Our journey began with a beautiful flight from Detroit to Seattle which featured scenic views of the Rockies, complete with a mesmerizing panorama of Seattle’s evergreens and the Puget sound. While we were in town, it happened to be a beautifully sunny and temperate few days, which further accentuated the green color-scheme of the city, and allowed for perfectly clear views of Mount Rainier upon arrival, as well as the Olympic Mountains from our home-stays in Shoreline.

Gabe and I made good use of our adherence to the Eastern Time Zone by taking daily morning walks in Shoreline. There happened to be a beautiful, small nature preserve about a 10 minute walk away from our home-stay which served as the perfect destination for these walks. As someone relatively unfamiliar with the West Coast, I loved being around the enormous trees that are so commonplace around Seattle. We also had some time to explore the Downtown. We spent some time strolling through Pike Place Public Market, and met up with some of Isabel’s family friends. Thanks to them, we enjoyed a dinner of grilled lamb and wagyu, which was a wonderful treat!

The remainder of the day was spent preparing our program for the Frances Walton Competition, which was the next day, on the 31st. On the morning of the Competition, we all walked together to Richmond Beach in Shoreline, to calm our minds before performing. There was a refreshing breeze, and a light sprinkling of rain. It was wonderful to walk alongside the water, which washed onto the shore of colorful rocks in gentle waves. After our walk, we rehearsed around a table in our homestay. Often on our quartet trips, we are unable to fit folding stands in our bags, so we’ve started a routine of sitting around a low table for rehearsals. In some ways, we like it more than our traditional rehearsal as we are able to sit closer, and it’s easier to have direct communication while playing.

Our experience at the Frances Walton Competition was so great! Immediately upon arrival, we were greeted by the kind members of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, and offered pre-performance snacks. We found it to be a very inviting competition environment, and had a great time presenting our program of Benjamin Britten’s 2nd String Quartet and Zhou Long’s Song of the Ch’in. It was an honor to be awarded 2nd prize in this amazing competition! 

The next day, we had most of the day to explore more, as we had an overnight flight back to Detroit leaving around 10pm (yikes!!!). We spent our time exploring the natural side of Seattle, and made a trip out to Wallace Falls State Park. This was Isabel’s first proper hike, and she did amazing! We made it to all three of the falls, for a round trip hike of just over 6 miles. The falls and surrounding flora were absolutely stunning, and I had a fun time wading in one of the creeks that was accessible from the trail. The drive through the countryside was equally as scenic, which made the oddly congested traffic situation much more bearable. After our May trip to Seattle, I can say that I DO get the hype (despite still liking the East Coast the most!). We’re looking forward to visiting more of the West Coast together, hint hint!