seattle

Danny had a work thing in Seattle the week after we got back from Ireland, so I went with him. It was a little crazy to have trips back to back like that, but I love Seattle and it's close to our favorite B&B, so we extended the trip and stayed there too.

Poor noodlebug, she was SO SAD when we left again.

Short flights! Wooooo!

We arrived at our hotel and went in search of food.

And we found it! Cheesesteak at DeliNoMore.

The next day I went exploring while Danny met his coworkers for their whatever they were doing.

Post Alley was one on my very favorite coffee blends made by Seattle's Best back in the day when I used to drink coffee at coffee garden a million years ago. Oh, and Henry's Blend. Mmmm. That was Mike and I's favorite. 

I got a muffin from Three Girls Bakery, raspberry cream cheese- sooooo good. The mocha sucked.

That night we ate a restaurant in Pike Place, so I got to go back and see it again, all lit up. I had an amazing pork tenderloin, Danny had scallops, and I got to know all the really cool people that he works with.

The next day, I felt awful. Getting a cold. I loaded up on zinc, and then went to the library, right across the street from our hotel for a hot chocolate and some quiet time.

I read this amazing book cover to cover, and felt so inspired afterwards.

I love this place. I love exploring, in total silence. This place is filled with people, yet it's totally peaceful.

I realized that's what I hate about flying for hours and hours- it's all the people, crammed together, all making noise, in a noisy airplane, for hours on end. I hate crowds, and I actively avoid them. If I go out into the city for the day, I come home and I am just exhausted. 

I am an introvert, and people, interactions with people, whether I know them personally or not, exhaust me emotionally. I need my alone time to recharge. Most of the time, recharging with Danny by my side is what I need, but sometimes I just need to be alone. 

For many years, I was your classic co-dependant. I couldn't go anywhere without someone with me. It caused a huge problem when I was learning to drive, because I wouldn't practice unless I had someone with me. I couldn't be alone with myself, I hated being alone, and if I was alone I was freaking out. Over the years, especially after I started drinking, being alone meant I was drinking. And you know what they say about drinking alone. 

I learned in rehab how to be alone. I was pretty much forced to, due to terrible circumstances where I was being treated. What happened was so awful, and it hurt me deeply, almost as much as the drinking had done, but I learned. I finally got it. 

I learned how to love myself, and to love one's self, you need to be comfortable being alone. Spending quality time with yourself. 

In a library full of people, I learned that I can spend quality time with myself, and it's wonderful. In the future, I will spend more time at the library to offset time spent on planes.

Coolest escalators. They go on, and on....

We were told about Salumi, so went on our last day for lunch. That sandwich was so goooood. Danny had the spaghetti one, he loved it.

Then we rented a car, checked out of our hotel and drove to Snoqualmie.

We've been here a million times, but never in sunny weather! 

I love this place, it's my home away from home. Deanna is such an amazing host, I just love her to pieces!

Uh-oh. Halloween candy.

House in the country. The Old Hen, the best B&B in the world.

I love the chickens!

Danny trying to lure the bunny out...

....and the duck bossing everyone else around.

Pretty creek bed.

It's that time again!

Cherry Pie!!!!!

(although it's really not that great anymore. Like waaaaay lower quality than it used to be, which is so sad!)

Danny had a shake.

We went and had dinner at the Great Northern. It wasn't all that great, but the view was spectacular.

So pretty. I just love this place, I can't wait to come back!

anniversary, part 1: the old hen

Last fall when we stayed at the Old Hen, I told Danny that I wanted to go back for our anniversary. He said he'd think about it. Then back in December, he got word of a geeky computer conference going on in Portland the week after our anniversary. So we decided to go to Seattle first, stay at the Old Hen for a few days then drive down to Portland for the conference.

Deanna is the most gracious, friendly host. She got us some sparkling cider to celebrate. If you have a chance you should check out her blog- sometimes she even gives out her famous and decadent recipes!

And she upgraded us to the red room- king size temperpedic bed, a gigantic t.v., 2 reclining chairs, and a huge bathroom with a skylight. It was heavenly. And the price? Such a deal. I highly recommend booking a trip there- soon. Seattle is 30 minutes away, staying in the "country" is the perfect way to experience that beautiful city.

We slept with the window open every night, the perfect spring air and the quiet of a small town was so peaceful and perfect. It was like a second honeymoon.

Behind the house is a quiet little river- Danny decided to see just how waterproof his rain boots were.

Rain boots are provided- which is so nice, then you can go and visit the goats and chickens and step in poop and puddles and not ruin your own shoes. Yea!

This is just part of the cozy wraparound porch- I love that little green dresser!

I was too enthralled with day one's breakfast to take a photo, sorry. Here is day two's breakfast. A fantastic omelet made with fresh eggs and delicious bacon, and homemade maple bars. OMG. Maple bars are my favorite doughnut.

Day three's breakfast. Fresh scrambled eggs with ham, and a napoleon. Ok. This dessert was serious. Let's talk about the layers. Pastry, chocolate sauce. The BEST chocolate sauce I have ever had. More pastry, then custard, creamy vanilla custard. And raspberries. Then repeat. I continue to be floored by her baking talent. I really hope that we will come here every year, for our anniversary and for the dessert.

Baby goat.

I love this wooly guy!

Eating those fresh eggs every morning has me convinced that I want to have chickens someday.

They get 8-10 a day!

Seriously, this sheep had the best personality. He had such a deep "baa", and that guy could run! The animals love visitors, and they all crowd around you wanting attention and food.

click to hear his famous "baa"

I've never met friendly chickens before, but these are very nice chickens.

