Babymoon in Seattle

Dirk and I love traveling together, and know once Dakota is here we will not be taking as many get-aways. We decided to have one last Hurrah in Seattle and visit my (now our) friend Diana. 

Here are our highlights of the trip; the workers at The Public Market that threw fish around like hot potatoes, picking out our favorite flavors of gum in Post Alley, the Chuhily exhibit of colorful blown glass, jamming out at the EMP, the fresh seafood- our first Halibut sandwich, getting to see the Fremont troll, the excitement in the air for the SuperBowl, catching up with Diana, the mouth-watering bakeries, ridiculous karaoke at the Lower Tavern, the beautiful Outlook Inn at Orcas island, and our special date night at Ettas with 5 star appetizers and entree!

It was so so cold on Thursday, but luckily we were never rained on. We walked to most of our destinations and had plenty of Starbucks to stop in along the way. Seattleans must pee coffee!!! In the morning we walked to the Public Market Center. We couldn't believe how fresh the seafood looked and smelled! Trucks were rolling up with bins of fresh caught seafood on ice. We tried smoked salmon and it was unbelievably good. It was sooo tempting to ship home the humongous lobster tails and prawns, but shipping was so expensive and the thought of a fish fry in freezing weather didn't sound too appealing. Fish was not the only thing in the market- there were art stands, flower shops and vegetable shops too. I had one of the juiciest apples ever. It felt like we were at the fair - the sights, smells, and sounds were overwhelming. 

We found Post Alley right outside of the market, and were astounded by how much gum covered the alley. It was here I found out my friend Amber had her baby!! She had a handsome baby boy named Jonah. Very exciting news! Afterwards we strolled down to see the Original Starbucks location. If I hadn't already stopped for a chai tea latte, I might have had another.

We were so fortunate to have Di as our host. We met up with her after lunch and she drove us to the Chihuly exhibit downtown. The work of Dale Chihuly on its own is powerful, but how it was displayed indoors and outdoors was captivating. His genius lies in how he chooses to show you his art. The neon garden to the left was one of my favorites. I also loved that the museum displayed his accordion collection in their cafe and his bottle opener collection in the bathrooms. How cool is that??? 






Afterwards, we headed towards Volunteer Park to take in some beautiful views of the Space Needle and Seattle skyline. We then drove to the Fremont area and made a pitstop at the Gas Works park and saw the harbor side of Seattle. This troll was one of my favorites. He lives under the bridge, and if you look closely, you can see his left hand covers an old VW bug!

The next day in Seattle Di took us to the amazing Macrina Bakery to jumpstart our day. I drooled over my cinnamon roll. We then rushed over to the Experience Music Project Museum. The building itself was designed by Frank Gehry, and screams rock and roll, without being obnoxious. From obsessing over old Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix memorabilia to jamming out at the sound lab, and playing around with the icons of old science fiction movies, we had a blast here. I didn't keep count, but there must be over 1,000 guitars in the building. I wanted to stay and play on every single one I saw. 

Heading in to the weekend, we expected to head towards Canada, but in a bizarre turn of events, we ended up staying at Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. The views of surrounding islands and beautiful Pacific Northwest coasts were breathtaking. Di found a charming little boutique hotel called The Outlook Inn, and this was the view from our room. She gave up her weekend entirely to be our host around the island and even paid for our hotel the first night there. I am so lucky to have her as a friend. There are some friends you know will be in your life forever, and Di is definitely one of those for me.

 

Being here was so peaceful. Our room had a fireplace, and Di and I especially loved catching up on our reading here. It was such a cozy little place, where curling up in bed with a book just felt right. So glad she found this place!! The bathroom had a huge tub with jets and a towel warmer. It felt so removed from the hip and fast-paced Seattle, but was only an hours drive away and quick ferry trip to the island.  

The island had a few bakeries, a chocolate shop, a book shop, waterfront restaurants, an art gallery, a beautiful church, adorable pet store, and three bars. On Saturday night we found an improv comedy club and stayed up for karaoke night at the favorite watering hole The Lower Tavern. Dirk and I did our usual Whitney Houston special, I wanna Dance with Somebody, and then probably sang a few too many others. Getting Di to sing "Some Nights" with us was too fun. Note to self- pick an easier song next time. 

On SuperBowl Sunday, we headed to see Moran State Park. This hidden gem is well worth the 5 minute drive from town. Trees that towered above us made us feel so tiny in these woods. They estimate some of the Douglas firs to be over 500 years old. We saw the Cascade waterfall from so many different angles, and didn't even have to walk more than a mile to see them. The moss that grew on the trees was such a pretty bright green. It reminded us so much of New Zealand. We took a few 20 week pictures here for my bump log so we could show Dakota where she was when she was being incubated. I would love to come back here and go camping once she's older.

We drove up to the top of Mount Constitution (2,400 feet up) passing a mountain goat and deer along the winding way. Once we got to the top we started to see ice on the road and snow on all the tree branches. It seemed for every foot higher we went, we saw the temperature drop another degree. It was literally freezing at the top of the mountain. We made the climb up a tower to see some amazing views of the surrounding islands.  

When we came back into town, it was time to start SuperBowl festivities. The Lower Tavern was filled with Seattle fans, blue and green pom poms and gum (perhaps because the island was sold out of skittles?) It was very hard for Dirk to not be vocal in his support for the Broncos. At half time, we headed back to watch the rest of the commercials (I mean game) in our hotel room. 

Monday, we left our little paradise on Orcas Island to head back to Seattle. We had one last lunch with Di at Matt's in the Market. It was another delicious meal of fresh seafood in a restaurant tucked away on the 3rd floor of the market. Our last night we stayed at the Warwick hotel and ate at the amazing Ettas near the market. Everyone was beaming with Seahawks pride. It was exciting to see the city decked out with 12th man banners and see the hundreds of Skittles that had been thrown in the streets the night before.

Dirk and I had a wonderful date night to cap off the vacation. Getting to soak up so much time with him was exactly what I needed to calm myself and get some much needed resting in. We have so much fun together and it reminds me of our dates when we first met. We hope to create some more relaxing moments at home in the few short months we have left together as a couple. The Countdown is on - 125 days left!