Family

Family Visit to Seattle - make slideshow

My family—Jenn, James, my mom and dad— decided to make a trip to Seattle to visit with Mike and I over Labor Day weekend. It was so much fun having family around

Friday Mike and I took them to one of our favorite little towns outside of Seattle called Green Lake—a 300 acre park/lake situated much like Central Park. We walked around the beach area for a while and soaked in the beautiful weather before heading to lunch. We took them to one of our favorite places—a Caribbean dive called Paseo that serves the yummiest sandwiches. The line was extremely long but it was well worth the wait, they loved it!

We said goodbye to Mike after lunch and the four of us headed to Discovery Park. I warned them it would be a 2.8 mile hike down to the beach/lighthouse but they still insisted on going so off we went. It could not have been a more perfect day weather wise—sunny, blue sky, light breeze; it was gorgeous. I love this hike, it is so beautiful. They really enjoyed the experience until I almost killed them hiking back UP through the forest after we walked along the beach and saw the lighthouse. It was pretty strenuous; my poor mother! I felt horrible about it afterwards. But it was a good way to see the beautiful nature Seattle has to offer. Jenn kept saying that this was the perfect place to live and that she wanted to move here. I kept reminding her that is how I felt—it will be so hard to leave this wonderful place that I love so much. If it wasn't for the rain it would be perfect!

After our hike we drove down long the water front and the piers and wandered through some shops. Jenn and I got our fortune told to us by this fortune teller machine that looked like the one on the movie "Big." And then we hopped on the carousel for a ride (almost made me sick :).

After strolling around the city for a while longer we went to dinner at another one of our favorite dives—Mr. Gyros (yummy authentic Greek food). We feasted on Gryo lamb plates with hummus, greek salad, lamb, rice, fries with feta cheese . . . oh it was delicious! Dad even enjoyed himself immensely, he said "maybe I should try other places besides McDonalds!" That was the goal: to give him an "ethnic" experience.

Saturday it was rainy in the morning but it ended up clearing up and being a rather beautiful day as well. We headed to the city and got breakfast at Top Pot Donuts, and then we went to the Sci-Fi Museum and the Project Music Museum. Project Music was incredible. They have a sound proof room where locals can come in and record music and practice on instruments, etc. It really is an amazing idea. We looked at all the all guitars, some of the first guitars ever made; the Supremes costumes worn on stage, read all this information about the evolution of music, etc. It was really fun to see. And then James got his wish and we all toured through the Sci-Fi part of the museum. It was actually pretty cool, not really my thing, but it was fun to see and it made James happy :).

After touring the museums we went and saw what they call The Locks, situated in Ballard, just outside of Seattle. I don't really know the exact logistics of it but it is a smaller version/concept of the Panama Canal. Basically water levels shift in order to allow boats into the harbor to dock. We also were able to see what they call the fish ladders where Salmon are caught using these pipes they lower down into the water and the salmon swim upstream and are shifted up these ladders. It was neat to see the salmon try with all their might to make it against the current.

The last event of the day was getting chowder at Pikes Market, watching them throw the fish in the market, and touring through the shops, restaurants, and enormous amounts of flower pavilions. It really is one of the most incredible places in Seattle; my family LOVED it!

We finished the evening joining Mike for dinner at a authentic Neapolitan Pizzeria called Tutta Bella. OH MY the salads and the pizza were incredible! YUM!!

After dinner we headed over to our favorite ice cream shop called Full Tilt where they have the most interesting flavors: salty carmel, ube, Mexican chocolate (our favorite)—served on a crunchy but chewy waffle cone. De-lish!

Sunday was another great day; a relaxing day. We went to church, had Cafe Rio Chicken Salad that I made for lunch—YUM YUM YUM—and then we sat around and talked and talked and talked (best part of any visit). Mike and I took them to a park near our house that is absolutely breathtaking and we strolled along the lake. Afterwards we came home, made smores and homemade popcorn, and played a game of Arm and a Leg.

What a great vacation it was for them and us! We already miss them and can't wait to see them on our way through Oregon in October!!