West Coast Travels: Seattle!

If I could sum up Seattle in one word, it would be deceiving.

When we arrived and drove into town from the airport, it looked "industrial" to me. Almost desolate. No pretty flowers and parks. No twentysomethings anywhere in sight stumbling to and from bars. We were so tired when we arrived, we put baby S to bed, and crashed. Good thing- babies don't know time zones and day one we got a 4am wake up call. And we soon realized Seattle had a lot to offer.

FRIDAY

We stayed in the Lake Union area, which is apparently sort of up and coming (said my parents friends who is literally a tourism volunteer for Seattle). Walking around in the morning, we found the city to be quiet, not crowded, and were wondering where the "city" was. We took a stroll to the Space Needle, and then hopped on the monorail to jet across town (we skipped going up to the top of the tower since the babe was with us and neither of us were set on seeing the sights from up high. But, we hear eating at the restaurant up there is worth it). The monorail lets you off near Pike Place Market. We did indeed see the famous fish throwing guys! We also bought hand painted baby dresses and fresh fruit to eat while we strolled. S demanded lunch and on our way wandering down a cute little alley to get lunch, we stumbled across this tiny shop that sold... baby The Who t-shirts! We had to get one for S. We ate at The Pink Door on an outside terrace that overlooked the water. The tableclothes were different at each table and the outdoor deck was perfect. The food was fantastic, too. I would highly recommend the antipasto and the chicken panini. We walked along the streets back to the monorail and got swept into Cupcake Royale on the way back to the hotel. Our picks included a red velvet cupcake (amazing) and a Huckle Buckle (cupcake of the month) paired with Salted Caramel ice cream and one interestingly named Whiskey Maple Bacon Crack. After a filling day of exploration, we headed back to the hotel to prep for the night's wedding related Meet + Greet activities.  For starting out doubting this city, we found some gems on day one of exploring. [Cue Jamie singing "truly truly truly outrageous].

 

SATURDAY

Saturday was the wedding of our good friends. We hung out in the hotel in the morning and let S get a good nap in since we knew she'd be up a bit later and probably a little overwhelmed with the day. We saved our appetites for brunch at Serious Biscuit (aka Serious Pie). Best brunch ever. A mimosa to start for me, a very spicy chipotle bloody mary for J. My mama and I split the fried green tomato biscuit and the ham cheese & apple mustard biscuit. J and my dad splurged on the fried chicken biscuit, known as the Zach. So filling, so good. The mix of flavors was phenomenal. I'd go back again and again (but my jeans would NEVER fit then). Oh, and they had a great little high chair for S who sat and ate her own breakfast while flirting with the couple next to us.  I forgot my camera on this part of the journey, so I stole this photo from a review website. Bad blogger.

 

 

Saturday evening was the wedding. The ceremony was at Saint Marks and it was just breathtaking. Melissa  + Scott wrote part of their own vows. Really sweet. The reception was at what used to be a warehouse and now is the gorgeous Sodo Park . That's for a whole other post, but I'd give it the best dance party rating since our own wedding. Cheers + Congrats, guys!

 

SUNDAY

We joined the rest of the wedding partiers for brunch at the hotel on Sunday. This is not about Seattle, but about my friends. I adore them for many reasons but the most recent one? They love Sienna. Nothing makes my heart smile like one of my oldest friends holding my baby. Later that afternoon we explored the little Lake Union area in what turned out to be an incredibly gorgeous day. It boasted the cutest dock, The Center for Wooden Boats(on Thursdays free boat ride + story time for baby ones), and around the bend a plethora of on the water restaurants. Best of all was a huge grassy park for S to play in. It was actually full of families with small kids. A great find. Sunday evening we ventured back out to the same area and settled upon Chandler's Crab House. We were joined by one of my dad's close friends from college- I was thinking about all of my PSU friends and how I hope our families will meet up as we are in each other's cities years from now. The food was great. The seasonal salad + crab = major winner and the tuna tar tar was a close second. J had a scrumptious crab cake. Paired with a nice Washington sauv blanc, it was the perfect last Seattle meal.

 

 

We were impressed by a few things in Seattle- how friendly people are, how good the food is (and how fresh- both veggies and fish), and the eclectic nature of the city itself. If you're there, be sure to check out all the amazing food and explore- there's likely more than meets the eye!

{If we ever make it out to Washington again, we really want to take advantage of all the beautiful hikes and nature we hear about- but with a baby in tow and a wedding schedule to adhere to it just didn't happen. Always next time... }