Seattle Fun

We are having a great time...more fun than I remember having before in Seattle ever before. After getting the combing out of the way (all is clear for two comb through sessions) we drove up with a stop at Caballas (For those unfamiliar a huge outdoors/hunting store). Although in description it seems like a giant man store it is kind of cool with unusual items of interest.

We then drove to our hotel (the cedarbrook lodge). It was not too expensive as hotels go but it is very nice with free snacks, post and beam construction and modern designed rooms. After arriving I asked the desk clerk if it would be difficult to get dinner and he said..no it would be fine. So we go off and drag our stuff to our room and moved the car. We then proceeded to go to dinner only to find out that they had no tables (apparently the desk clerk was clueless). The hostess was nice and set us up with two sofa's and a coffee-like table. We had to order off the bar menu but it was good. I had a mixture of local cheeses, a whole grain piece of bread and two berry chutneys. I had a bit of the cheeses and one of the small pieces of breat (about 1/4 of a piece) plus tastes of the chutney. The free snacks include small containers of Haagan Daz ice cream and malted milk balls. I had one ice cream and some of the candies way too late and paid the consequences with mild acid reflux all night.

This place also serves a free breakfast (a bit better than the old Holiday Inn express type fare but not as good as German or Dutch places. I had Oatmeal with home-made granola and nuts. I only managed 1/4 of a cup and a bit of a not very nice pastry. After breakfast we took off downtown to pick up our Harry Potter tickets and then walked to the Pike Place Market to hang out for the day. We did really well (and did check out the Pink Door but they were closed for lunch). We had coffee at the first Starbucks and then lunch at the Pike Place Bistro (fish and chips for me, crab sand for David and Clam Chowder for Grace). After lunch we did a bit of touristy shopping when strangely a fire broke out in a restaurant at the market. We left (David had visions of tube fires and figured we should steer clear). We walked up to the monorail and went into the Seattle Science Center early, looked around a bit and then went into the Harry Potter exhibit.

The exhibit was quite good. The props were interesting to look at..and the clothes were so small! :). Hagrid's clothes were on the other hand quite big (they were mocked up to look like his 1/2 giant stature. The exhibit was good but not worth the 30 dollar per adult entrance fee. The gift shop was crazy expensive.

IN all we went in at 4:15 and were done by 5. It was not a good value for money. Dinner on the other hand was delicious. We went to a place near the Seattle Center called the Tillicum Place Cafe. I had home-made Pate with toasted baguette slices. Grace and David had duck with cabbage and spitzel. Dinner for both of us felt very German (Good German)..the music was Spanish and then we had a small sample of cookies for desert that were very Italian. It was quite the place and the international dinner tour.

AFter dinner we drove back to our hotel to chill for the rest of the evening. I was supposed to meet an old friend I grew up with but I think he is chickening out (too bad too because I looked good today..goodness knows if I can do that two days in a row :).

We don't have plans tomorrow...who knows :) more shopping probably.

xxxooo