If Chicago is deemed “The Windy City”, Seattle most definitely deserves the title of “The Rainy City”. The constant overcast skies and mild temperatures contrast the bright street life and whimsical architecture. Seattle is one of the newer cities in North America, and as such is a hotbed for modernism and progressive ideals.
        

Last summer I was fortunate enough to travel to Seattle with a special purpose in mind. As an avid computer gamer, I have grown fascinated by one of the most popular, competitive games called Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2). This game has become popular enough that each year in Seattle a massive tournament with an increasing prize pool is held so, that like any traditional sport, the best teams in the world can compete. Seeing the opportunity to not only be in attendance at an event that was said to be extremely well executed; and be able to visit a city I was extremely intrigued by motivated my father and I to purchase our tickets and start planning our trip.
        

From the time the plane touched down I could tell that this was going to be a fun trip. Preceding the standard baggage pickup and airport exit routines was a ride to the hotel in a private car my parents had arranged prior to the trip. The driver was nice enough to give us a tour from the highway as we looked out the rear and side windows. First Boeing’s headquarters, then Starbucks and finally the Space Needle. I committed each location to memory in hopes of being able to visit them all before the end of the trip. As we pulled into the hotel’s driveway at 10 p.m. I felt exhausted and ready for a hopefully comfy bed.

The hotel that we chose was just a few blocks away from the center of Seattle, where the Space Needle overlooks a square of museums, shops and sports centers. Since the tournament did not begin until the following day, my dad and I took the morning to venture into the center of Seattle. We decided to go to the Space Needle right as it opened to beat the crowds. The Space Needle was nearly empty when we arrived and while the lines to take the elevator to the top moved quickly there seemed to be an air of tranquility in this city. There was no rush to go anywhere, there were no crowds to fight through, and everyone was just going where they needed to at whatever pace they felt like. Coming from the East coast this was downright shocking, as it is uncommon to see a calm and leisurely person in any eastern city. When we reached the top of the Space Needle the view was breathtaking, to say the least. While my dad was terrified of how high up we were, I could not help but expend all the memory in my camera trying to take pictures of the skyline and absorb the whole city in one shot.

The Space Needle served as a crow’s nest where we could seek out all the places we wanted to go visit during our trip. On one side was one of the strangest buildings I had ever seen, a three colored wave of warped metal served as the roofing for the EMP Museum. On another side was an island, just visible in the morning fog. Right below us was the Key Arena, home of the Seattle Sonics. However, this weekend it would be hosting the Dota 2 tournament I came to see and accompanying it would be a food festival perfectly positioned right outside of the arena.

Each day in Seattle was a new adventure as I was just simply astonished by all the cool little shops and eateries. Not only did I spend a fair amount of time in the Key Arena and at the food festival, I ventured out to numerous locations in Seattle, each more exciting than the last. Cities have generally left a bad taste in my mouth as busy and polluted, but Seattle was not that way. Seattle was one of the most interesting places I have visited and will most definitely be a vacation spot again.