Arriving in Seattle, Wash., four hours before gametime and flying out — without need for a hotel — at 6 the next morning isn’t the best way to take in a city.

But making the most of it, myself and Daily Wildcat photographer Mike Christy made our way around downtown to, at the very least, get a feel for the Pacific Northwest. Only spending a few hours here, it’s truly a beautiful city, especially if you enjoy the opposite of Tucson (i.e. moisture in the air, green grass and sidewalks.)

After dropping through thick clouds as our airplane descended, the first sports-wielding signs we saw were from neither Arizona nor Washington. Instead, it was an Oregon Duck-labeled airplane, showing once again that Nike pretty much rules.

And praise the public transit system. We took the Sea-Tac, a light-rail, from the airport to downtown. No four-block-long trolleys here.

The downtown is a sight to see. It’s sort of San Francisco-ish with its hills and even though it was about 45 degrees and spitting rain, still bustling with people, a diverse group of business-people, college-aged students and of course, your true hipster/punk kids; for those of you not musically inclined, Seattle was the birthplace of grunge.

At the edge of downtown along the water-front is the Pike Place Market. Right in the middle is the original Starbucks, surrounded by a market selling fresh fish, vegetables and art.

Christy was a little disappointed that he couldn’t really take many photos while lugging around his clothes and camera gear. After eating paradoxically large shrimp, we headed to Husky-land.

There, the Dawg Pack student section was 80 percent filled with 50 minutes before tip-time, already engaged in heckling the Wildcats and cheering for their Huskies. Two Arizona fans in the upper-section sang Bear Down before the students drowned them out, but it was a solid effort.

Oh, and then there was the game.