Hello adventurers!
We're more than halfway through the year, and worse halfway through summer π’
I've got a busy late summer/early fall ahead for travel, but for now I'm enjoying all that the Pacific Northwest has to handle.
If you remember, last month I was in Richmond Virginia for a travel conference. After that I was hosted by Visit Prince William County Virginia where myself and Bianca from This Latina Travels, and Erin from Flying off the Bookshelf got to explore the region.
I'm finally wrapping up my Virginia videos if you want to see more about what to do and where to go in each location.
Where in the world is Carli San Diego?
All month I've been in Seattle, and will be here for all of August as well. Because, why would I be anywhere else in the summer? Summers are really the reason why we live here and deal with the gloomy winters. Today it is a perfect sunny day at 78 degrees, and the most important part (according to my dad) the dew point is only 49 degrees.
With the great weather comes a stream of events and activities to keep everyone one busy.
World Cup
Seattle wrapped up its World Cup hosting duties on July 6th with the disappointing loss of Team USA to the Belgian Red Devils.
Our city was regularly ranked as Best Host City and Best Stadium Experience. We had hundreds of thousands of people in the city on match days, and tens of thousands throughout the city at official watch parties for other popular matches.
It was really fun seeing the city so electric and just having fun. I hope this means more to come with the Women's World Cup in 2031.
Running of the Bulls
Most people would see Running of the Bulls and say "that's in Spain, not in Seattle". Well, Portland isn't the only city that likes to keep it weird. In my neighborhood of Queen Anne, there has been an (almost annual) Queen Anne Running of the Bulls event for over a decade. This year marked the 16th year.
What exactly is this event? It is inspired by the event in Pamplona, but no animals are harmed here (except maybe a few people stepping of the curb wrong). Our "bulls" are made up of shopping carts and the "running" is more along the lines of a jog/walk.
This is a not a fun run 5k type event. First, the "run" is 0.7 miles, second there's no sign up or charity involved. Just show up (ideally in white and red), and run when the flash bang goes off. Then, once you get to Kerry Park, you celebrate with free beers overlooking the city. And if you're in the know, you hit up the after party.
It's really just a fun quirky event that a group of guys in the neighborhood started and is now a tradition for Queen Anne residents and friends.
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Fremont Fridays
There's not a lot that you can do for free in Seattle, but Fremont Fridays is an exception. This is an annual free summer music festival that takes place in the Fremont neighborhood of the city.
This event has a different lineup of musicians and DJs each week taking over 6 bars throughout Fremont. Each week has a different theme from reggae and latin to EDM and female fronted artists.
βBaseball
What's more American than eating a hot dog at a baseball game in July? A couple of weeks ago I attended my first DubSea Fish Sticks game. What the heck are the Fish Sticks?
It turns out there is a collegiate summer league around the Puget Sound, where college athletes can play baseball in the summer to continue improving their skills.
They are complete with their own mascot, Crispy the Fish Stick, and have some silly activities between innings, like a race between a water taxi and rapid ride bus. For $15 a ticket, it's an affordable family or friend activity in Seattle.
Paddleboarding
One of the best things about living in Seattle is being surrounded by water. We have the Puget Sound, Green Lake, Lake Union and Lake Washington to enjoy without leaving the city.
Last summer, a group organized the first official Paddle Rave on Lake Union. It was such an overwhelming hit that it became a regular event last summer, and returned again this year.
I attended my first Paddle Rave, which is really just a fun excuse to get together in the summer with a free DJ on a boat nearby.
There's another spot where I like to paddle, as it's usually much calmer for both the water and crowds. There is a marina near Golden Gardens Park where you'll see dozens of harbor seals. If you go closer to dusk, they can be a bit more active and swim up and alongside your board.
Travel Lessons Learned
In March, my favorite airline, Delta, sent out one of their emails about award flight deals. In this batch of deals, they had flights to Taiwan starting at 30,000 miles. I was able to book one from Minneapolis to Taipei and back to Seattle for only 37,000 miles and $39 in taxes. You might see that and think "what's the issue that seems like a good deal" and you'd be right, except it's not a good deal, its an incredible deal.
For context, I'm lucky if I can get a roundtrip award flight to Minneapolis for that many miles.
Here's where the problem arises. For whatever reason, in my haze of excitement at such a steal, I booked my trip for a week (including travel) which really isn't a lot considering how much time is lost flying. I realized this wasn't long enough once I started actually planning this trip a few weeks ago, and I figured I could just change the flight back.
I went in to review changing the flight and it was only an additional 10K miles more. No problem, still a really great value. But I didn't change it right away because I was still figuring out how many extra days seemed like enough and what my itinerary should be.
Well friends, never sleep on a good deal. Because less than a week later, that 10K jumped up to over 40K. More than the entire flight! So for now, I'm back at my original itinerary, keeping a close eye on flight prices to see if I can push it out later.
Lesson:
When you see a good flight price or change fee book it immediately! These days everything is changing so rapidly you don't know if it will even stay that price in a few hours.
As a reminder: all flights that fly in, out or through the US are legally required to have a 24 grace period for free refundable cancellations*. So if you're considering a trip, or get flight deal in your emails and you think it might work, book it! Just set a calendar reminder to review it in 22 hours and if you need to cancel, no big deal.
*This is only on new flights or tickets, not on flight changes.
Need help with planning a trip?
Starting to think about Christmas Market travel, or a future milestone trip? Reach out for assistance with planning and booking your future travels.
I can book everything from hotels and cruises to private airport transportation and day tours and in between.
Blog Posts
Catch up on some of my blog posts below:
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How to get the most out of two days in San Francisco
San Francisco has something for everyone, and you could easily tailor those days to your specific interests like food, museums, history, shopping, etc., and hit all the highlights that either a first time, or frequent visitor can enjoy.
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How to have the best day trip to Bainbridge Island
A day trip to Bainbridge island is a favorite for tourists and locals alike, because of its accessibility and small town charm. In less than an hour you can go from city life to island life.
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How to Visit Gouda Netherlands in Just One Day
Short on time to visit Gouda Netherlands? This guide will share how to get to Gouda, and what you can see and do in the city just one day.
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Travel Must Haves
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Hydro Flask 24 oz Wide Mouth Water Bottle
I never travel anywhere without my reusable insulated water bottle. This helps cut down on buying plastic water bottles when traveling, and keeps my drinks cold.
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Travel Resources
βShop my Amazon Storefrontβ
βGet help planning your next tripβ
ββWhere to book all things travel relatedβ
βThe best travel credit card for beginnersβ
βManage your credit cards, benefits and card offers with this helpful app β
Thanks for following along!
Carli
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