Pacific Northwest Holiday - - Day 3

Saturday brought one more day of sightseeing before making the trek back to Utah, but with a new location as we headed down the coast to Portland.  The weather was overcast, but dry...so an improvement over Friday.  With leaving Everett in the morning it took until lunch to get to Portland.  However we had a couple side stops first.

Our beautiful drive into the abyss

Before we dropped off Derby to be boarded for the day, we took him to Washington Park and the International Test Rose Garden.  This is a free botanical garden of sorts that sits atop a hill overlooking the city.  As a bonus, dogs are welcome in the gardens.  After a brief sojourn with the dog it was off to one of the many food truck pods (an open parking lot filled with a group of food trucks/carts) to pick up some thai food to go.  Then we dropped Derby off for his social vacation and moved to the riverfront.

A rare rose out of season    &    Jeff/Derby enjoying the garden

Derby spotted a dog just as they were posing for a picture

Susan and I picnicked on our thai on a bench by the river, then walked along the shore to Old Town and the Saturday Market.  This is an enormous market focused mostly on handmade crafts, but also including music and prepared food booths (and Rogue beer).  The market covers 3 adjacent areas working away from the river, so took some time to get through.  We came away from the market with a few new odds and ends, including some earrings and a handmade butter bell.

Saturday Market

Our next stop was a personal must-see for myself...Powell's World of Books.  This new/used bookstore is incredible, with multiple floors and buildings.  With it being an overcast holiday weekend (and Small Business Saturday), the store was packed.  That didn't keep us from grabbing our store map and exploring for an hour or so.  I ended up not making a purchase myself, mainly from being overwhelmed with too many options...but Susan grabbed a sewing book so we weren't empty handed.

Some pictures in front of Powell’s

After checkout, we went to check into our hotel and take a load off before dinner.  Before long it was back out to the pearl district and the Rogue Public House.  Rogue Brewing is one of the many breweries based out of Portland, and probably one of the more known.  Their public house is a pub with decent food, but excellent beer selection.  I enjoyed with a sampler tray to try some of the brews that are not widely distributed (Chipotle Ale is intense).  For dinner we had comfort food of sliders and mac n cheese.  Then it was back to the hotel, calling it a night fairly early again.

Tomorrow brings breakfast of Voodoo Donuts and then a long drive back to Utah.

Pacific Northwest Holiday - - Day 2

Friday morning I awoke pre-dawn to go for a run.  Not sure where I was I basically stuck to the same road until it dead ended and then followed the other road a bit before turning back.  I had looked at a map the night before and was trying to get to a water view.  After running downhill nearly 2 miles, I finally succeeded and ran near the waterfront until turning around.  Unfortunately the rest of the run required me to make my way back up the long hill.

Either way I arrived back at the condo, cleaned up, awoke Susan and grabbed a quick bite before our morning activity...the Future of Flight tour at the Boeing plant.  This 90 minute bus/walking tour was pretty neat, especially for someone who works with jet engines.  We got to visit the largest building in the world and see the assembly lines/stations of the 747, 777, and the brand new 787 (dreamliner).  We also got to see the huge modified cargo jet that carries completed 787 components to Everett from around the world.  The tour was well done with a knowledgeable guide and a nice visitors center and museum to checkout after the guided portion. 

[no photos allowed during the tour ]

Post tour, Susan was feeling a little unwell and we had planned to spend some time taking it easy so went back to the condo for a rest before heading back into Seattle for the afternoon.

It was a stereotypical Seattle day with off and on steady rain and overcast weather when we made our way into town around lunch, but that didn't keep the shoppers away from the city.  As soon as we got off the interstate downtown it was evident our experience today would be much more eventful than yesterday.  Pedestrians were all over the place in the shopping districts.  Our first priority was lunch though, so we headed away from the crowd and made our way to the Pike Street Fish Fry.  This hole in the wall popped up on our radar a week ago when we noticed a Yahoo! article lauding their fries as some of the best in the US.  That was enough to draw us food enthusiasts in, so we each ordered the cod basket with different dipping sauce selections (curry ketchup for Susan, chili mayo for myself).  The fries were good, the dipping sauces unique, but the fish was excellent with a crispy breading and super-juicy interior.  It was a good lunch stop.

Our lunch stop

After lunch it was back to the crowds and the Pike Place market, which was open today.  We first visited the crafts booths at the north end, then worked our way south toward the fish and food vendors.  We were able to see a couple large salmon thrown about, so considered it a successful venture.  Then we crossed the road and I put on my Starbucks Fanboy outfit to visit the original location of the coffee shop.  It was also the first time I ordered a reserve coffee brewed with the fancy clover machine...I was in caffeinated heaven.