Cherry pie at the Double R (Twede's) of course.

I love moss. Probably because it doesn't grow in Utah. It's everywhere in Washington and Oregon.

And the falls. We love the falls. It's just so pretty and green here.

the great northern: seattle, goats & home

Portland to Seattle. 3 hours. It was a beautiful sunny day. As we checked into our hotel, we happily noticed that we were conveniently across the street from the Seattle Public Library. Yea! So it was our first stop.

The elevator at our hotel was ancient- an Otis, a company that has been making elevators since 1853. A little knowledge I picked up on our Underground Tour.

The Seattle Public Library was re-designed in 2004 by Rem Koolhaas. It's a huge, amazing public space.

The way the stacks are laid out so perfectly, I could spend days in that place...

Then, on our way to pike place, we passed the Seattle Art Museum- so we changed our plans and went there instead.

This was an installation of cars- from the ground to the high ceiling, twisting through the air, then landing safely on the other side of the museum.

Granny panties.

This is made out of dog tags. It's very impressive.

We liked the rocking chairs in the store.

Arrrhh!

I love Seattle. I love walking through the city....

On the Underground Tour we learned all about how Seattle was built- in a very ass-backwards way. Anyway, this was one of the original "Crappers" You know that story, right?

And here is a much fancier example.

After a lovely walk back to our hotel, we zonked in our comfy hotel room. The next day we headed for our lost destination- Pike Place market.

Pouring rain, just like the Seattle I remember so fondly. Men throwing fish, such beautiful flowers, and so many of them! Freshly roasted nuts, local honey & produce, silly t-shirts, crafts and crazy people.

I got a cappuccino from the first Seattle's Best Coffee shop in Post Alley.

Danny got some clam chowder and a crab sandwich from the busiest little cafe in the place. He said it was fantastic.

We grabbed some apples on the way back to the hotel, but of course I made Danny stop at h&m cause it was on the way.

Then we drove to the St. Ignatius chapel. My architect friend recommended that we stop by.

It was a nice quiet break from the rainy streets.

The chapel was a little funny looking on the outside, but inside you immediately understood why- the whole place was lit with natural light. It was beautiful.

Seattle to Snoqualmie. 45 minutes. Why did we go to there? Well. If you read this blog, then you know that I am a huge Twin Peaks fan. Part of our plan for our vacation in the great northwest was to visit some of the sites where the show was filmed.

Our first stop was the huge waterfall behind the Salish Lodge. It was used in the intro to the show and served as the facade of the Great Northern Hotel, where a lot of the show takes place. anyway. Here it is.

They are a lot bigger, taller, etc than they look in the show. That's not fog in the photo- it's mist from the powerful falls. Don't mind the cranes. They are rebuilding the hydroelectric part of the falls.

On this trip, I have successfully gotten Danny interested in using the camera. Whoop whoop!

We passed by an old train yard- and guess what I learned?

Danny loves trains. Look at the photos he took...

And the photos of my butt continue...

Then we ate dinner at the Double R Diner (aka Twede's). They are famous for their cherry pie and coffee. It's said that David Lynch (the shows creator) ate there while scouting out locations, and that he loved the pie and coffee so much, that the diner is used in the pilot episode. He then had a set built that looked identical to it for filming the rest of the show.

And that cherry pie. Let me tell you. Holy freaking most delicious best pie I have ever eaten. Really. So much so, we brought a whole one home. Mmmm.

The Old Hen Inn b&b we stayed at was incredible. We will be going back. as often as I can talk Danny into going the distance. It's fairly new- opened about 2 years ago. The family lives above the garage, and they have converted thier home into a beautiful 3 room b&b.

Deanna is a gourmet cook- the breakfast she made us was unbelievable. I hate quiche. I ate almost every bite of hers. I also don't like pastries- bear claws, danishes, etc. I ate every mouthwatering bite of her fresh pastry with almond filling and plenty of frosting. fresh raspberry juice, ice water in charming ball jars. along with the most delicious vanilla yogurt parfait- it tasted like creme brulee, not yogurt. can i just eat breakfast at her table every morning? I think i might even be able to wake up at a decent hour!

They even have temperpedic mattresses in thier beds. So comfy. Sleeping in the Washington countryside with the rain lulling us to sleep was amazing.

After breakfast, I donned some rainboots and we played with the pygmy goats and chickens.

These guys were hilarious!

After walking by the river, we slowly drove away, soaking in the lush landscape.

Snoqualmie to Boise. 8 hours. Ugly boring drive, again. It made leaving that beautiful paradise even more sad. But Boise was nice. Growing up in Utah all my life, I have heard the full range of Idaho jokes.

Truth be told, I think that Boise just may be a cooler city than Salt Lake. We were delighted to find a triple d's diner in Boise- the Westside Drive In. Home of the $15 prime rib weekends and the ice cream baked potato. They were out of prime rib, but still had some for a sandwich. So Danny had a prime rib dip, and I had a monte cristo sandwich. Delicious. We shared a small chocolate malt, that happened to be the best one I have ever had (is there a food pattern here?) So as we were leaving, we ordered another one.

Boise to home. 5 hours. Why is the drive home always the longest, even if it's not that long?

We were ready to come home- being out of our routines for 10 days was enough for us- but when we got home I was a little sad. So happy to see my kitties, to cuddle them and hear thier meows and puuurrrs.

But I still can't wait to go back!

And I am scared to step on that scale to see just how much weight I have gained on this adventure. It was so worth it!