Back in Seattle Again...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 9:38PM 
Can you believe it snowed on the way back down the mountain?
We left the cabin midmorning on Saturday and headed back to Laurie's house in order to take charge of her girls momentarily (until we hit the road again), so that her husband could catch a flight. Confusing? It wasn't too chaotic!
She dropped her three older daughters off with a friend and then the remaining women involved in this madcap weekend drove to the city of Seattle.
Seattle makes me think of Frasier and Niles, Daphne and Marty. Did you watch that show? That group of characters is one of the funniest ever put together. That was a good show.
Well. We drove into town and were greeted by the famous Space Needle. For some reason I was enamored of this building. Building? I believe that it is a building. We didn't go up in it (it's a little pricey) but I took more than enough pictures of it. Maybe I enjoyed photographing this towering observation point because it was actually still. A little break from taking pictures of monkeys supercharged with M&M's and Skittles moving targets.
We even managed to get a picture of ourselves in front of the Needle. I set the camera up on one of the girl's purses. My guess is that several people may have wondered what on earth we were doing smiling at the bag sitting on the ground.
Here is the Space Needle, towering above us as we headed to the monorail.
Oh! Here is the Space Needle still towering above us as we head to the monorail.
I couldn't help myself. Sorry.
There were other cool things to see while we were there...a lovely area where someone (or several someones) was playing some funky music while folks hung out on a pretty day...
Cool architecture...
It was a colorful place...
with a lot of bustling and busyness. But in a fun way, probably since I wasn't the one who was particularly bustling or busy.
Our next destination was the Public Market; several people told me that we just had to go there. We sure did, but not before we hit the Gap. Ha! We hit a great sale, and continued one of our great traditions-purchasing a matching shirt for ourselves that commemorates our time together.
Then it was down the street and around the corner...
And not only did we find the Public Market, but we found the Sanitary Public Market! They must have known I was coming!
A couple of people told me before I left that we must go see the famous fish flingers at Pike Place. I had a hard time leaving the sanitary area and moving to the fish-flinging area.
There was the famous Monkfish...which I am so thankful did not snap at me. I might have peed.
These guys throw the fish. The customer asks for the fish they want, and one of the fishmongers sends the stinking thing flying through the air. They sing while they do this, chanting and yelling the order back and forth...
I wish I had more and better pictures of this, because it was fun to watch. They really seemed to enjoy what they were doing, and they enjoyed entertaining the crowd, too.
Speaking of entertaining...
We decided that who needs roller coasters when you have a tilting monorail? Or something like that.
Maybe you had to be there. It was seriously funny at the time.
Who needs Frasier when you have friends like these?! That's what I say!
Our day had to wind down at some point, and so we headed back to Laurie's once again, for dinner, brownies, and a movie.
We had such a full day, from our morning at the cabin, to a beautiful drive back down the mountain, to a sunny day playing in the city, to a perfect ending on the way home...
All these good things were gifts for me. Treasures for me to store up in my heart. I missed these girls before we had even parted ways. They mean the world to me and I am already looking forward to the next time we get together.
I was able to think a lot, too, while I was gone from home. I thought a great deal, and talked a lot, about how things have gone these last months and even couple of years. It hasn't always been good...there have been some low points amidst the joyful moments and the memories that have been made for our family. Ami (above, not holding the baby, not holding her face) said how much she was enjoying this time in her life, the ages of her kids (they are about the same as mine); she spoke of how she appreciated so much that the kids still wanted to be with them (her and her husband), they enjoyed being together as a family and hadn't reached that age where they'd rather be off by themselves or at the mall with friends instead. They like to snuggle. All of these things reminded me that the same thing is true in our house. Our kids want to be with us. They love to love on us. They still want us to read to them, to go to ball games together, to go on family trips. They need for me to be present. These things might seem like no-brainers (I am a no-brainer, you know), but it was a good wake-up call for me to look at our life from a distance and see the good and the needs-improvement. I'm so thankful for these ladies, their listening ears, their loving hearts, their encouraging words. And also their jokes, and their laughter. Did I mention that already?
