Girl's Weekend

Poor T.J. His house was taken over by a bunch of girls this past weekend. Well.. I don't know if it can be considered "a bunch" because technically it was only my two old roommates who came for a visit, but when we get together we tend to be a bit loud and silly (think chardonnay and Taylor Swift dance parties). It turned out that T.J. had a really busy weekend at work so I was doubly thankful they came to visit our neck of the woods, because otherwise I'd have spent the weekend playing Xbox.

Instead, I left work early on Friday and went to collect my friends from the airport. After excitedly hugging and squealing that we were finally reunited we loaded up the car and laughed about the amount of luggage they had brought for just a 4 day trip. Despite my assurances that it wasn't necessary, my one friend had used this getaway as an excuse to take the plunge on a pair of Hunter rain boots that she'd ordered and shipped straight to my house. On the ride back to my neighborhood I pointed out the nearby sights and we immediately fell back into that comfortable place where it's like no time has passed at all.
After giving them a tour of our home and introducing them to Hunley who was excited about all the extra attention, we headed out for a walk on my favorite trail to the water. I've told them all about this magical trail and I've blogged about it numerous times but it's still something you just have to see for yourself to really appreciate the majesty of the evergreens and the holy stillness and expansiveness of the water waiting for you at the end. I was cracking up as they stopped every couple feet, cellphones raised above their heads, snapping photos of the tallest trees and the moss covered branches. And when we finally reached the pebble shores of the Sound I knew they felt like I always do, in sheer awe of our Creator. I love bringing new people to this place. It's like sharing a delicious secret.

After we'd taken in our fill of beauty we headed back to the house and made plans to meet my elusive husband for dinner nearby. We went to one of our favorite casual local places, that is even better in the summer time when you can dine outdoors, but is still a cozy spot year round. This was pretty much the most we saw of T.J. all weekend so we just had to ask the waiter to document his existence.

We finally had to cut ourselves off from all the talking and we finally fell into bed, much later than my normal bedtime, knowing we had big plans for the next day. Saturday morning we all got up nice and early and while T.J. headed in to work we took Hunley for a nice long walk before piling back into the car and heading up to Seattle for the day. We had heard rumors of a yummy brunch buffet with a good view so we made our way there first. Upon arrival we discovered this was only a Sunday thing (what's up with that??) so we apologized to our waiter and shamelessly left in search of french toast and eggs. When your heart desires brunch, nothing else can satisfy! We lucked out at Bacco Cafe right beside Pikes Place Market and settled in for a long leisurely meal. We ordered Brioche French Toast for the table and I selected the Dungeness Crab Benedict for my entree along with a spicy Bloody Mary. The girls chose the Egg Scramble and a Crab Omlette and mimosas. Basically they had to roll us out of there.

We then wandered through the market admiring the tulip stalls, and the fish mongers throwing around salmon. We decided we actually weren't too full for a cream cheese canoli that was calling our name and we made sure to check out the infamous gum wall since it's soon to be removed (I'd hate to have that job...).

Next we headed to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room which was a good much needed hike. I had never been before so I was excited to see this "coffee mecca." We grabbed a map (yes really) when we arrived and wandered around what was very much like a brewery with huge copper stills and coffee enthusiasts in leather aprons prepared to answer any question you might have about anything coffee related. It was packed to the gills but we managed to find seats at one of the bars and ordered a coffee flight of three different specialty brews that we sipped and pretended we could tell which ones had notes of citrus or chocolate.(Confession: it all tasted like coffee to me...)



Fully caffeinated we headed on to our next stop, the Space Needle. We took the monorail there, purchased our lift tickets and then stepped out onto the windy observation deck. Somehow, miraculously, rain held off the entire time we were exploring Seattle, but we didn't spend too long at the top as it was freezing and giving you a weird sensation that it was swaying...
Before hopping back in the car we grabbed some mac n' cheese to go from Beecher's (we just couldn't resist) and then the rain let loose and we were thankful to be on our way home. Thoroughly worn out from a long day of sightseeing we immediately changed into the matching pj's that my friend brought for us as a treat and snuggled up on the couch for a movie night.

It was the perfect first couple days of a perfect visit! Even though I've walked to the Sound a dozen times and I've seen most of the Seattle tourist hot spots before it's so much fun, and such a different experience, to do it all over again with my best friends! We crammed in a ton to their all too short visit! Part 2 to follow.

Comments

  1. Everything about this makes me so happy. Also-T.J.-bless him : ) Also, those pjs!!! Too adorable for words!!!

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  2. Y'all are just too cute and what fun! I've been to all those places and it makes me know I need to make another trip.

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  3. What fun!! I just spent the weekend with my BFF - we have been friends for over 50 years. You will SO cherish the memories you just made when you are again visiting in 50 years! Old friends are the best friends! :)

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