We got packed up and got on the road around 2pm Friday afternoon. The ride out there was more than uneventful as B and I spent most of it knitting.
It's such a boring ugly drive until you get near the pass. We made good time and got into the city around 6pm. Checked into the hotel and got started on our shopping spree right away. After we freshened up a bit, we hit the local Trader Joe's with the intent of getting B some trail mix makings and then going out to dinner. It took us less than five minutes to decide that we wanted to have a hotel room buffet comprised of the prepared foods from the cold case instead. So we loaded up on wraps, salads and crackers...and a few bottles of wine.
The dinner was so good! We ended up chilling our wine in the plastic bucket filled with ice and drinking it from the plastic cups that the hotel leaves on the sink; we are high class all the way. With the long day and the wine, we went to sleep fairly early.
Saturday was Bainbridge Island day. We woke up somewhat early in order to catch the ferry to the island and get breakfast there. Once we made it into Seattle proper (our hotel was near the airport), we found that the parking garage we had planned to use was closed. Luckily, there was another pay lot very close. Or not so luckily, as we were soon to find out. Not only did we hit the lot at the same time as about 20 carfuls of soccer fans, but the pay machines were not working. We ended up standing around for nearly 45 minutes while the completely useless lot attendant did nothing to help anyone. We finally got paid and to the ferry terminal but had just missed the boat we had wanted to take. We hung out in the terminal until the next one came along and enjoyed a very pretty and refreshing ride over to the island.
Once we got there, it was a short walk to the touristy area with all of the shops and restaurants. B had found a small cafe and after a bit of confusion and nearly missing it by half a block, we got ourselves sitting down and cooling off from the walking across town. Feeling the effects of being on vacation and away from home I decided to help my day along with a Screwdriver with my brunch. Ever the enabler, B had a Greyhound as well. The cafe was very cute and very upscale with delicious food. I had a Dungeness Crab Eggs Benedict that was to die for.
After breakfast we began our tour of the small town. It really reminded me of Catalina. Again, B had scoped out the fun places which included the best ice cream shop ever, Mora Iced Creamery. They had the most fantastic and unusual flavors. I had to try the Lavender and Sabayon but ended up ordering Coconut and Mexican Chocolate. I'm pretty sure that B and Logan got some equally as wonderful flavors but I don't really remember much outside of the ice cream euphoria I was experiencing. By the time we left the small shop, there was a line out the door and around the corner. Just a few doors down was Churchmouse Yarn & Teas. Of course we spent a good deal of time there and I got a couple of skeins of yarn. Nothing too exciting but I did get a very cute little project bag. Logan was very happy to peruse the teas and got a couple of tins to take home. It was a very pretty shop, much bigger than we expected and everyone there was so nice and friendly. I'm determined to be cool and like tea! We spent an hour or two more on the island before catching the ferry (just barely) back to Seattle.
That night (after showers and naps), we went to Lush and Sephora and spent way too much money. Then, it was on to Blue C Sushi. I am still nearly speechless about our evening there. Not only is the novelty of kaiten dining so fun and over the top, but the sushi itself was amazing! Again, B and I embraced the vacation gods and she had a strong but very refreshing cucumber and lime martini while I had the sake sampler.
I have discovered that I love plum sake. It was like dessert in a glass. We grabbed plates of sushi, salads and hot foods here and there. We really took our time in order to stuff in as much as we possibly could. Logan was very proud of himself for trying new things. We had some perfectly seared tuna, a to-die-for scallop nigiri and surprisingly yummy noodle and cucumber salads. B had to have her Mochi so we ordered four flavors. Mango and Red Bean for her' Vanilla and Chocolate for Logan and I to try. It's not bad, sorta weird, but not bad. Needless to say we were very tired and went straight back to the hotel and passed out.
Sunday was an unplanned day but we had decided on the ferry the day before that we would go to brunch at Ivar's, right down on the waterfront. We ate...and ate...and ate. Oh, and we drank. Well, B intended to drink but her Mimosa was a little too strong for her so I helped her out with it. Once again, amazing food. There was, of course, a ton of seafood and I'm pretty sure that I ate at least two pounds of crab alone. The dessert offering was unexpectedly diverse. They had everything from warm cinnamon rolls to creme brulee and mini-eclairs. I'm pretty sure that we all had two plates of dessert. B had four cups of mussels and clams. Now that I think about it, B and I ate more food than Logan at every meal. We must be starved for culinary adventure. Getting back to the car was not a pleasant endeavor and we pretty much just waddled all the way back.
For the afternoon, I sent B and Logan off to Ikea and I relaxed in the hotel room. Once they were back, we all went out to the Auburn Supermall and did some more shopping at the Rack. We had a very fast dinner at Red Robin and B and I hopped on the shuttle to the No Doubt show. We were getting really worried about getting there too late and missing some of No Doubt's set. The shuttle was supossed to take 10 minutes but was more like 30. That did not help our anxiety. We got lucky and got to our seats during Paramore's last song. And then we sat for an hour while they set up the stage for No Doubt. But the show was freaking AMAZING. I don't have any pictures because we assumed you couldn't bring cameras (we were wrong). I don't think I'll have any trouble remembering it though. I can't even describe it and and do it justice.
Monday was another trip to Trader Joe's on the way out of town...and more wine...
We stopped at Snoqualmie Falls on the way out of Seattle but I decided to stay in the truck; I had done enough walking that weekend and my legs were not happy with me. One long, hot and hungry drive back across the state and we were home! Weary and grateful to be back but in the best way possible.
