Here they come… the cascade of blogs.  Well, it’s summer, and it gives me something to keep myself busy!  Mostly I write these “day by days” for me to look back on while everything is still so fresh, but hopefully other people who have been, who plan on going, or who just live vicariously will enjoy.

So, I worked graduation Friday night and we had an EARLY flight Saturday because neither the bear nor I have ever been to Seattle… and we had ONE day.  (I took the picture above from the balcony room on our ship.)

We left for the airport at what should have been TOO early for our 6:40 flight.  (We left before 4 AM). But, as we got to the airport, we saw a line to drop our luggage for Delta which went clear down past all the other check-in places.  The gate agents started calling people out of line who had flights that were sooner than ours.  Okay, so maybe this isn’t nice of me… But I’m sorry.  If you get to the airport at 5:15 for your 6:15 flight and know you’re cutting it close, I’m not sure why you get to cut in line…  We PURPOSELY get to the airport VERY early so we don’t have to rush…  but on Saturday, we literally walked up to the gate as it was boarding even though we were at the airport more than two hours early.  Not cool, people!

Regardless…

We got on the plane, and I had intended to be MUCH thinner by now and booked a middle seat for me and the aisle for the bear.  We fit… but kinda like sausage does in a casing.  When the poor window seat guy stopped at our row, I apologized to him.  Luckily he was a very nice man with good humor and a fantastic German accent…  But I kept eyeing a row just behind us.  NO ONE was in it…  When I heard the cabin door close and there was STILL no one in it, we moved!   Yay!   So now, comfortable flight with a middle seat wide open between us.   I don’t think I’ve ever flown on Delta before.  They actually still even offer meals (for a price…and it’s airplane food… and I didn’t buy one…but still).  And all of their movies are free–even the new releases.  I watched the Ruth Bader Ginsberg one, which was interesting… and I looked over and saw that the bear was watching the Dick Cheney one…  even on the plane our politics were showing.

(Sheesh, I haven’t even GOTTEN to Seattle yet, and it’s already this long?   Uh oh…Anyhoo…)

So disembark in Seattle on to Uber and off to hotel.  I love the ride in a new state.  It’s so much fun to look at the difference in all the foliage and the topography.

If you know anything about me, you know I’m a nutty researcher, so where we were going to stay for our one night in Seattle was important to me.  I chose the Palihotel. It’s only been open for less than a year and it is RIGHT up the hill from that big, world famous “Public Market” sign.  (Okay, if it’s time I “start getting real”  I mostly know what it is from Real World: Seattle.)

 

 

Yes, it was pricey for a itty bitty room, but all of the Seattle hotels were pricey… and yes it was noisy being right on the street, but we LOVED it.  And we were so tired by the time we went to bed… We couldn’t have cared less.  Lucky for us, even though we got there at about 10 o’clock in the morning, our room was already ready!   So, we were able to drop our stuff off and head on out.  Again, since we’re researchers we didn’t just jump down to the market.  We decided to find a tasty breakfast spot on the way.

 

The weather was GLORIOUS as we made our way to Shaker and Spear.  I don’t know what people are talking about with rain in Seattle… we never saw any.   So we had some coffee, beet juice, and cocktails because, well, vacation.  I was glad that we chose to have our little bit of peace and quiet to begin the morning because then… market…

 

 

Eeeeek.  Okay, so that place is definitely not a hidden gem.  The hustle and bustle of people was overwhelming… so we walked down a hill which was so steep I felt like I should be calculating slope.  We stopped first at the alley, which seemed like it was in front of the market… although I suppose the front is actually the water, right?  We saw the things you were supposed to see–guys throwing fish, the ferris wheel,  and all that.  I was blown away by the sheer SIZE of it.  Just when you thought you went down to the bottom, you saw a sign that listed there was still another level.  I liked that it was a lot of local artists, local food, etc.  but MY there were a lot of people.

 

 

 

The flowers are breathtaking… and CHEAP.  Several people bought bouquets to take on the cruise with them.  We decided to escape the market for a bit.  But first, we darted across the street for some CHEESE!  This was tasty stuff…  They had lots, but some they made right there at Beecher’s.  I’ve heard the grilled cheese is excellent, but we just opted for a few wedges.  Then, since we were in Washington.  It was wine time!

We made our way back up the alley to the wines of Washington tasting room.  The servers were knowledgeable if somewhat distracted (weed is legal in Washington, and it was quite clear these guys were partaking), but the bar was really interesting… and in the heart of things without being amid the masses… and there was no line for the bathroom which had one of the coolest entrances I’ve ever seen!   I may need to do that to a wall.

 

 

 

After our early start and a little drinking, we were getting pretty sleepy.  We went back to take a nap.  We knew we were going to do an early dinner because I had tried and failed to get a reservation at Pink Door.  When I failed to get reservations online a month in advance, I called.  It’s worth the phone call just to listen to the message…  But Yelp said that if you get there early, sometimes they have a space, so we were going to try.

Since we were in Seattle, we decided to do an oyster appetizer.  It doesn’t matter how many times I try them.  I never like them, but I keep on sucking them down thinking that one day it’ll click.  Richard said these were okay… to me, they just tasted like oysters.  (I usually do two.)

 

 

There are oyster places all over the market.  The only reason we chose the one we did was because it was right below The Pink Door.  The restaurant is also right across from the wine tasting place.  It is very hard to find if you don’t know you’re looking for it.  There’s no name on it.  It’s just a pink looking building.  We got there at about 4:30.  They told us they’d have a seat available outside in 15 minutes!   SCORE!   It turns out that they only take reservations for the INSIDE.  Since it’s Seattle, you never know if the outside will be open.  Our lovely day and our luck continued… so we sat at the bar to check out the amazing decor and waited for our table…

 

 

 

This place was phenomenal.  They do acrobatics shows in there a few times a week, too.  Everything about it was fascinating and interesting, including he waiters.   Then, there was the FOOD.  Oh MY.  We split a few appetizers and the signature lasagna.  All were excellent.

 

 

 

Some people were dressy… some very casual, but it was a very comfortable place to be.

After that, we decided to check out a bar or two.  We walked by Von’s 1000 Spirits but it was so packed, we decided to go up to Purple.  It was just up the street a little, after all…  Sheesh, up the street in Seattle is decidedly different than up the street in Austin.  Still, huffing and puffing, we walked in.

 

 

 

Holy schmoley… let’s just say they have a TAD bit of wine there.  I went with the Washington flight again.  It was getting late, even though it was still light.  The cruise started the next day, so we decided to call it quits and make our way back to the hotel for a nightcap… or two.  (I may have decided on a white Russian….  sometimes you just need one.)

We had a boarding time the next day of 1:30, so we knew we would still get to do a little exploring in the morning before getting on the Bliss.  So off to bed we went!

So ends Part 1 of 8 or 9…  (I may combine the last day on the ship with getting OFF the ship, we’ll see.)  I hope you enjoy traveling with me!