Lots and lots of seafood

Jeff at the original Starbucks

Following this foray into coffee bliss, we walked toward the Westlake Center (a multi-story shopping mall) with a couple shop stops on the way, then caught the monorail up to the Seattle Center.  The Seattle Center is where the space needle rests, but also has some museums and art exhibits nearby.  We weren't drawn to any specific attraction enough to pay the entry fee, so instead just wandered through the area before returning to Westlake Center where we were just in time to see the lighting of the Seattle Christmas tree.  There were some musical performances for about a half hour before the tree lighting then a short fireworks show.  Not a bad (free) way to kick off the Christmas season.

Seattle Tree   &   Space Needle

The huge crowd at the tree lighting celebration

We concluded the night by heading back toward Everett and grabbing dinner at the Diamond Knot Brewing Company in Mukilteo.

Pacific Northwest Holiday - - Day 1

Faced with a long Thanksgiving weekend and no plans to return home to visit the families until the Christmas holidays, Susan and I decided to give thanks by taking another trip.  This weekend we ventured northwest to give Seattle and Portland a look. 
Our trip started Wednesday after work with an afternoon of driving.  We made it to the south central border of Washington (Kennewick/Richland) before calling it a night.  This would leave us with only a couple hours drive remaining on Thanksgiving day before arriving in the Seattle area. 

 
                                        Drive to Washington

Luckily for us, we have friends living north of Seattle in Everett who allowed us to stay at their condo for the 2 nights in the area and save on the room expenses.  Unfortunately, they were visiting family across the country for the holiday weekend so we were unable to actually visit with them personally.  Still we were very appreciative of them allowing us to use their place (and the tips they provided via post-its around the condo).

All that said, our first stop upon arrival was at the condo in Everett to drop off our stuff.  After a quick cleaning up (long drives make me feel dirty) it was back south and into the city.  We parked near the Pike Place Market and walked toward the market and harbor for a bit.  Being afternoon on Thanksgiving most businesses were closed (including the market) and the proportion of homeless to tourists on the sidewalk was not in our favor.  It was a little uncomfortable at first, particularly when we passed a drug exchange on our way to the piers, but nothing we couldn't manage.

Once on the waterfront the situation had changed and there were some restaurants, arcades, and the aquarium open.  We stopped at a cafeteria style fish 'n chips place for a quick lunch before proceeding to the aquarium.  The Seattle aquarium is very nice with a lot of exhibits focusing on the sea-life in the region.  There are many areas where indigenous animals are housed and the water in their tanks is pumped in directly from the sound...like being in a glass-enclosed extension. 

The first major attraction of the aquarium was the touch tanks, where we were informed all about the sea anemonies by an employee who basically said that when we touch them, they are touching back and attempting to poison and eat us...a comforting thought.  Thankfully (in the spirit of the holiday) we have a thick enough skin to foil the anemonies' lunch plans.  Susan couldn't get enough of the anemony poison, so attempted to touch all of them along with the other fish, shrimp, sea cucumbers, etc in the tank.
After a hand wash, it was on to check out the other exhibits including fish of Hawaii, a giant octopus, and seeing where we measured up with a 6 gilled shark.  From there it was on to building 2 and the underwater viewing dome.  We spent a few minutes here before heading onto the highlight of the aquarium...the seal and sea otter exhibits.  Susan had a field day with her camera and phone watching the animals from both above and below the water.  I think I could watch otters all day.

Susan getting a sea urchin hug

Susan being poisoned    &   Jeff measuring up

Nemo

Sea otter floating around

Susan chillin with a sea otter

Once we pried ourselves away from the sea mammals, the aquarium was finished so it was back out to the waterfront where we headed south to the ferry station.  As a way to get a cheap tour of the water we caught a ferry to Bainbridge island, a small residential town that is probably very nice for a visit when not closed down for holiday.  With it being Thanksgiving though, the main street was a ghost town so just provided a short loop walk before returning to the ferry.  The highlight of the boat ride for Susan was her first celebrity sighting when we nearly bumped into Chris Kattan while boarding the outbound ferry.  Susan did her best to snap paparazzi shots with her phone to capture the moment.  On the return ferry ride, night was setting in so we were able to get a good view of the skyline as we approached the dock.

