Poof time flies by so quick sometimes. I have been so busy trying to get my station done for our internal review for this Friday that I haven’t had a moment to recap at all. And there is quite a bit to recap.
Lon and Trish’s Visit:
Not more than 24 hours from getting back from Santa Barbara we were lucky to host Lon and Trish for four nights. Straight off of their vacation from Hawaii we got lucky with some sunshine and warmer weather for them. We spent the first night at home with them, Bryan made us all steaks, and we caught up on their vacation and life in general.
Thursday night we all dined at FareStart for a four-course chocolate-themed dinner by Portage Bay Cafe. We enjoyed the lamb, scallop and ice cream quite a bit and caught the graduation. Friday night was another relaxed night of going to our favorite Thai restaurant for pad kee mao before heading home with Redbox in hand. I did not stay awake for the full movie but there is no surprise there.
Saturday morning we were awakened by sunshine and smells of bacon wafting from Bryan’s kitchen. He made us his usual, and always wonderful, banana pancakes and thick-cut peppered bacon. Early afternoon we took the Millers to Seward Park with us so they could enjoy a walk around the park while we ran our 10 miles. It was perfect weather for a walk/run and we all met back at the car later. Being that it was such a nice day, we cleaned up and headed over to Eastlake Bar & Grill to enjoy their patio and views out on Lake Union. We had a great dinner and then moved down to Pioneer Square to catch Gabriel Rutledge (Chubby Jesus) for his always-funny comedy show at the Comedy Underground. I think we all got some good laughs out of his performance.
Sunday was their last day in Seattle and we started the day off with church service. After church we made our way to the ferry terminal and caught a gorgeous ride across the Sound to Bainbridge. We drove to Poulsbo, managed to get a parking spot amidst the crowds of Viking Fest and found a great outdoor balcony table at our favorite Europub, Tizley’s. One family platter to share plus saeurkruat, “yes, please”. So much food and so much fun to people watch. We all left stuffed, too stuffed for ice cream but up for a walk through the fair. After we had seen the sights we got back in the Jeep and drove south, over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and got Lon and Trish to the airport for their trip home. It was a great long weekend with them and I really enjoyed everything that we managed during that time.
Week In Between:
I tried to get in as many bike-to-work trips that I could. On Wednesday night I decided to challenge myself with a long ride home, heading north around Lake Washington, taking the Sammammish River Trail to the Burke Gillman and all of the way to Husky Stadium, which at this point I was already nearly 30 miles in and put the bike on the bus to take me up the hill to our house. Bryan ubered to work and took the bus to downtown (Jeep needed a start) so I picked him up downtown on the scooter and we opted for an impromptu Ethiopian dinner at Queen of Sheeba in Capitol Hill.
We enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable dinner that Polly fixed for us as a picnic at Gasworks Park on Monday night in the glorious heat. It was so nice for her to do that for us and it had been forever since I had been to Gasworks. The city has changed so much in six years!
We were back volunteering at FareStart for a relatively quick but delicious dinner from Stoneburner. Braised short ribs, a rhubarb shortbread and an amazing snap pea salad. Friday was a short day for me and Bryan took the day off to relax at home (smart move Bryan!). My day ended at noon when my cohort went to King Street Bar for lunch and beers before moving onto Temple Billiards for more beer and pool. I was a decent shot at pool and was certainly feeling the beer by 3:30 pm when we all left. Sun was out and Bryan came to pick me up before we walked to get Thai takeout from Lotus Thai and ate on our patio. Then we anticipated our next guest’s arrival.
Rachel, Max and Quinn’s Visit:
Friday around 9:30 pm, the other Millers pulled into the driveway. Rachel and Max are currently on their way to their new home in Alburquerque and so this was their last visit to Seattle before they move. We caught up before heading to bed. Saturday morning Bryan was back at making his breakfast of choice for our guests. After breakfast we set out for Pike Place. We walked along the waterfront, then the market, got to-go cups of Ellenos Greek Yogurt then headed by car to Lake Union. Bryan, Max and myself went for our first ever paddleboard ride and at least Bryan and I quite enjoyed it. The weather was perfect for paddleboarding and the lake was full of boat and seaplane activity.
After our lake adventure a few of us needed a nap and a few others needed some snacks. We headed home for both. After rested and refueled we drove to West Seattle, along Alki and up to Seattle Fish Company for a really great seafood dinner. Bryan and I had to taste a bit of everything so we got the grilled halibut plate with veggies, one piece of fish (cod) and chips, and the crab cake with salad. Great meal and even better when finished up with Menchie’s frozen yogurt.
Sunday morning the Millers had plans to meet up with another cousin of theirs, whom live in Tacoma. They ironically picked a brunch spot 1/2 mile from us so we decided to join them and walked with them to Cafe Flora. We had a great meal in the airy restaurant before saying our goodbyes and heading back home. At this point in the day it was HOT! No long run for us. That would have killed us. Instead, after much dillemma, we decided on a long shaded bike ride north to Bothell to get dinner. Around 4:30 pm Bryan and I were ready for the ride and took the Burke Gilman all of the way to the Anderson School for a patio dinner at the North Shore Lagoon and Pub. Great dinner we did have; Asian inspired salads for both of us with some great seared ahi tuna and sweet potato fries and a cider. After a long relaxed dinner we hopped back on the bike for the return trip home, totaling 35 miles roundtrip.
But Monday morning we had to wake up and do our long run for the weekend. Fortunately Monday was a bit cooler, or at least took a lot longer to warm up. We were still able to have breakfast at home and digest before we took the scooter to Mount Baker Beach to begin our 10 mile run. We ran at a very slow pace so that our tired legs could manage the run. We did surprisingly well and really enjoyed the beautiful weather. We stopped at home for books, snacks, sunscreen and our swimsuits and headed back out to Madison Park where it was difficult to find a place to lay out our towel. We spent nearly two hours people watching, sunning and reading. Finally our weekend was coming to an end. I had to restock on groceries and made a feta and spinach stuffed chicken dinner for us that we enjoyed to our current Netflix obsession, The Keepers.
It’s been a whirlwind of events lately but all great and I just am so glad that spring/summer is finally here!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 