The Seattle Download

I'm going to take a deep breath right now, close my eyes, and remember how great Seattle was this past weekend. People, I am so over sharing an apartment with three other girls! And the main reason I'm so fed up? the kitchen. How hard is it to remember that other people use the fridge, too?, so you can't stock up at Costco or buy ten apples and ten oranges. You also might want to consider wiping off the counters or putting dirty dishes in the empty dishwasher. I am no neat freak, but the frustration is about to bring tears.

Again, back to thoughts of Seattle. It was lovely, just as it was last month, only moreso because I was able to spend five nights and four whole days there! And K was a fantastic hostess!

Once again, I booked a room at the Westin downtown. Their rooms are spacious, lovely, and of course come with a King-size Heavenly Bed. Rather than a view of Puget Sound (and ahem, The Texan's obnoxiously tall office building), I asked for a view of the Space Needle. I made quite a few two-block trips to Pike Place Market in my free time, perused the lovely handmade items, and even caught a fish. Oh, and oops, looks like I fell into Urban Outfitters, too.Dinners alone included a trip back to that outrageously expensive steakhouse (for the grilled sirloin salad and a slice of white chocolate coconut cake) where the doorman and bartenders were so nice, and a meal at an upscale diner where the chefs gave me $30 of free appetizers (caviar pie and house cured beef bresaola) before I ordered the black cod with baby bok choy and chocolate pecan pie a la mode. *Closing eyes and remembering how delicious that was.*
By Friday evening, I was completely free from any work responsibilities, so K and I met up, along with her young male friend (who I was so stoked to meet since she's written about him) for a happy hour full of seafood and beer at Ivar's on the waterfront. It was then that she laid out the tentative weekend plan . . and it was good.

That next morning, we grabbed some donuts at Top Pot and headed to Mount Rainier for a day of snowshoeing. I would imagine that many might initially find the idea of snowshoeing dull and unexciting, but it was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done. Contrary to fresh powder slopes packed with skiers, the snowshoeing experience took us up the mountain to a place so quiet, I was sure we were the only ones for miles. Surrounded by blindingly white snow and gorgeous peaks off in the distance, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Are you convinced yet?

The only bummer was not being able to see the top of Rainier. As we got closer to the mountain, a nice big cloud of fog settled over the top. Guess there's always next time. :)

That evening, we had a delicious dinner in Ballard and ended the evening with a drink at an urban-y bar. Due to the donuts that morning, I had opted out of dessert after dinner . . but someone just happened to leave their birthday cake behind at the bar, and you know me, not wasteful when it comes to food.
My last day *tear* was Sunday, and we got up just in time to make it to Mars Hill for church. I listen to their sermons online quite a bit, and I only loved it even more live. The rain began as we walked back through Ballard, stopping at the Lock.spot for salmon chowder and halibut and chips. Fantastic!

I'll spare you all the pictures, but we also walked down to The Locks, where boats pass between Lake Union and Puget Sound without mixing fresh water with salt water. The rest of our busy day was filled with seeing the Troll, the Gasworks (with a great view of Lake Union and the skyline), the Ballard Farmer's Market, and a few other neighborhoods in town.

And that last night in Seattle ended with this:
I had such a fun time with K, and I can't thank her enough for being so hospitable and spending her entire weekend with me.

Oh and K? I am totally craving pb & banana on toast right now.