Now I am home and feeling rejuvenated and energized for the tasks that lie before me. And now it is time to share with you one final thing! While I was gallavanting around Washington, whether in Bavarian villages or big cities, and having a very good time with some of my closest friends, I was also on the lookout for something to bring back with me to pass along to one of you, just for fun. I wanted to bring back something that was representative of my time there...and this is what I ended up with...
Moon Valley Organics handmade soaps, lotion bar, and lip treat (it's more than a balm!). It seems especially appropriate since this trip was such a soothing, rejuvenating time for me. I hope that whoever wins these items enjoys them, finds them soothing and fun. They're pretty, too. And they smell lovelavenderly.
To enter to win I would love to hear your stories! Tell me about your favorite vacation, or trip with some friends. You can tell me where you went and what you did. You can tell me why so-and-so is your favorite person to be with. You can tell me why you love going to the beach, the mountains, or SeaWorld the best. You type and click, and you're entered! The contest (if that's the right word) will end on Friday evening at 9 pm CST. I'll randomly pick a winner and announce it soon thereafter! I'm nervous. I've never done this before!
Thanks for joining me as I walk down memory lane, even so soon after my trip. I hope that you get to be with a good friend, have a good laugh, and eat a brownie really soon!
**Thanks for participating, everyone! I'll announce the winner of the giveaway Saturday morning. Even though time's up for entering, if you want to leave a story I'd still love to hear it!
Reader Comments (10)
I loved your pics of Seattle. Though I could never live there, I did enjoy the beauty of the place. All that rain does make for a BEAUTIFUL city. I too visited Pikes Place and Public Market. The whole time I was there though, I kept thinking of the movie Sleepless in Seattle. I hit almost every place they showed in the movie....one of the restaurants was in Public Market...if I remember right. We took a cruise and saw the house Tom Hanks "lived" in in the movie and other such sights. I did go up in the Space Needle. It was a hoot. What I have to tell you though is that we did this shortly before the Needle's 50th, 60th, or 70th birthday (I can't remember which one....) Anyway, there was a fireworks display that was supposed to happen later in that week. We didn't know this at the time though. As we were walking around on the observation deck, I looked down and saw what I thought looked like dynamite and was sure that terriosts had plotted to blow up the Needle with me and my family on it! We spoke with one of the employees about what we found....they told us it was the fireworks. This was my "close call" with death. I thought I was saving the world...turns out, I was saving the world from fireworks.
As for your pics with the Needle, have you ever seen Old Faithful blow? When I was still a middle schooler, our family visited the park. I had my first camera and was taking pictures of EVERYTHING. I had just put a new roll of film (remember that stuff people used to use to take pictures with??) in and we went off to see Old Faithful spew. Every picture I took was more glorious than the last. IT just kept getting prettier and prettier. After watching we went on to some other part of the park. My dad's camera ran out of film, so he asked to use mine. When he went to take the picture, my camera was out of film too. Turns out, I took 24 pictures of Old Faithful. My mom still has ALL OF THEM in a scrapbook. Put 'em together and you have yourself a little flip book! Ha!
Okay, I've rambled on long enough...this is what happens late at night when the kids are sleeping and no one interrupts me. I just keep on going and going and going.....
Loved all the photos! Looks like you had a wonderful time! Love pike street . . . glad you braved the gross fishies. :)
Hey! You stopped by my blog because of my calfnut comment at PW's so I came over here to say "Hi". And I found a wonderful story of friendship (and a great travel commentary on Seattle, a place I've always wanted to visit!). Best vacation ever for me was in 1998, before my hubby and I had our son. We went "out West" to Yellowstone/Jackson Hole; it was breathtakingly magnificent. The "big sky" country is definitely something that you have to experience on your own; no one's stories can adequately prepare you for the wonder. Or the HUGE pancakes. Or having a herd of bison sauntering down the middle of the road in front of you, and having to simply wait. Waiting is both an art and a blessing (I saw SO many animals that I would have otherwise totally missed if I'd just zoomed on by). Now that my boy is 10, I think it's time to introduce HIM to the wonder....
