Where have we been? Good question. I feel like we have been everywhere, being busy with everything. Where I last left off though was the week that Bryan and I were transitioning from our hiking boots and dusty clothes trekking around Mount Rainier to putting on our going-out shoes and trendy wear trying to pretend like we are 25 again while hosting my cousin Allie. So, that’s what I will try to recount, after two weeks having passed.
Friday night was the night that we were meeting up with Allie and her friend so that Allie could be handed off to us for the rest of the weekend. Bryan and I stopped by the Dodd’s shindig in the park, albeit in cold and gray weather, for a picnic before heading down to SODO to Slim’s Last Chance to meet up with Allie for Marieke’s band’s, Wildcat Rose’s, concert. We got to see Allie, meet her college roommate and enjoyed the show and drinks for a while before heading home and showing her our house.
Saturday was luxury day for us, we didn’t really have any plans. And the smoke and drizzly weather was the first in such a long time that we were fine doing nothing. But we were hosting so we made the best of it. Bryan made his amazing banana pancakes for the three of us. We watched Michigan’s football game while catching up with one another and finally ventured out of the house around 2pm to go for a run on our usual route along Lake Washington Boulevard and around Seward Park. Allie was quick out of the gate and left me in the dust. Back home we showered and cleaned up and then set out on foot to Capitol Hill. We ventured to the Roastery to show Allie around and got a couple of coffee “cocktails”. We hung out there in the hubbub of the Roastery before meeting back up with her friend and walking over to Annapurna for Nepalese curries, naans, and beers. We all enjoyed our meal and the ambiance and fortunately no one was in the mood for partying this night. We browsed the Elliott Bay Bookstore for some time before walking back home, opening a bottle of Novelty Hill and watching one of the strangest documentaries ever about endurance tickling “competitions”.
Sunday morning, we each did our own thing for a good portion of it. I had a soccer game at 9:30 am way up north, Allie went to a coffee shop to work on her writing deadline and Bryan slept in and then watched the first weekend of NFL games. We all came back to watch the Seahawk’s first game against the Packers which was not at all what we were hoping to see; a Seahawk’s loss. It’s still early season! They like to do this to us. We dressed up for more concert-going and walked back to Capitol Hill to Quinn’s Pub which was having their 10-year anniversary party with a live band, some free snacks and some amazing $0.50 cocktails. Three cocktails in and we were feeling good. We thought the concert we were going to started at 8 pm so we hurried up to get dinner across the street at the Caribbean joint, Paseo’s. After such a hurry, we went next door to the venue to learn that the guy we were there to see wouldn’t get on stage until 10 pm…on a school night! We toughened up and headed back to Quinn’s for some more $0.50 amazing cocktails. Finally, Benjamin Booker took the stage and we were in for a great show of a new-to-me musician that I really liked. Wrapping up around 11:30 pm we had to Uber back home and head straight to bed.
We said goodbye to Allie the next morning and Bryan graciously dropped her off at the airport. It was a great visit with my only girl cousin while we could reminisce about old times, catch up with one another’s lives present day, and talk about fun things ahead for us in the future. I really enjoyed seeing Allie…but boy do I feel old now.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 