Well...we finally made it back from Seattle and - I must say that - although the Emerald city wasn't as green as I anticipated (they are in the midst of a record drought), the beautiful city certainly has a lot going for it. The trip to the Pacific Northwest was an especially nice break from the 100 degree weather we were experiencing in Houston - days prior to our trip. However, as a Floridian/Texan, I still can't get over that some days in Seattle the temperature doesn't get over 70 degrees...in July!
Day 1: We arrived in Seattle after a short 4 hour direct flight from Houston. This is another reason why I like living in Houston; direct flights going just about anywhere.
As we got in before everyone else, we waited in a airport bar until Brooke's Mom & Chuck and Kelly & Owen arrived. Unfortunately, shortly after, we found out that Delta lost Kelly's suitcase which contained all her clothes for the Wedding (which they still haven't found). Although they did give her 150 dollars to buy replacement clothes on the spot, there is nothing like paying someone else 15 bucks to lose your luggage. I told her that she should tell Delta that she packed some expensive electronics in her suitcase in addition to her clothes, but she has more scruples than me, apparently.
Chuck rented a minivan which would served as the mode of transportation for the 6 of us that week. Tony, the groom's mother, negotiated for us gratis use of her nieces townhouse, saving us a lot of money. It was late and we were all pretty tired from our respective flights, so after a brief visit to the grocery store for some sundries and Denny's for a very late dinner, we all went to bed.
Day 2: Chuck and the girls went to the mall at 10am to find Kelly some replacement clothes, so Owen and I decided we would start drinking beer and play the Wii we found in the townhouse. According to our internal clocks, it was actually 12pm CST and 1pm EST , so we didn't feel bad drinking so early on the West coast. We also had been up since 6-7am because painters were working on the exterior of the house (as they would be all week). Further, the night before, I had discovered that the bunk-bed which I was sleeping on had been sabotaged with thumbtacks - probably by the 13 year old kid who lived there (13yr old boys definitely fit the profile). I originally thought that I had dreamed this, but I found the evidence (2 thumbtacks) under the bed where - after pulling them out of the bed at 3 am - I had dropped them. Brooke suggested that the thumbtacks just fell on the bottom bunk from some hanging poster, but each one had been carefully positioned "business-end" out snug between two sheets (bastards!).
Day 1: We arrived in Seattle after a short 4 hour direct flight from Houston. This is another reason why I like living in Houston; direct flights going just about anywhere.
As we got in before everyone else, we waited in a airport bar until Brooke's Mom & Chuck and Kelly & Owen arrived. Unfortunately, shortly after, we found out that Delta lost Kelly's suitcase which contained all her clothes for the Wedding (which they still haven't found). Although they did give her 150 dollars to buy replacement clothes on the spot, there is nothing like paying someone else 15 bucks to lose your luggage. I told her that she should tell Delta that she packed some expensive electronics in her suitcase in addition to her clothes, but she has more scruples than me, apparently.
Chuck rented a minivan which would served as the mode of transportation for the 6 of us that week. Tony, the groom's mother, negotiated for us gratis use of her nieces townhouse, saving us a lot of money. It was late and we were all pretty tired from our respective flights, so after a brief visit to the grocery store for some sundries and Denny's for a very late dinner, we all went to bed.
Day 2: Chuck and the girls went to the mall at 10am to find Kelly some replacement clothes, so Owen and I decided we would start drinking beer and play the Wii we found in the townhouse. According to our internal clocks, it was actually 12pm CST and 1pm EST , so we didn't feel bad drinking so early on the West coast. We also had been up since 6-7am because painters were working on the exterior of the house (as they would be all week). Further, the night before, I had discovered that the bunk-bed which I was sleeping on had been sabotaged with thumbtacks - probably by the 13 year old kid who lived there (13yr old boys definitely fit the profile). I originally thought that I had dreamed this, but I found the evidence (2 thumbtacks) under the bed where - after pulling them out of the bed at 3 am - I had dropped them. Brooke suggested that the thumbtacks just fell on the bottom bunk from some hanging poster, but each one had been carefully positioned "business-end" out snug between two sheets (bastards!).
Anyway, the girls didn't get home until 4pm, so Owen and I ended up camped out in the house for 6 hours bonding over the beer and Wii.
Later, after everyone showered, we met the wedding party and friends at a bar on Lake Union (near downtown). This was the first time that I had ever met Niamh, the bride, who is originally from the Republic of Ireland - Cork to be exact. A good crowd of Niamh's relatives and friends traveled across the pond for the wedding, so the week definitely had an Celtic flair. Even within our group we had our own Irish representative, Owen, who is from Northern Ireland, near Belfast. We stayed for a couple of hours and retreated back to the townhouse.
Day 3: The wedding was at 5pm, so we had some time to explore Seattle before the ceremony. We went to the Seattle Center which is a park near downtown containing the Space Needle, various museums, amusement rides, and the KeyArena. Sadly, the KeyArena is the former home of the NBA Supersonics (they moved to Oklahoma City in 2008) and now, apparently, the home of the Rat City Roller Girls. Alas, how the once mighty have fallen.