Jeff with the Seattle skyline

Chris Kattan on our ferry

Seattle skyline at night

Back in town and it was a quick walk back to the car where we changed clothes in the parking garage (because we're classy) and then headed East to the Lake Washington shoreline (Leschi area specifically) for our Thanksgiving dinner at Daniel's Broiler.  It was a prix fixe meal with crackers with goat cheese, smoked salmon spread, and marinated vegetables as a warm-up; a choice of soup or salad; 4 entree choices; and a few dessert choices.  We were seated late so got our bar drinks for free (bonus!), then sat for a nice meal.  Though turkey was offered we both went non-traditional... Susan got the filet and I got the salmon, both were excellent.  The sides (mashed and roasted potatoes respectively along with broccoli) were prepared well, but were a little bland so nothing to write home about.  For dessert, I had to indulge in some pumpkin pie to pay homage to the holiday and it was delicious.

Dinner completed, we were ready to call it a night.  Getting out of Leschi proved to be a challenge as that area gets very hilly and residential and the roads were terribly confusing.  Luckily our GPS rerouted us until I finally followed the correct directions and got back to the highway.  On the drive in for the night, we noticed the roads were the most congested we'd seen all day.  It wasn't until we saw the full parking lot of Kmart that it dawned on us the Black Friday shoppers were already at it (at 8:45 on Thursday)...some things I'll never understand.

Happy and full after a fun first day in Seattle

Tomorrow brings another day in Seattle, with more open attractions to visit...

Recap of a Big Year

It has been a busy 12 months for Susan and me.  We moved across the country, took 2 international vacations, sold our house in Cincinnati, and visited a bunch of other areas of the US while attending as many weddings of family and friends as we possibly could.  Realizing this, we have decided to recap “our big year” and summarize what is hopefully only a start of many big years to come.  It has been quite an adventure, even causing me to grow a beard!

We started our adventure the week before Thanksgiving 2011 with a 2-week trip with Susan’s family to Australia/New Zealand.  It was a whirlwind through the land down under.

December brought Christmas with the families in Louisville and Delphos along with New Years the nation’s capital, Washington DC.  All the while (and into January), Susan was jet-setting around to internship interviews in Virginia, Delaware, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Kansas, and Oklahoma among others.

January brought our first preview of our future home when we visited Logan, UT just before ranking internship sites.  We spent a weekend visiting the Cache Valley, checking out Utah State University, briefly looking at Salt Lake City and Park City (during Sundance film festival).  A highlight was visiting the Hardware Ranch and the herd of Elk that reside there in winter.

Cache Valley

Hardware Ranch

The rest of winter and early spring provided a rest as we were informed that Susan matched at USU.  We’d be living in Logan for the next year, so spent much of our time planning our next moves.

As April arrived, I entered my abbreviated racing season with a new PR in the half-marathon at the Derby Festival Mini (sub-1:24).  Then we celebrated the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, per usual.  My racing season was capped off with the American Triple-T (4 triathlons in 3 days) in late May. 

The rest of spring and early summer was spent getting our house ready for the market and packing up for our move across the country.  We decided to take advantage of our life change, so I took a leave of absence from work and we abandoned our Cincinnati home to go backpacking in Europe for 2 weeks from late June to early July.  We were able to visit with some family abroad while flying and railing all over the place.  The European Adventure was exhausting and a ton of fun.

 

After recovering for a few days at the lake, it was time to go west!  We drove across the country in about 3 days, hitting some highlights like the Badlands and the Black Hills. 

Instead of settling in to Logan, August instead brought trips back to the Midwest for weddings.  Susan was matron of honor in a friend’s wedding in Columbus.  Just a week later, I was a groomsman in my sister’s wedding in St. Louis.  Once wedding season had passed, we were back out west to get into our new routines.

Since we’ve been out in Utah, we have spent a weekend exploring some national parks in southern Utah, including Zion and Capitol Reef.  We also spent another weekend up in Idaho and Wyoming visiting the Tetons. 

Capitol Reef and Zion National Parks

Teton National Park

Otherwise, we’ve twice been blessed with visits from family, and have explored the Cache Valley on numerous hikes and at local activities throughout September and October.

Bringing us back to November where we capped off the year with another vacation, this time to Disney World.

EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Harry Potter World

A couple interesting tidbits:

Countries we’ve spent time in over the past 365 days = 11 (US, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, France, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands)

States we’ve spent time in over the past 365 days = 21(+2 for Susan alone)

Oh yeah, and we’ll be visiting the Pacific Northwest soon (over Thanksgiving)…the adventure never ends.