On my trip back home to Port Townsend last October (2025), I flew from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SeaTac). My father picked me up in his car, and we drove to Seattle and down to the ferry terminal. We got tickets for the ferry to Bainbridge, but since it had not arrived yet, we took a walk along the Seattle waterfront while waiting for the ferry to arrive.
The last time I had been at the ferry terminal was in 2007, when Papa and I flew out to New York City on our way to England and a larger European adventure backpacking and riding the trains through France and Spain.
Seattle Waterfront
The shops along the waterfront were unfamiliar to me. There were some restaurants and other shops that I couldn’t remember from my youth. The eBikes are definitely new. The biggest difference was the missing overpass. There used to be a massive roadway with ramps that ran along the waterfront. I remember during my college tour, the columns were covered in graffiti.
Memories of Seattle
Seattle was a somewhat regular spot to visit while I was in school. I can recall my Scout troop visiting the Museum of Flight in Tukwila and a sleepover at the Science Center.
On another visit, I’m not sure if it was Elementary or Middle school, but there was a visit to the Dinosaur exhibit at the science center. I also have a vague memory of getting wet, possibly at a water park or with water balloons? I think it was an indoor location. Very fuzzy memories that far back.
Later in high school (2004), I did the customary tour of college campuses on a school trip. I believe I visited the Cornish College of Arts and also a cooking school. I don’t remember the name of the second school.
Computer Camp
In 2001, I attended the A.C.E. computer camp at the University of Washington. We learned BASIC and C+ coding, sort of. I couldn’t really wrap my head around it.
What I mostly remember is that the cafeteria had a soft drink fountain and assorted ice cream cups. With EVERY meal, I would make myself a root-beer float. I was 13 years old, away at camp, and with no supervision (for meals).
The other memorable part of the computer camp was the free time we got after finishing our coding studies. They had a large assortment of PC game CD-ROMs that we would queue up for.
I mostly played Starcraft. There was even a tournament at the end of the summer camp. I played Protoss and got 2nd place after losing to the Zerg player. My carriers just couldn’t hold out against the horde.
I kept playing Starcraft after I moved to North Carolina. Although by that time, MMOs had become a big business. Single-player and Offline games started to lose their appeal to me.
