Seattle

After camp was finished, Mike drove all the way from Montana to hang out with me for a few days in Seattle! The only time I've ever been in the city was when I was four years old so I was looking forward to exploring Seattle with him.

We started off our trip with some wine tasting in Woodinville. Located right outside of Seattle, Woodinville has 40 wineries in and around the city. Many grow their grapes in Washington wine country - the Yakima Valley - but this was a great way to enjoy some famous wines without making the long drive! We stopped at Columbia Valley first and then enjoyed some brick oven pizza at Janiuk Winery. One of my favorite parts of the stop wasn't even the wine - it was our tour of the Red Hook brewery. The tour was very lighthearted and for just $1 we were able to sample as much beer as we wanted!

After a short drive to Seattle, we checked into the Marqueen hotel. This gorgeous, historic hotel had huge rooms with full kitchens and was well worth the extra few bucks. It was a few blocks further away from the waterfront but had so much more personality!

Mike and I explored the sights - the Needle, Pike's Market and the Waterfront. Seattle is such a vibrant and interesting city I found myself wanting to move there immediately. The only thing stopping me is the perpetual cloud cover. I just couldn't survive without the sun!

The Needle:


On the Waterfront:
A stop for caffeine before our delicious dinner at the Flying Fish


After a morning run along the Waterfront, we checked out Pike's Market:


Rocking my UW Cycling pride. I got a few comments from people interested in cycling!


How many fingers?
Catch of the day:
The most entertaining stand in the market:


Who could refuse this offer?
Monk fish - looks delicious?



Mike had to leave for the 12 hour drive back to Montana wayyy before my 11:30pm red eye flight left on Monday night. Luckily Jesse, one of the Brooks boys from camp had the afternoon off and was able to hang out with me until I had to leave. A pro at showing visitors around his city, he took me on the 10 Things I Hate About You tour through the Fremont neighborhood and for some appetizers at a bar with a nice view of the city - as well as some police drama! Seriously Jesse, did you stage the bank robbery/mob of cops right outside our window just to make my experience complete?

I also got a sweet tour of Seattle's SuperTarget while on the hunt for a vacuum for Jesse's new condo. He found a little Red Devil for $18....I didn't have high hopes for it but for the 3 square feet of rug that he has, it should do the trick.

Jesse also serenaded me on his guitar. Apparently his repertoire is full of songs about a girl named Kelly from WI - crazy! I don't know this girl, but she sounded pretty awesome.


The time came for me to say goodbye to Seattle and my camp experience. The idea of leaving made me a sad panda but I'm already scheming to secure my spot at the Brooks ID Camp 2010!!