First trip of 2025: Seattle!
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We started this year by traveling to Seattle as part of the JMM conference. Although we have been to Seattle before, but we only visited national parks here not the city itself (despite the fact that we flew to SEA-TAC airport). For this reason, while I was attending the conference, we then also spent a little bit of our free time exploring this lovely city together. To our surprise, we could fit so many attractions in this business trip. The city was so charming and, more importantly, walkable!
Our first destination was the Space Needle, which was about a 30-minute walk from where we stayed. We had purchased a C3 Pass, which included admission to the Space Needle, an Argosy Cruise, and the Seattle Aquarium. When we went up the Space Needle, I was surprised to find that the top section was actually rotating! We also stepped out onto the balcony, where we could see the Olympic Mountain Range and, of course, the city below.
After visiting the Space Needle, we took the monorail, which—if I remember correctly—was originally built for the World’s Fair held in Seattle. The monorail was a fun experience, with windows all around that offered great views of the city as we cruised along at about third-story height. We got off at Pike Place Market, where the sky was beautifully clear despite the chilly weather.
We took a leisurely stroll through the entire market, from one end to the other, spotting the original Starbucks and browsing lots of handmade crafts along the way. Although we didn’t buy anything—handmade items tend to be quite expensive—we did treat ourselves to seafood chowder and a lobster roll at Pike Place Chowder. It was probably the most expensive meal we had during our time in Seattle, but it was absolutely worth it. As for the queue, it wasn’t too long. To avoid the crowds and secure one of their limited seats, it’s best to visit in the late afternoon, just as we did.
The picture below shows the chowder we ordered at Pike Place Chowder (we were lucky to grab two bar seats, as seating is quite limited) and the Thai food we enjoyed on the last day of the conference. If you’re looking for delicious—and truly authentic—Thai cuisine, we highly recommend a place called Bangrak Market. And don’t forget to tell them you want the authentic spice level! I forgot to mention that we also went to take a picture with the disgusting gum wall. Some of the gums look too fresh–better not get too close to the wall.
After our hearty meal, we headed to the Argosy Cruise. Because of the chilly weather, there weren’t many people taking the cruise at that time, but we chose the 2 p.m. departure, hoping the warmth of the afternoon sun would help a little. The cruise lasted about an hour, and we enjoyed stunning views of the city’s coastline as well as Mount Rainier in the distance. The guide was very informative, and the sky was such a vivid blue that every photo looked almost photoshopped! I would highly recommend the cruise if you enjoy soaking in beautiful views and refreshing breezes.
The last attraction we visited with our C3 Pass was the Seattle Aquarium! Whenever I mention to friends or family that I visited a zoo or an aquarium, they usually don’t seem very interested or think it’s particularly fun. But my fiancé and I genuinely love seeing animals and wildlife—we believe that many zoos and aquariums play an important role in protecting and nurturing wildlife, and this aquarium is definitely one of them!
Several of the staff members seemed like they might have PhDs in marine biology, as they gave detailed and fascinating lectures on coral reefs and seals. We took the time to listen to their talks before heading out to catch the sunset at the nearby pier connected to the aquarium. And as ridiculous as it sounds, we actually spotted a seagull eating a starfish on the roof of the aquarium, which gave us a good laugh before the sun disappeared for the day.
Last but not least, we went on the Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour, a fun and fascinating historical tour that actually takes place underground! It was a truly unique experience—we’d never spent that much time below ground before. The reason this tour exists is because part of modern-day Seattle was literally built on top of the old city. To put it into perspective, what is now the underground was once the ground level, before the city decided that the first floor shouldn’t sit below sea level.
We had a wonderful time in Seattle—it’s such a lovely city, full of people from many different cultures. I also really enjoyed the conference and had the chance to meet so many amazing people in the number theory community. I’ll end this blog with a photo of myself giving my talk. Cheers!
At the end of the spring semester, I attended a number theory conference in Dallas for a week. After the conference, my fiancé flew in to pick me up, and we took a trip to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas! We hadn’t originally planned it, but once we realized how close Dallas was to the park, we decided to go for it. Without the conference, we probably would never have considered visiting Arkansas, given its distance and how far it is from other national parks. We really enjoyed the thermal baths there and hope to return someday!
Although the University of Illinois has some cherry blossoms near the Japan House, we thought it would be fun to visit Washington, D.C. to see more blooms around the Tidal Basin. However, catching these delicate flowers turned out to be more challenging than we expected. We booked our flights based on historical peak bloom data, but still missed the peak—wind and rain had swept through just a few days before we arrived. Despite the timing, we thoroughly enjoyed other aspects of D.C., especially the art galleries, museums, and the (long-awaited return of) giant pandas!
We’ve been to Florida together before, but last time we stayed in Orlando and visited Disney World. Now that we’ve started exploring more national parks, we decided to return to Florida with the goal of visiting all three national parks in the stat, namely, Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas. Except for Everglades, the other two are only accessible by ferry or speedboat, which gave us some unique experiences we hadn’t had anywhere else in the U.S.
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