One day mom came home and called me. She said to me, guess what!? It honestly could have been anything...we really weren't talking on any particular topic. Her voice perked up a little, my boss gave me some Seahawk tickets!! I said, NO WAY? For reals? I could not believe it. I might be going to a real Seahawk football game! She said it was for the Carolina Panther game on December 4th but at that time we had no idea where the seats were. I was really hoping for some good seats. Also at the time I didn't realize it was a Sunday Night Football game either but it made sense when I checked that it was a 5:30 p.m. start time. Ugh, I am going to go to bed so late and have to get up on Monday morning so early to go to work but totally worth it!
I really hoped and prayed that it didn't rain. It would have been so hard to stand there for at least six hours in the cold and rain. I didn't mind the cold as much as long as it wasn't paired with the rain. We lucked out that day with sunshine and dry weather. It got cold but it thank god it wasn't raining.
I got a phone call early Sunday morning. I had planned on getting up at 10 to give myself an hour to get ready before mom arrived. I saw that it was Suzanne and was puzzled. She never calls me this early. Maybe she forgot we sleep in on the weekends? Or, maybe something horrible has happened? I was hoping that she forgot we sleep in. I got up at 9:30 and slowly started getting ready for the game. I called her back and she didn't answer right away. I really hope nothing happened to her. She called me back a few minutes later. She said that she was kicked out of her house and she was just driving around until I called her back. I asked her what happened. Long story short, her husband and domestic partner (they had a non-traditional arrangement) kicked her out of the house because she was having dinner and lunches with friends and they freaked out and thought she was cheating on them. They did not want an explanation. To me, it seemed like they were waiting for this to happen and needed a dumb reason to let the plan continue. They made her out to be the villain in the scenario and it really confused her. To a rational outside party it confused the heck out of me as well.
She asked me if she could stay with Ben and I until she could find a place to live. I told her sure without any hesitation however I wasn't going to be home because I would be in Seattle when she got here. I asked her if that was fine and she said it was. Ben also said she was welcome to come over and sort out her thoughts. She thanked me and asked for my address again. 11:00 came and I wasn't ready yet. Mom came in and asked if I was ready to go. I told her the situation and I went and got ready as quick as I could. We left around 11:30.
The drive up was faster than I thought it would be. Last time we tried to find a way to get a picture of the SODO sign. We found what road it was down but it was only accessible by bus and there were no sidewalks. I found a place to park and I walked around to a bus stop. The roofs of the buildings cut off most of the bottom of the sign but I took pictures anyway. I walked back and mom decided she wanted to go to the Space Needle and take pictures from the Seattle Center. Earlier I had gotten one of a really cool mural.
We followed the main roads into downtown and used landmarks to get us to the Seattle Center. It wasn't really that hard with memory and using the Space Needle as a guide. I usually park in the Key Arena parking lot near EMP mostly because I know how to get in and out of the area when we had to leave and I knew my way around the center from here. We were getting ready to park and I noticed this van with Ohio plate on it. The guy game out and asked if he wanted his parking ticket. He also added that it was good until 9 that night. I said okay and I thanked him for letting us use it. He smiled and left with his family. We parked, put the pass in the window and made sure we had our stuff so we could take pictures and stay warm.
We spend at least an hour walking around the Seattle Center area. We went into the field house to use the restroom and to walk around. We went upstairs just to see what has changed since the last time we were there. They definitely did some remodeling and they added some new restaurants. Mom was upset that she couldn't find the Seattle Fudge Co. They either went out of business inside there or they moved to a different location. I found out later that they moved to a different spot. We went back outside and walked over towards the Chihuly Garden and Glass. We didn't have time to go inside but they did have a sculpture outside that we could photograph with the Space Needle.
Mom wanted to go over to the Space Needle before it was time to go. I still haven't been inside and up to the view yet. It is on the list for sometime soon. Mom took a couple of photos with the fountain, the lit Christmas lights and some of each of us. There were a lot of people wanting to go up for the restaurant and the view. We walked towards the fountain near the Key Arena for a few pictures with the fountain, the sun and the Space Needle.
By the time we walked back to the Escape it was time to head back towards the stadium. I really didn't want to waste the parking ticket so I flagged down the next car looking for a spot. It happened to be two middle aged men wearing Seahawks gear with some kids in the back. I asked them if they were looking for a spot to park and they said yes. I asked them if they wanted our parking ticket. Their eyes lit up and said yes with a lot of enthusiasm. They thanked me and as I walked away I heard them tell the kids something about paying it forward and that there was still good people in the world. It was my good deed for the year.