For our part, Brooke and I didn't want to spend 16 bucks to wait in line for the Space Needle, so we corralled her mother and explored the park by foot instead. In retrospect we were very glad we did. The weather that day was incredible and we covered a lot of ground. Meanwhile, poor Chuck, Owen, and Kelly spent almost 2 hours being herded through a line. Walking around a bit in the cloud-free, 70 degree weather was a nice way to be introduced to Seattle. We took a lot of pictures and took in the scene until the other half of our group emerged from the Space Needle.
After heading back to the townhouse for quick showers, we headed to the church for the catholic ceremony and then the reception. The ceremony was...well, a catholic ceremony...which is to say, much like our ceremony or any other catholic ceremony - except, in this case, with more Irish people. The reception was much more memorable. It was held on a boat moared off of a shipping channel entering gorgeous Lake Union. It was a great setting. From the boat you could see panoramic views of the Seattle Skyline in the distance while the setting sun reflected off the skyscrapers and lake. As for the reception, the food was good, they had a open bar, and the dance floor was large if not a bit slanted. Many people, including Chuck and Brooke's Mom took a spill because of the incline of the floor which didn't lend itself to rapid foot movements, and/or drunk people. Nobody hurt themselves - too badly - and the party went well into the morning until the boat staff started yanking drinks out of people's hands at 2am. It was a very fun time and it ended right on time for Brooke as she told me I was wearing her out on the dance floor - after consuming 8 red bulls and other assorted drinks.
Day 4: We all woke up a little worse for wear due to the prior nights festivities, but we all managed to pull ourselves out of bed before 10am. Kelly and Owen had stayed in Seattle that night and although Brooke and I had made plans with them to visit Mt Rainier - our late start that morning made that plan untenable. When we finally went to pick them up at the hotel, we discovered that Kelly & Owen were hoping that we would change our minds about the trip as they wanted to sleep a couple more hours in a proper bed at the hotel. Crisis averted. Instead, we all went to Pike's Place to check out the waterfront and the famous market by the same name.
It was a very hot day, by Seattle standards anyway, and the heat - in addition to the crowded Saturday market - sure didn't help the hangover much. Yet, it still was a good time. Of course, I had to see the seafood market to view the mountains of Dungeness Crabs at each stall. The fishmongers were very vocal selling their catch -which included some interesting items such as monkfish, Octopus, and massive lobster tails. We eventually, met up with a fellow scientist friend of Owen & Kelly, Nacho (short for Ignacio) and the 7 of us headed to a restaurant on the pier for lunch. Brooke and I had our only opportunity to order Dungeness crab, but we couldn't pull the trigger for $16 for a half a crab and $28 for a whole crab. Instead, Brooke had the scallops with sun-dried tomatoes and I ordered the fried oysters which came with an amazing dipping salsa making me put down the tarter sauce for once in my life. Kelly and Owen graciously picked up the tab for everyone.
Later again, Wyatt and Niamh (the groom & bride) were throwing a BBQ all day at a house they rented, so we made our way over there for an appearance. There, we ate burgers & oysters, drank more beer, and socialized with the friends and family that we met earlier at the wedding. The rented house came with foos-ball table which immediately attracted our attention. Despite the earlier hangover, time, food, and a little hair-of-the-dog got us back in the festive mood. We stayed a couple more hours and once again retired to the townhouse.
Day 5: We all were invited over to Chuck's cousin's house in Kent (south of Seattle) where they treated us to a nice spread of cold cuts, fruit, and cold beer. It was a good time although when we were leaving one of the cousins told Brooke that she was gorgeous and I was a handsome fellow and we would have beautiful children. This awkward moment brought to you by prodigious amounts of Jefe Hefeweisen beer.
Once we got back to the townhouse, Chuck and Brooke's Mom were tired and still full from lunch. Owen mentioned that he was craving Indian food, so the four of us borrowed the minivan and drove around until we located a place called "Cafe India." The meal didn't start out very noteworthy as they didn't have any coca-cola/Pepsi and didn't know how to make a mojito, even though they had a full bar on the premises. Not that a Indian place should specialize in either, but under the circumstances (full bar, the fact that pretty much everywhere in the USA has either coke or Pepsi), it seemed strange. In retrospect, this may have been a good sign: the food was awesome. I can never remember the particular nomenclature of any Indian dish, so I can't tell you exactly what we each had - except that it was four different kinds of "curry." We left fed and happy with two large doggy bags to boot.
