I like to travel.

Let me reiterate- I like to travel.

A favorite motto of mine, from the film “Waking Life” goes something like: “I like to stay in a constant state of departure, while somehow always arriving.”

The lovely and personable Crite staff has stayed pretty true to this on our journey to Seattle for the Associated Collegiate Press National College Journalism Convention.

It all started at the Grand Junction regional airport. I got to see a phobia that I have never been cursed with firsthand— Pteromerhanophobia, the fear of flying. Poor Sports Editor Levi Meyer is cursed with this condition. I tried to let him know that “you actually experience periods of weightlessness while a plane is descending,” but it didn’t seem to help. Levi is a trooper, and he made it to Seattle without any panic attacks. I’ve never seen anyone jump at the sound of landing gear before though.

Soon enough, we made it to the convention, and our first day of classes and seminars was quite informative.

Reporter Hillary Vice and I chose to attend the Advanced Photojournalism seminar. Within an hour, we were on assignment, taking candid shots of people in Seattle. Aided by my iPhone, we ventured. We ended up at Pikes Place Public Market, an open-air market with fish, meat, fruit and trinkets, populated with wonderfully colorful Seattleitites. A group of toddlers ran across the street, herded by chaperones.

Musicians busked for spare change around the market. The scene played out like a musical, a fish quickly tossed 10 feet, from an icebox to a cutting board, yelps and calls for cuts of meat and fish, all with a folk soundtrack from a guitarist in the middle of the square.

We continued on, walking the length of the market and a few more blocks, to the tourist trap, the Space Needle. It cost 20 dollars to get to the top. I skipped the souvenir shop and the food. I came for the view, and I got it. This is the coolest looking big city I’ve ever seen. It’s less of a concrete jungle and more of an actual jungle. There are trees and moss everywhere.

This city is off the chain, and people smile more here than they do elsewhere.

I came here for Journalism, and it’s the perfect tool to discover such an amazing place.