Seattle - Part IVb - (the much late finale)

Have been back from Seattle now for over 2 weeks and am just now relaying the last important parts. Sheesh.

As some of you readers now, I am a huge fan of Peets Coffee. (headquartered in Bay Area). Well, Seattle has a couple of stores and on my last 2 mornings in town, I went.

Sunday morning I took a taxi and was in heaven. I was so damn happy to be in Peets again!!

I got a small coffee and asked the barista to take a picture of me. She was startled. She had never been asked to take a picture of anyone in front of their store.

I love this picture. I am sooo happy. And it is sooo me: peets coffee in hand, race/running shirt, & a bandana.



I spent about 3 hours there, reading, on computer, and just sitting! Afterwards, went on a awesome 6 mile run with Lake Union in view and through the University of Washington's campus. Beautiful.

Monday morning i found the bus to take me there and stayed for another 1 1/2 hours. No where else I'd rather spend a free morning.

Overall: trip was relaxing and the breath of fresh air I badly needed. Great to get away and see some new sights and gain some perspective on many things. Seattle is an unspectacular city. No glitz or glamour. Nothing fancy. Which is exactly what drew me to it even more.

Cheers!

Seattle - Part IVa - finally some photos

(Since I do not have a digital camera, my photo postings are sporadic and rare, but here are a few from the trip!)





Beautiful Safeco Field



Me (with, YES, TRIN, my SF Giants CAP!!)

Seattle - Part III

Friday: Woke & had coffee in hotel cafe. Went for a short but challening 4 mile run. Ran from the hotel and up into an area called Capitol Hill. Lots of hills through there - along with neighborhoody shops, cafes, etc...Winded through parts of downtown and back to the hotel. Nothin’ to exciting, but at least i got to see another part of the city if i wanted to go back & explore more.

After lunch, i went shopping again and ended up purchasing some trail running ADIDAS shoes. I couln’t help it. 30% off. Hard to pass up. Also bought a new skirt for work. Who-Hoo!!

Fast forward to the evening: Rode the FREE bus to SAFECO Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. They were playing host to Detroit Tigers and i decided to check out the game and stadium. I was lucky to arrive in one piece considering the herky-jerky way our bus driver drove. He must have tapped the breaks a million times. i am NOT KIDDING. A couple of guys exited before me and said sarcastically, to the driver, “thanks, that was fun”. Yeah, thanks mr. bus driver for making us all jerk back and forth in our seats. If you had back or neck problems, that was not the bus ride for you.

Bought a cheapie tix and wandered around the stadium. beautiful! I watched about 5-6 innings of the game and returned to hotel. Kinda tough for me to get excited about the American League game when i have been a National League fan my entire life. Neverthess, it was cool to be out on a gorgeous evening and seeing a new ballpark. These stadiums i now have under my belt: AT&T Park, Oakland A’s Park (whatever that is called) Atlanta’s (old) Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta’s (new) Turner Field, Coors Field, Citizen’s Park and now Safeco Field.

SATURDAY: ran in a different direction out of hotel. Just over 5 miles that took me very close to famous SkyNeedle and into neighborhoods a neighborhood called Queen Anne. Some hills, but nothing too steep. Much less traffic than last 2 days. One the return route, I ran closer to the water and was happy to suck in some fresh air. How awesome it has been to run in 70 degrees weather, on my own time frame and not to beat the heat or after long days at work. I have felt happier and less stressed under these conditions. i think also just a good change of scenery for my routes has been motivating.
Afterwards, I headed over the Pikes Market in all its glory. If you want fowers, that is the place to go. Flowers in abundance there: lily’s, roses, and buckets & buckets of sunflowers. AHHH -- it was gorgeous. A sunny saturday, lots of people out milling around, shopping, eating etc... I stopped into a little cafe to grab a snack and sat and did some people watching. Shortly afterwards, I boarded the ferry traveling to Bainbridge Island. A thrill of a ride. I stood on the top deck and just soaked in the sights. The water, the islands off in the distance, Safeco Field, Qwest Field(home of Seattle Seahawks) and as the Seattle skyline as we moved further west. Bainbridge was definitiely a highlight. A quaint island with neat shops, restaurants, etc.. ate some incredible fish & chips at the Harbour Pub while drinking a Mac & Jack’s Serengheti Wheat Ale. AHH - delicious. Bought some books at an independent bookstore, which was a delight since i don’t think Atlanta has ANY! On my walk back to the Ferry, I caught a woman licking an Ice Cream and asked here where she got it. MORA’s was the place and my oh my! I had a scoop and 1/2. Full scoop was Mint with Shaved Chocolate and 1/2 scoop was Pistachio. I tell ya, that is some of the best Ice Cream i have ever had. I tried to savor it, but i slurped it down pretty fast. Ferry ride back was just as awesome as the ride over. Sometimes, you just gotta feel the wind on your face!!

