This was my third house and cat sit in the Seattle area within the past 12 months. Only this time I was staying in Lake Forest Park, not *technically* Seattle. Lake Forest Park’s about 20 kilometres north of downtown Seattle, but it’s still Seattle to me.

I was looking after two Abyssinian cats, Max and Luis, who were purchased from the same breeder somewhere in British Columbia, Canada. I think they’re either nine or ten years old, and they’re cousins. Luis, the more social and friendlier of the two, is believed to be showing early signs of kidney disease while Max’s only health concern is his weight. I wouldn’t necessarily consider Max obese, but he’s definitely a lot ‘softer’ than Luis. The owners are currently trialling Max on a wet food only diet after advice from their vet. Luis, meanwhile, has access to the biscuits (dry food) via a programmed tag on his collar.

This house and cat sit was the last one I applied for before leaving on my trip. I had a five-day gap between when my Austin sit ended and when my Birmingham, Alabama, one started. Sure, it would have probably cost about the same to pay for accommodation somewhere on the same side of the country. But this place—back on the west coast⁠—looked like a great place to relax. I FaceTime’d the husband one day from work. Before the chat ended, he said they’d love to have me sit for them. He also said I was able to stay a day or two before/after the sit if I needed to. And I did. I arrived a day earlier and flew out the same day they returned.

During the same chat, the husband was rolling on the floor with Max. Max—the softer, less social cat—seems to truly love the husband. And only the husband. The wife told me that when the husband’s away, Max doesn’t think too much of her either. All he wants is to be fed and for his real owner to return. Luis seemed to appreciate anyone’s company. He’d follow me around the house and sleep on the blanket at the bottom of the bed.

Now for the actual house. It overlooks Lake Washington. And what a view. I asked the couple if there was a path/trail or park that I could go to to get a closer view of the lake. The husband gave me a confused look and said it’s mostly private residences occupying the waterfront. He was right. Then he said there are two ‘clubs’, which require a paid membership, where you can access the water. For swimming or boating. This seemed so weird to me—paying to swim in the lake. Paying to view the lake was even weirder.

Not only did the couple have a beautiful house, they had a nice garden as well. I know nothing about gardening and being responsible for a garden like this makes me nervous. Especially given the couple were really particular about everything. Note: The garden was still thriving when I left.

Their garden had brightly-coloured flowers, several different types of succulents and a few oriental-looking trees out the front. I’m not sure how a garden like this would fare outside Seattle because Seattle gets a lot of rain. But I was asked to water it every second day if it hadn’t rained. I was able to water the back garden from the deck while looking out over Lake Washington each afternoon.

My first full day in Lake Forest Park saw me return home to a black out. At first I thought my hair straightener had tripped the power. The couple had mentioned their kitchen was sensitive to multiple appliances being used at once and I was getting worried. I thought my Australian-bought GHD may have overloaded it. But no. It turns out a neighbour had been digging. And, as we all discovered out, they’d dug too deep. The power had been cut to about 40 homes in the area and didn’t return until 1am the next day.

After the couple left for their four-day weekend, the wife messaged me to say there’d been a small earthquake in the area. I didn’t notice anything. I would’ve been totally unaware unless the wife mentioned it. Despite the power loss and earthquake, I made it out of Lake Forest Park alive.

Not long after the couple had set off, they messaged me to say they’d discovered the name of a park where I could view Lake Washington for free. Lyon Creek Waterfront Preserve. It was a short walk away from the local shopping complex and I decided to check it out one afternoon. While it was nice, I can’t imagine paying for something like this. Maybe these clubs offer something in addition to lake access, but it still seems stupid to charge people to swim in a public lake.

And while I was in town, I caught up with the first Seattle couple I house and cat sat for. It was pretty much exactly on one year ago when I met Melinda and Rich. They had two senior kitties, Leo and Lily, who needed caring for for two weeks. We’ve stayed in contact since then and I now consider them friends. Melinda and Rich are now looking at becoming house sitters. They’d like to travel around Europe and they think house sitting’s a great way to do it. It definitely is, you guys.

Places to go

Like I said before, this isn’t my first time in Seattle. So these aren’t necessarily places to check out if it’s your first time there.

Fremont neighbourhood

I’d wanted to go Fremont for a while now. But it was always a bit of a mission on public transport (I’d previously stayed in Capitol Hill and Madrona). And it was still a bit of a mission this time because I couldn’t work out what the go was with bus transfers. I ended up walking from downtown Seattle. About an hour or so later, I made it to the Fremont Troll.

Other things worth checking out in the neighbourhood include the Fremont Vintage Mall, and Peace Love and Happiness Club. Peace Love and Happiness Club has some really interesting plants, succulents, and pottery. ZapVerr, a Thai restaurant, does a great eggplant dish.

Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls is also something I’d wanted to check out on previous stays. I think I had it noted down for my first trip to Seattle, but I was a little apprehensive about renting a car in the city. I wasn’t sure if the driving would be as crazy as it is in Los Angeles or if it was a little more relaxed. But this time I got a car. Snoqualmie Falls is about 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. The falls, of course, are really beautiful. There’s a hike or two to be done, and a restaurant at the entrance.

Mt Rainier National Park (kind of)

The couple I was house and cat sitting for told me Mt Rainier was about three hours from their place. Apple Maps told me it was two. I thought the couple may have been exaggerating or liked to make a few stops along the way. I got to the entrance of the national park within two hours, but the main points of interest were another hour away. The couple was right. I would’ve continued, but my rental car only came with half a tank of petrol. And I knew this when I set out from Seattle, but I didn’t anticipate the three-hour drive. I didn’t want to get stuck without fuel. So after about half an hour in to the national park, I turned around. It was also pretty rainy and foggy the day I drove out there, and Mt Rainier couldn’t be seen because of the weather conditions. But if you have a full tank of petrol, then definitely make a day of it.

Next stop

My next stop’s Birmingham. I’ll be cat sitting for Belgian artist Vero and her husband, Clint. I’ll be here ‘til 28 July before making my way to my final destination—New Orleans—for a cat-free holiday. Then it’s back home to Australia.