What a great trip. I love Seattle, one of my favorite cities!
Wow, favorite trip with friends, I have to admit since I had kids there hasn't been one of those, but one is planned for this summer. Me and 6 of my closest friends are going camping up in the mountains. I mean real, in a tent with a fire and having to walk a long way to the bathroom camping. I am looking forward to this trip for so many reasons. 1. It will be a weekend with women who are in the trenches with me everyday. We are all stay at home moms. 2. I'll get to spend time with my friends without anyone relying on me, we'll all be responsibility free. No one has to get home and take care of kids or husbands. 3. I'll get a chance to really miss my family, which after 5 years of no solo trips is much needed. I love them dearly, but I think there are days when I need to remember why I love them, and how much I enjoy spending my days with them.
My vacation memory that sticks out is my family trip to visit relatives in New England a few summers ago. I got to see all my family members that I hadn't seen in far too long and got to show off my daughters and husband to many of them who hadn't met my family yet. My favorite part? Taking Michael and the kids to Santa's Village in New Hampshire. This is a place that I remember visiting as a kid several times and BEGGING to visit every time we were up north. Having the ability to pass on that memory to my family was AMAZING for me. That is such a wonderful part of this whole parenting experience...sharing experiences with my husband and kids that meant so much to me growing up. For example, sharing the Blue Angels at an air show with my airplane obsessed children and military obsessed husband and explaining that as long as I live they will always remind me of my dad due to his love of flying and all the air shows we went to when I was little.
You write so beautifully. I feel the same way about my kids. They make most everything better. I couldn't have imagined being in Hawaii without them. Their enthusiasm for things just make me even more excited! They still want to be with us and love for us to spend any amount of attention on them. Those are gifts to my heart as well.
I loved Seattle too. What a beautiful city. Full of so much to see and do. My favorite trip though by far was to Hawaii. There was just nothing like the slow pace and beach bummy beauty of it all. I would go back and stay in a heart beat:)
Glad you had so much fun and were able to get away and have a break. I hope I can go next year wherever it may be. Thanks for sharing.
My favorite trip has got to be this past October when Andrew and I went to Puerto Rico. We had never left our kids for more than a night and although I was extremely nervous to do that, it ended up being fine and I had the time of my life. We really needed the rest, relaxation and time together without the kids. It was so wonderful I can't even put it into words. We laid on the beach for two whole days, went exploring around Old San Juan, and went snorkeling and visited the rain forest. It opened my eyes to see how good it was to get away and not feel guilty about just relaxing for once. Something I never get to do. And I think it was great for the kids too. It's something I hope to continue for years to come.
That post must have taken you forever to put together but I'm glad you did it. Ummmm . . . Anywhere with a beach is good for me, but I have to say that our trip to Hawaii last year may have been my all time favorite.
I've been on a couple scrapbooking trips with girlfriends. Always a good time. Getting to do something that I love and that makes me happy... great conversations... yummy food... and getting to spend time with friends that I love... so much fun!
Glad you enjoyed yourself. The fish market is fun!!
My favorite grown up vacation was our first anniversary trip to Alaska. Unbelievably breathtaking! Except for the part where Bobby broke his leg and then we couldn't go on the whale watching trip. Hey, he still owes me a return trip to make up for that! But my favorite recent vacations are when you (Christina) and the kids come to Florida and we all stay at the beach together. The 6 cousins spending time together is priceless. And I love having a "wife" for a month. I know that sounds strange but it's so awesome to have another woman around who can intuitively switch laundry and sweep the floor while making dinner, all while I bathe the kids an no one needs to be given specific instructions. I love Bobby and he is often a big help, but I have to tell him what to do. You and I get into a groove and everything just gets done so easily. And there are always lots of chocolate brownies!! I can't wait to see you!