We drove to the stadium and hoped that our free parking spot was available. I really didn't want to pay for parking since there are some spots going for $50!! We made our way to 6th and Massachusetts. Ugh the ones I wanted were filled up and people do not know how to park! We went around the corner near the DSHS building. There was one spot we could sneak into. I backed it trying to avoid the giant mud puddle. We hid the stuff we didn't want stolen and brought the other stuff with us in our see through bags. I had to buy a bag so I could pack my items in with me. Century Link now had strict rules of what kind of bags you could bring inside.
We walked the few blocks to the stadium along with everyone else who was attending the game. We decided to go through the field house. Mom asked what there was to do inside the field house. I told her I had no idea...I've never been to a real Seahawk game before. We ended up just going inside the stadium to walk around and take some pictures. I bought a program. The proceeds benefitted some sort of children's charity. We thought we should find some food and drinks before we went to our seats.
Mom couldn't decide so we ended up eating Ivar's. The warm food was delicious since it was getting colder and colder and we were right by the Puget Sound. We headed to our seats. A few weeks ago I got online and we looked to see where our seats were and the view of the field from those seats. The seats were epic! We also looked to see how much the seats were if we would have to buy them. One seat cost $1200!! I would have to take out a small loan to go to one game! How can people afford these? We wouldn't have ever gotten to go if we weren't given tickets. We made it to the seats. They were amazing!! Unfortunately pictures don't do it justice.
We sat there, took it all in and watched the field fill up. I took pictures as the Seahawks warmed up. We got there way too early...almost 2 hours before the game. It actually went by pretty fast. I was hoping that someone tall wouldn't show up in front of me and block my view of the game. I knew since we were down here we would be standing the entire time. I warned mom and she said she would be okay. It's just part of being in the lower level.
The stadium started to fill in more and more as it got closer to kick off. The row in front of us still wasn't occupied. I was really hoping that it was going to be empty tonight so I could see. Sometimes it sucks being 5'3". The field crew started getting the tunnels ready for the starting line ups and the teams came out in chunks to get warmed up for pregame. About 10 minutes later they all went into their pregame drills. It was fun to watch them get ready for the game. I hope the Seahawks destroyed the Panthers after how arrogant they were last year. Then a guy and his friend showed up and of course they were taller than I was and kinda arrogant. They drank and were in the way most of the night.
Ricardo Lockett and his kids raised the 12th man flag prior to kickoff. The national anthem was sung, the Seahawks linked arms and we had some fireworks to top of the festivities. Now it was game time.
The Panthers had the ball first and the entire stadium was confused on why Cam Newton wasn't the starting quarterback. Apparently he was being disciplined by the head coach on not wearing a tie while traveling with the team. It was a requirement and he thought he didn't need to because a tie didn't go well with his outfit. How dumb! Instead the backup quarterback Derek Anderson was in for the first series. The first play was an interception right in front of us. We made it to the 8 yard line. I wished he would have taken it in. We've struggled in the red zone for some reason a lot this season. We couldn't convert so we ended up with a field goal.
The rest of the game we dominated.
Our offense bounced back from the previous 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay. Kearse, Tyler Lockett, Doug Baldwin, Graham all had big catches and racked up yardage and Rawls had two touchdowns to keep Carolina from within reach. Lockett was spectacular with his kickoff return and the defense was dominant at full strength. However, we had an unfortunate set back when Thomas and Chancellor collided trying to intercept the ball breaking Thomas's leg.
At half time we were up 23-7 and we got to watch the wiener dog races.
We came out of halftime and put up 17 more points to solidify our 40-7 win over the Panthers. We stayed behind a little while just to take in everything. I still can't believe I got to go to a Seahawk game especially where we sat!
We gathered our stuff, used the restroom and headed out. The walk to the Escape was cold. Once we got inside I blasted the heat and we got onto 6th to take us towards I-5. I wanted to get home as soon as I could because 5 a.m. comes really fast. It was about 9:30 when we finally got onto the freeway. People just seem not to know what lane they needed to be in to go south so they cut everyone else off that read the sign and got in the proper lane.
Mom wanted to stop for some French fries. The easiest place to stop was Fife. We stopped at the McDonalds and ordered a number 2. I haven't had McDonalds in over two years. We shared the meal and I had the drink. There wasn't any traffic so we got home just before 10:30. We had Ben warm up mom's car. Mom used the restroom and left because she also had to get up early. I changed, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I talked to Ben and Suzanne for a few minutes and then it was lights out. I was going to be so tired tomorrow but I got to go to a Seahawk's game!!
Next Adventure: SNOW
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