Seattle Part II

After dropping my bags off in my room on the 42nd floor with a wonderful view of Puget Sound, I headed out the door for some grub. Luckily, the place the front desk recommended for my famished self was directly across the street. At the Icon Grill, i sucked down a delicious cup of yellow pepper soup and a caesar salad. Afterwards, i walked up the block and into the heart of downtown with a Starbucks on every corner. There were tons of people out, lots of energy and a band playing “i get by with a little help from my friends....” song. Festive indeed, especially with the sun shining upon us.
I walked into an ADIDAS store. Oh my!! I was gonna be in trouble! They were having a sale where almost every shoe was 30% off and I saw about 3 that i liked. yikes! I restrained myself & only bought a pair of sweatbands, while giving myself an opportunity to THINK about buying ANOTHER new pair of running shoes.
I felt my food was digested after a bit so I went back to hotel and put my running gear on. I was not gonna go far. I was exhausted from the week and the travel, but after not running for 4 days, I really ached to get my body moving and plus, I wanted to get up close and personal with the water!

One of the best thing about running is that you can use it to explore a new place and that is exactly what i intended to do. I asked the concierge about dinner options and she directed to me a place called Il Bistro which was located in Pikes Market...in the direction I was headed.
I hit the streets and headed west. Zigzagging through people and cars & up and down some small hills, I found Pikes Market, Il Bistro & lots of other things. I went down some steps, crossed the street and was running parallel to the water. How does one describe the smell? It’s so distinct. I could smell it before I could see it. AHHH > > > > the water. I could see clear across to whatever islands were out there... Bainbridge, Vashon.
I started smiling and took some deep breaths....so happy was i to be at the water again!
Fast forward to dinner time and i walked back to Il Bistro. A quaint and quiet little Italian spot. I was all ready to order some pasta when i heard about the special. It was too tempting to pass up:

Dinner > Grilled Halibut, Fennel Mashed Potatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes w/ Basil.

YUM, YUM, YUM. I don’t think I have ever tasted better Halibut.

I walked back to the hotel, read some of my book and crashed. A tired traveler....

Seattle - Part I

One of my goals this year (as indentified on right hand side of blog) was to vacation in Seattle. Well, I made it. Here is part I of my trip.

Like I'm sure many people experience, the days leading up to my "vacation" were extremely hectic, stressful and chaotic. It was so crazy that I did not even get a chance to run for 4 days and THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING!!

So, Thursday rolled around and I was soon on my plane headed west. I brought reading material. The Might Heart, and the current issue of Fortune Magazine. I had my iPod. I was all prepared to sit tight for about 5 hours in the air.

The plane was a big one. Not sure what the actual # of it was, but it was big; it was one of those planes with 2 seats on the left, 3 in middle, and 2 on right side. So, as I am about to get all settled in and read, sleep, etc...I hear the loud noises of 2 small children directly in front of me. Actually, it was a whole family split between the 3 middle seats and 2 left had side seats. The 2 kids were probably 5, 6 or so. Man, were they loud, busy, ancy, bratty, etc... I couldn't help but think of T2 and how she would have sooooo loved this situation. I wonder if she would have said something to the kids or to the parents. They were constantly eating and throwing their food and the isle became cluttered with their shit. Um, Hello.... This is not your house or your play pen. There was food, wrappers, pencils, toys in the isle. NICE!

Actually, it sounds much more irritating than it was. I think i was just so happy to get on the plane that i couldn't even allow myself to get caught up with those kids. The thing that i noticed was just how much work they were and how i could not handle having kids like such. All the dad did the entire 5 hour flight was try to get them to settle down, quiet down, pick up after them, etc...Man, i was tired just watching him.

Anyways, somehow I was able to tune them out enough to read and listen to some tunes and shut my eyes a bit. Soon enough, I was in a city I had never been in and I was excited. Other than the kid stuff, the travel was smoothe. I checked into my hotel, the Westin, and was soon off to see the city.

Doctor, Doctor, Can't You See I'm Burning, Burning..

ok. you wanted to know.

angelina. jolie.

man, she is HoT.

watched a movie with her in it - Taking Lives -
very mediocre, but whatever.

She is smokin!

brad pitt. why?