(at last, the seattle trip!)

friday july 13

Michael picked me up in front of my building at 2:15. It felt strange to be leaving work so early, but I was happy to embrace the change! After making our way through downtown and over to the east side for Starbucks, we got on I5 about 3:00. About four and a half hours later, we rolled into Seattle. Yes it's supposedly a three hour drive, and yes, traffic was a nightmare. But we forgot about that once we walked into our beautiful little restored 1928 apartment in Capitol Hill:















After freshening up a bit, we walked to Elysian Brewery and met up with my friend Keri who recently moved there to work for Microsoft. Over the next couple of hours we indulged our passion for microbrews and fatty foods and got caught up on each other's crazy lives. We said our goodbyes and then Michael and I walked back to our apartment with a brief stop at Dick's Drive In for milkshakes. Dick's seems to be to Seattle what In-n-Out Burger is to California, and damn - those greasy burgers sure looked good. But we had already had a huge dinner at Elysian, although we managed to make room for the milkshakes.

Got back to our apartment late and collapsed into bed.

saturday july 14

We took our time getting out of the apartment (it *was* a weekend getaway, after all) but were able to walk to a bus stop and promptly catch the #43 to downtown Seattle. We got off the bus near Westlake Center and took some photos of the surrounding area. We then stopped for espresso at a little cafe' next to Pike Place Market, commandeering an outside table to watch the human parade go by. Briefly braving the crowds to purchase some fresh berries, we made our way out of the madness, walked along the waterfront, and eventually to the Olympic Sculpture Park and toook about a million pictures. My favorite sculptures were Stinger, by Tony Smith: and Eagle, by Alexander Calder:

Stinger

, by Tony Smith

Eagle

, by Alexander Calder

By this time it was well after 2:00 and we were starving. We walked up Queen Anne and met Keri for a late lunch at Phuket Thai - a place we had seen on previous trips to Seattle (and, to be honest, indulged in excessive adolescent-style giggling over a mispronoucing of the name). The food was delicious - definitely better than average Thai - and as an added bonus, they cook your food right there in the bar:

After stuffing ourselves with Papaya Salad and Pad Ga Prau we stepped out in the rare Seattle heat and walked around Seattle Center. All three of us waded in the fountain:

Keri and moi.

Keri and Michael.

And then we went and watched all the kids play in the main fountain - I didn't realize it put on such a show - complete with music and explosions and everything! Keri then gave us a ride back to our apartment where we rested a bit and then headed to the Mariners game. Funny thing is, we weren't entirely sure how we were going to get there, but wound up using the bus, our legs, and a taxi - in that order. After spending $25 on two hot dogs, a beer, and a soda, we found our seats and settled in for the game - Michael's birthday present from me.

The game was an okay experience for me (watching people is always fun) but it wasn't about me that night anyway. The game went on for awhile and so we had to supplement our hot dog dinner with garlic fries (yum) and "dippin dots" (yuck). Caught a taxi back to our apartment and then jumped into the car and drove to Kerry Park to take night photos of the beautiful Seattle skyline:

Space Needle after dark.

Tired from our day of fun, we headed once again to our apartment.

sunday july 15

We took our time getting out of Seattle, reluctant to leave our charming urban oasis. After another trip up to Kerry Park (for daytime photos) we headed home, stopping for lunch at McMenamin's Olympic Club in Centralia. We arrived home to find our place still intact, with four cats absolutely ecstatic to see us.

It should be illegal to be this happy.