. Alongside Ashkenazi communities, the city became home to a large Sephardic population, including Jews whose families came from places like Rhodes and other parts of the former Ottoman Empire. Their synagogues, food, language, and traditions became an important part of Jewish Seattle.
And even one of Seattle’s most famous modern stories carries a Jewish connection.
At Pike Place, we visited the Starbucks location associated with the company’s earliest days. One of Starbucks’ three founders was Zev Siegl, and years later Howard Schultz, the son of a Jewish family from Brooklyn, helped turn the Seattle coffee company into a global brand.
Standing there reminded me that Jewish contribution to American life does not always come through a synagogue, cemetery, or historic plaque.
Sometimes it comes in a coffee cup.
What Stayed With Me
What stayed with me about Washington was how unfinished it felt.
We found an incredible city in Seattle and some of the most beautiful nature we had seen anywhere in the country, yet we left knowing how much we had missed.
Some states leave you satisfied.
Washington left us wanting to come back.
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