On the positive side, I was very pleased to be able to travel to Seattle, Washington for work this year, because I had never visited Washington state before, and thus, it enabled me to tick this state off my list!

On the not-so-positive side, because this was a work trip, I didn’t really get to see very much of Seattle, or indeed Washington state. So there are definitely going to need to be follow-up trips in the future!

In terms of my trip itself, I was only in Seattle for 3 days, and my sightseeing basically involved going to my employer’s offices (and the Microsoft campus!).

For now, I’ll share a very curated selection of photos just to record the fact that I was there, though I don’t expect this to be a very interesting photographic update for anyone!

This would definitely not have been on my personal wish list of things to do, but turns out it was an actual genius move because there was a rodeo at the county fair! And going to a rodeo has been on my life list for aaaaages!

So, first, the fair itself. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but this thing was MASSIVE. There were thousands of people there and the queue to get in took at least an hour in our cab . It was wild.

Inside the fair, aside from the rodeo which was the main evening event, there were so many things to do and see, ranging from animal exhibits, kids rides, and lots of mini events like log throwing and pig races. It was crazy! I especially like watching the pig races and visiting all the cute animals!

There were also SO many food stalls. Like everywhere, selling all different American things that I had never tried before like funnel cakes.

So we wandered around the county fair for a few hours, had something to eat and drink and enjoyed soaking in the atmosphere. Then it was time for the main event – the rodeo!

The rodeo area was very basic seating overlooking a huge field. We were sat next to some very nice women who would helpfully explain what was going on at key points!

Before the rodeo started, there was of course an American anthem rendition, and everybody stood up and covered their hearts to sing it., and there was also a bit of prayer.

The rodeo itself was a multi-hour event split up into mini sections where people showed off different skills like staying on the bull or horse, and wrangling animals.

I wasn’t able to take many good pics as everything was happening so fast and I only had my phone camera, but here are a selection: