This past weekend Mom was in town for a quick trip but a good and productive trip as well. She was really only here for less than 72 hours but thankfully it felt longer than that. I welcomed her at the University Street Station after her flight around 3 pm and it was off to the races after that.
Friday afternoon Mom and I dumped her suitcase at my office, grabbed a cold brew nitro from Starbucks in the Russell’s Investment Building and hung out on the 17th floor rooftop garden catching up. It was a drizzly day so most of the time was spent inside looking out over the Sound. We made our way to Oui Salon for our 5 pm mani-pedi appointments which much needed for both of us. The treatment was luxurious and we certainly left the Salon more dolled up then when we arrived. After stopping briefly in a few stores our amazing driver, Bryan, picked us and Mom’s bag up from the office and we set off for a seafood dinner in Ballard at Ballard Annex Oyster House. With a nautical atmosphere we all selected a different dish; Bryan with the crab gnocchi, Mom with the seared steelhead with polenta and brussel sprouts, and myself with the special of the cajun mahi mahi with a whole potato hash going on. We shared the beet salad with goat cheese and all got a glass to drink. It was a very good dinner. We passed on dessert to instead get the Menchies $5-fill-up-your-cup Friday night special in Capitol Hill to enjoy at home in front of the fire.
Saturday morning while Bryan was up, ran 7 miles, and out the door to go sailing with the boys, I was still sleeping. Mom was up bright and early too. But finally I was up and Mom and I were making our own plans for the day. We started with making brunch at home of Mom’s asparagus and leek frittata with an arugula salad and side of fruit. Great way to start the day. Then the fun started…wedding planning folders sprawled out on the table, phone conference with one of the decor stylists while also trying to get a desk delivered to the house. It was quite an ordeal but successful. Afterwards Mom tried me on her winning Matron of Honor dresses which I really loved. As the sun was coming out we changed into running clothes and hopped on the scooter to head to Seward Park. Mom ran around the park once with me and then once on her own to run over 4 miles!! After I split off with Mom I had to finish my 7-mile run for training and met her back at the Lake Washington shore. We picked up a lemon currant scone from Both Ways Cafe, the location of Bryan and my first date, and headed home to shower. Then it was my turn to try on a dress. We both agreed it was still a winner and had a better idea of accessorizing the dress.
After our chores were done it was time to play and Mom and I set out again on the scooter, this time for downtown. We shopped for a few hours, looking for sandals for me, jewelry for my bridesmaids, potential rehearsal dinner dresses, and then finally some sports wear which was the only thing we bought and more or less unnecessary. We headed to the Bookstore Bar and Cafe for a mystery shopping dinner. It was nice to treat my mom to dinner in a way and boy did we have one fantastic meal! We started at the bar and each got a cocktail. Mom went with a gin drink that she totally fell in love with. I went with my favorite, a Pefect Bulleit Manhattan, that was excellent and so satisfying. We then moved to dinner and were wowed with the uniqueness and taste of the food. The starters were so good; the Serrano ham platter was build-it-yourself and just worked so well and the fried broccolini reminded both of us of New Years Eve past trying to get our broccoli fried as expertly in our hot fondue pot. For entrees we shared the duck confit over a brussel sprout salad with olives and croutons and the pan roasted ling cod over a hash. Both were amazing. To seal the deal we shared the flourless chocolate souffle cake with pistachio gelato that was chocolately, warm, but not too rich. It was also huge. We certainly left the restaurant feeling quite good.
The next part of the weekend is probably my favorite single part just because it will remain in my memory forever. Mom and I climbed back on the scooter feeling real swell. We started up Marion Street, propelling us smoothly uphill until we were stopped just short of 5th Avenue at the light. And then my scooter sputtered and shut off. There was no getting it started again and I started to panic. Mom jumped off of the scooter and helped direct traffic around us while also pushing the scooter from behind. We only had about 10 feet to go to get up to 5th Avenue which we turned onto to go downhill. I’m on the scooter pedaling with my feet while Mom is running in her high heels and her big red scooter helmet head along next to me for nearly half a city block. The scooter starts again (now that we are more or less level and the gas isn’t in the bottom of the tank) and I’m yelling at mom to get on. She does some James Bond maneuver type thing and back on we are and down 5th Avenue we go hoping that we make it to the gas station. Fortunately we did make it all the way downhill to the only known gas station downtown. With relief we busted out laughing. I will never forget Mom running down 5th Avenue next to the scooter in her helmet and heels. Never. The drinks, food and excitement wore us out we were snoozing on the couch not too long after we got home.
Sunday morning was another late but quick start for me. I woke up to pouring down rain and with plans to go to University Village for complimentary yoga at Lululemon we both got ready in a flash and our Uber driver was ready to take us. We made it to class with time to spare and had a great yoga session together. After class we looked at a few dishes at Crate and Barrel before catching up with Bryan to take us to brunch at Serafina’s. Serafina’s does a jazz brunch on Sunday that I had never been to before. It was actually very enjoyable to have the music playing next to us and the meal was pretty good. After brunch we set back out to downtown for our third day of shopping, this time for Bryan’s suit. We stopped in quite a few places and think that we may have the winner. It sure is a beautiful suit and looks phenomenal on Bryan. We set out for home and were all pretty wiped from the day already. We lounged on the couch for awhile and before we knew it it was already time for Mom and I to head out. Bryan dropped us off with Mom’s bag at the Starbucks Roastery where we split a couple coffees and talked some more in front of their fireplace. Around 8:30 we walked to the light rail station and first rode it north to the two new stations to show mom and then rode the southbound train to get Mom to the airport. I said goodbye to Mom at the Mt. Baker Station to ride the last few stops to the airport and I set out for the bus back towards home.
I always hate saying goodbye to my parents and never like the image of them waving goodbye to me. It always makes me sad and I don’t think I will ever be numb to that image. As short as the visit was it was really great to have a few quality days with Mom. I always enjoy her visit and always look forward to our next visit.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 