Sometimes, you can find yourself finding excuses to not leave town due to parties, runs, work, or laziness. The city of Seattle is beautiful, and there are parks where you can find refuge from urban life, so a brief hour long sit by the water can seemingly substitute for a weekend away. Luckily, there is another amazing aspect of life in Seattle, which is the ability to get onto country roads within an hour. A quick three hour bicycle ride can get you to a campground with a view of the canal and Olympic mountains to watch the sun set.
You wake up on Saturday morning, go for a run, finish some errands, and do some work. You still manage to leave your apartment at 3:30, catch a ferry, find yourself with a smile as big as the mountains you see between the tress while needlessly flying up and down hills, and finally get to camp in time for dinner and to meet your friends. Your campsite is not particularly remote, but it is three hours of bliss away from the sound of construction equipment, highways, and revelers in the city. You watch in awe as the sun starts to duck down behind the mountains, then head to the local bar to mix things up however minutely for the regulars and yourself. The night is not yet over as you grab beer and firewood to take to camp. Even though fires with friends occur weekly, it is less often that your bed is sitting a mere five feet away. The sun rises at 6:30, and you sit in quiet morning overlooking the Olympics before it is time to pack up and head home. Ultimately, you return by noon, ready to have a productive Sunday.
You wake up on Monday refreshed, and rediscovering your love for Seattle.