On my first night in Washington we went to Tacoma for dinner at The Lobster Shop. It was right on Commencement Bay and we sat at a window table. We watched the sun set while we ate and when we left we had a lovely view of the full moon over the bay. It was a deliciously magical way to start our long weekend.
Christopher was working south of Seattle, so we were staying in Federal Way which is in between Seattle and Tacoma.
The first full day I was in Washington I woke up at 3:44 AM. I tried going back to sleep, I played games on my phone, I took a shower, and at 5:00 I was a really mean wife and woke Chris up so we could go eat breakfast before he went to work. We ate at Poverty Bay Coffee Company. It was early and I was hungry so I forgot to take pictures, but it was good.
Christopher went to work and I had the day to explore on my own, of course it was like 7:30 AM so nothing was open yet. I ran to Target to get some drinks and snack for the hotel room and then picked the longest most residential route into Seattle.
While researching parking the night before I found the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center on the map and decided to check it out. It was free to visit and learn all about the work the foundation does all over the world. They had videos of people who have benefited from the work of the foundation talking about their experience, they had informational videos, and displays, and a few places you could answer a question and leave a little piece of you there for others. I even got to pack a bag of food and write a note of encouragement to be given to a teen who is currently experiencing homelessness.
Experiences like this always remind me of my privilege, and help me to be grateful for my life.
One thing in particular that I know for sure I take for granted is having a clean safe bathroom to use every time I need one. The inside of the bathroom stall door had the information above.
On the outside of the bathroom stall doors they had pictures of toilets from around the world. It was such a creative way to educate people on how very fortunate we are to have the comforts we do.
These white circles of paper hanging from the ceiling are wishes for girls from people that have visited the visitor center. As a woman from a very traditional family that is not living a very traditional life I wish so much for girls. I wish someday girls won't have to change themselves to fit in to work environments, that people won't think of tasks or jobs as being for men or women. I wish someday young women won't be questioned becasue they are women or young. I wish someday women who don't have children will not be viewed as less than. I wish someday that women will always be paid equally for equal work. I hope girls will continue to dream for more, achieve more, and win a place at more tables.
There was amazing artwork everywhere. This is in front of the Museum of Pop Culture.
The absolute highlight of this day for me was visiting Chihuly Garden and Glass. I love Dale Chihuly's work and I make sure to see it anytime I am near it.
This is me not paying attention and accidentally taking a selfie when I was trying to take a picture of the Space Needle. Oops.
On my way back to my car I wandered through the Artists at Play playground. It is so cool. My favorite part was this set of giant bells.
After eating lunch and doing a little shopping and day drinking I went to Saltwater State Park. It was such a beautiful day, so I walked around a bit, sat on some driftwood to enjoy the cool breeze and lovely view, and of course took a million selfies and pictures of pretty leaves.
That night we went to an adorable diner in Tacoma called Shake Shake Shake for dinner.
It was pretty busy, completely charming, and I wish I could go back this weekend.
I got a classic chocolate milkshake and it was AMAING. Chris got a rootbeer spinner, which is like a rootbeet float mixed with extra ice cream. He said it was good, but he liked my shake better. He should know by now that I am an expert dessert orderer.
I had to get a corn dog, because if there is a corn dog on the menu I'm getting it!
We shared a giant order of onion rings and Chris got a burger.
The next morning we got breakfast at another place we randomly found on GoogleMaps, Stricker's Cafe. It was a little place in an old shopping center and it was packed. Which when you randomly show up to a breakfast place that you know nothing about in a crappy old shopping center, packed is what you want. We waited about 15-20 min and then had a feast. I got an omelette with hash browns, we shared a side of biscuits and gravy, and Chris got a club sandwich and fries. Who doesn't love a good club sandwich for breakfast?
I'm skipping the rest of this day becasue we went to Canada, so more on that later.
We started our last day in Seattle at the Pike Place Market. We walked by the original Starbucks, and didn't go inside because that is not something I am willing to wait in line for.
I was willing to wait in line for Piroshky Piroshky, and what a delightful little spot.
We had a potato and mushroom piroshky.
And we had an apple cinnamon roll, which was AMAZING. It was bigger than the palm of my hand and you can see all the apples. It was warm and soft and heavenly.
We saw dead fish.
I liked this bathroom sign and floor tile.
I read about these cool lamp holding men online and was hoping I would find them. When I came out of the bathroom with the fun tile, I walked outside and there they were! It was such a fun surprise to find them without having to look them up to see where they were.
There are so many mural walls in Seattle. It's nice to have fun colorful walls instead of boring plain walls.
It wouldn't be a trip without sampling the local brew.
A Seattle must take picture.
We visited the gum wall that is in an alley under the market and I thought it was so cool and fun, Christopher on the other hand was disgusted.
Such a nice reminder of my Popsicle.
We got a treat at Top Pot Doughnuts. The maple bar was goooood! Fun Fact: President Obama visited Top Pot.
This little bench/wall had cups and saucers and a tea pot in the cement.
We had lunch at Pike Place Chowder. This place has won a ton of awards, was insanely busy, and also really good. I don't really like seafood so I got a vegan chowder which wouldn't normally have been something I'd order, but I liked it. Christopher was happy as the clams floating in his chowders to eat a tray full of seafood soup. This is definitely a must eat if you like seafood chowder.
After we were done exploring the market and surrounding areas we drove to a park with a great view of the city, and of course that lovely crane. We loved Seattle and Tacoma and can't wait to visit again. We also visited Mt. Rainier, so check back for a post on our mountain adventure.