So for those of you who didn't know, Libby and I took a long overdue trip to Seattle, the rainy city where I spent my teen years. My mom tagged along...Alaska Airlines had an amazing sale that was too good to pass up. There were multiple reasons for going: I hadn't been back and seen my friends since I was pregnant with Libby (note to mama's-to-be...DON'T fly past 30 weeks. Your feet will thank you.) It was Gloria Deo's weekend, the youth group fundraiser that I looked forward to every year while in youth group. To catch up with Uncle Ben. And I was having a mad craving for a Maltby breakfast, which if you've ever eaten there you will totally understand.
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| View from the plane. Mountains are beautiful. |
True to a wintery Seattle, the only time we saw sun during our five day trip was the day we got there and the day we left. There was a hint of sun on Sunday morning, but it quickly disappeared in to a windy, gray, chilly afternoon. It's a wonderful city to visit, but it's not for everyone as a "home"...me included. It was nice to see some green, but the ugliness of overabundant blackberry bushes, too many leafy ferns, and neon green moss growing on powerlines and roof tops was almost too much. I am glad I will never be a Pacific Northwest homeowner...I couldn't afford the time or energy needed to keep a house looking good out there. Home that were newly built when I was in high school show the wear of time and moisture and honestly, it's not attractive. Just saying.
And true to a Bruns girls vacation, our long weekend was not long enough to fit in all of the stuff we would have liked to do. While we accomplished much, the weather and timing never seemed appropriate for a trip to Pike Place Market and our visit to the pier's downtown was much too short. While Libby would have loved the Aquarium and a longer walk along the waterfront, it just wasn't in the cards. Too much trouble to coordinate when the weather would have been optimal and who would be tagging along and who wouldn't and how to fit in rest time for a curious and rambunctious toddler.
My friend Chelsey, out of the goodness of her heart, invited me along to an Everett Silvertips vs. Seattle Thunderbirds hockey game. Perhaps something she won't do again when a hockey loving Midwesterner comes to visit. While we had a good time catching up and just being together, the hockey game (or as it should be referred to: WWF on ice) was a major disappointment. First off: the rink was tiny...I think we have bigger outdoor rinks here in Minneapolis! The quality of play was alright, but I've seen high schoolers do better. And the endless fighting with teammates cheering on from the bench was inappropriate and unsportsmanlike. It took everything in me not to walk out, or moreso, walk out onto the ice with a microphone and go off on the thousands of "fans" and the players. I was threatening writing a letter to the editor of the local papers and the teams telling them just what I thought of their farce of a game. And just so it's out there, if you are going to sponsor a "free cowbell" night, make sure the damn cowbells are real cowbells and not miniature, high pitched instruments that will make a real hockey fan want to rip them out of the hands of the fans around her and beat them with it. Which I came about this close to doing.
Uncle Ben took us out to Gloria Deo's on Friday night with the family we were staying with (old friends from church.) It was perhaps what I was looking forward to the most (Angie Wedekin used to make this amazing clam sauce for pasta) and what ended up being the biggest disappointment. It was wonderful being back in one of the only places that feels "homey" to me out West and seeing so many familiar faces. It was just too bad the food sucked. The noodles were mushy, the breadsticks overseasoned, the sauces heavy and burned. The highlight (as it was when I was in high school) was desert: brownie sundaes. At least those have gotten better. Thank you Costco for making amazing brownie's in bulk, and whoever decided to add the spinkles is a genius! Despite the subpar food and the resulting tummy troubles overnight (it got me, mom, AND Libby) it was still a good time.
Other adventures included a trip to the Seattle Children's museum, but it felt rushed (Libby and I really need to learn to just go on outtings like that by ourselves) and it was a horrible place for a newly potty trained little girl. We visited EMP: Experience Music Project and the adjoined Science Fiction Musuem, as well as the Pacific Science Center and the Harry Potter Exhibit. A little peaved that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the exhibit! Libby and I made a potty stop inside the Space Needle, but didn't go up...wouldn't have been a good day for viewing. We had clam chowder on the water and were able to visit a couple of touristy shops on the Pier, made it for church, and perhaps the highlight of Libby trip, went to a "big girl" birthday party at the Little Gym. (Happy Belated 6th Birthday Emily!) And interspersed in there were multiple, nourshing stops at the Maltby...and one at Taco Time. They have us beat on a fast food chicken burrito, but don't come close to Taco John's potato ole's.
And to finish up a good trip was a night out with (most of) my high school besties and the significant others they have acquired through the years. While Chelsey and Tessa both had to work, the rest of us gathered for some good food and even better chit chat at a new place in town. It never ceases to amaze me how you can go months and even years between talking to the friends you grew up with then find the time and opportunity to sit down and it feels like you no time has passed at all. I mean, you have to catch up on the details, but the feeling is that you haven't been gone at all. That is how you know they are good friends. Chelsey, Tessa, Meggie, Ellie, Chaya, Zack (and Kelli)...I love you all dearly and am so very glad I got to see you. Remember: we are skipping the 10 year reunion and going on a cruise.
It's time to sign off and go wake the napping little one who is still partially on West Coast time. Should probably get dinner on the stove and a note off to Holly and the crew, as Sophie had a few minor and couple major surgeries today and I want to make sure they are all doing well. I will update again soon, and let everyone in on our most recent antics. Now that Libby is potty trained, she has decided she wants a big girl bed, so tonight is the night. Wish me luck! And send up prayers for a speedy recovery for Sophie Belle and comfort for a wonderful NICU family who will be burying an amazing little boy tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures! (There will be more, but we had two cameras and I only have one of them with me.)
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| Posing with the peeps who started Microsoft. Can you pick out Bill Gates? |
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| Libby and Emiley. |
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| My little artist. |
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| Jimmi Hendix wrote on that guitar and then smashed it. |
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| At Ivar's Fish Bar on the waterfront. |
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| A seagull (the gray thing on the right) just snuck up on Libby and stole the fry from her fingers. |
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| My munchkin helping Poppy convent the crib to a big girl bed. |
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