Day 6: Owen & Kelly made plans to visit Nacho's lab, so Chuck, Brooke's Mom, Brooke and I went into the city to do some exploring. First, we visited the Science Fiction Museum at Seattle Center which covered Sci-Fi in books, Movies, and Television. They talked about the history of Sci-fi and had a bunch of cool interactive displays. The museum also had a tribute to the work of Jim Henson, a native of Seattle, with displays from the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, and characters from the Dark Crystal. After that we view the Experience Music Project which was adjacent to the Science Fiction Museum. I didn't like this as much as the Sci-fi although I didn't realize Jimmy Hendrix, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Heart, and the Kingsman were from Seattle.
After the museum-super-tour, we were all hungry, so we took a cab toward the International District and ate at a Chinese restaurant. Service was bad, but the cat was good. We met Kelly & Owen at Pioneer square, took a cab to the minivan, and drove out to West Seattle to see panoramic views of the City from Alki Park. The views reminded me of the views of Manhattan from New Jersey (with a much smaller skyline). We had a couple of hours to kill before Owen and Kelly flew out, so we got a couple beers at an Irish Pub across from Alki and went over to the Puget Sound side of West Seattle to check out the extremely wooded Lincoln Park. We dropped Kelly & Owen off at the airport and went back to the townhouse.
Day 7: By day 7 we were exhausted, so we all decided to keep the touring light. Brooke and I went for a leisurely hike on some local trails in the late morning and in the afternoon the girls went to get pedicures while Chuck and I got a couple beers at a oddly named pub called "McMenamins" Believe me when I say that this pub sounds even funnier after you have a couple of beers. Later, after some showers, we met up with Toni, Wyatt, Niamh, and Toni's boyfriend Jim for dinner at some Italian restaurant for one last hurrah. We left at 6am the next day.
Later again, Wyatt and Niamh (the groom & bride) were throwing a BBQ all day at a house they rented, so we made our way over there for an appearance. There, we ate burgers & oysters, drank more beer, and socialized with the friends and family that we met earlier at the wedding. The rented house came with foos-ball table which immediately attracted our attention. Despite the earlier hangover, time, food, and a little hair-of-the-dog got us back in the festive mood. We stayed a couple more hours and once again retired to the townhouse.
Day 5: We all were invited over to Chuck's cousin's house in Kent (south of Seattle) where they treated us to a nice spread of cold cuts, fruit, and cold beer. It was a good time although when we were leaving one of the cousins told Brooke that she was gorgeous and I was a handsome fellow and we would have beautiful children. This awkward moment brought to you by prodigious amounts of Jefe Hefeweisen beer.
Once we got back to the townhouse, Chuck and Brooke's Mom were tired and still full from lunch. Owen mentioned that he was craving Indian food, so the four of us borrowed the minivan and drove around until we located a place called "Cafe India." The meal didn't start out very noteworthy as they didn't have any coca-cola/Pepsi and didn't know how to make a mojito, even though they had a full bar on the premises. Not that a Indian place should specialize in either, but under the circumstances (full bar, the fact that pretty much everywhere in the USA has either coke or Pepsi), it seemed strange. In retrospect, this may have been a good sign: the food was awesome. I can never remember the particular nomenclature of any Indian dish, so I can't tell you exactly what we each had - except that it was four different kinds of "curry." We left fed and happy with two large doggy bags to boot.
Day 6: Owen & Kelly made plans to visit Nacho's lab, so Chuck, Brooke's Mom, Brooke and I went into the city to do some exploring. First, we visited the Science Fiction Museum at Seattle Center which covered Sci-Fi in books, Movies, and Television. They talked about the history of Sci-fi and had a bunch of cool interactive displays. The museum also had a tribute to the work of Jim Henson, a native of Seattle, with displays from the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, and characters from the Dark Crystal. After that we view the Experience Music Project which was adjacent to the Science Fiction Museum. I didn't like this as much as the Sci-fi although I didn't realize Jimmy Hendrix, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Heart, and the Kingsman were from Seattle.
After the museum-super-tour, we were all hungry, so we took a cab toward the International District and ate at a Chinese restaurant. Service was bad, but the cat was good. We met Kelly & Owen at Pioneer square, took a cab to the minivan, and drove out to West Seattle to see panoramic views of the City from Alki Park. The views reminded me of the views of Manhattan from New Jersey (with a much smaller skyline). We had a couple of hours to kill before Owen and Kelly flew out, so we got a couple beers at an Irish Pub across from Alki and went over to the Puget Sound side of West Seattle to check out the extremely wooded Lincoln Park. We dropped Kelly & Owen off at the airport and went back to the townhouse.
Day 7: By day 7 we were exhausted, so we all decided to keep the touring light. Brooke and I went for a leisurely hike on some local trails in the late morning and in the afternoon the girls went to get pedicures while Chuck and I got a couple beers at a oddly named pub called "McMenamins" Believe me when I say that this pub sounds even funnier after you have a couple of beers. Later, after some showers, we met up with Toni, Wyatt, Niamh, and Toni's boyfriend Jim for dinner at some Italian restaurant for one last hurrah. We left at 6am the next day.
.gif)
No comments:
Post a Comment