~ Mignon McLaughlin
Can you believe it? It's been a whole year since Andrea and I got married! Not only has Andrea managed to put up with me for a year, but she still laughs at my funny jokes (yes they are funny and not stupid) and even enjoys hanging out with me. Imagine that! This week, we traveled to Seattle for a romantic getaway to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The first anniversary is also known as the paper anniversary and airline tickets are certainly made of paper!!! So we packed our bags and caught an early flight on Saturday and flew into sunny Seattle.We landed in Seattle before noon to a grey, cloudy morning. We would not see the sun ever again while in Seattle. But we had expected that. We checked into our hotel in downtown Seattle and began our weekend adventure.
After dropping off our bags we headed down to Pike Place Market which was only a short walk from our hotel. The market, especially in front of the world famous Pike Place Fish Market (home of the flying fish), was very crowded with shoppers and tourists. We had hoped to grab a lunch there but we had a hard time coping with the herd of people. We escaped the Market and headed down a couple of blocks for a delicious lunch at Etta's Seafood Restaurant, where we enjoyed Bloody Marys and real fresh seafood.
After lunch, we met up with Brock and his family and our friend Michelle and her boyfriend Kris by the space needle for the Duck Tour. Nothing says TOURIST more than being seen on one of these bad boys. Not only was the tour bus a WWII amphibious landing assault vehicle but the Captain played loud music and made loud jokes over the speaker which helped draw more attention. Even our non-tourist friends had a great time on this tour!
Brock got everyone duck horns which we proudly tooted while waiting for Michelle and Kris. I think Brock will come to regret buying these. Brock and his family live in Bellingham, which is about an hour and a half ride north from Seattle. Must have been a fun ride home... Quack! Quack! I'm not sure why Michelle and Kris were wearing sunglasses. In fact, why did they even own sunglasses in Seattle? The tour lasted about 90 minutes and it did manage to rain during the middle of the tour when we were floating on Lake Union.
By the time we got off the Duck Tour, it was time for dinner. We headed over to Buca di Beppo for an Italian feast. The food was extremely tasty and generously portioned. Check out the size of this meatball! It was almost as big as Emily's head. But it was no match for her! I see an IFOCE champion in the making. After dinner, we parted with Brock and his family. It was really good to see all of them again. His three daughters were perfect angels... angles with duck horns!
Seattle is perhaps best known for it's year round rain but is also known for its micro breweries and drinking. With a couple of locals showing us the way, Andrea and I were more than happy to oblige. We spent the night hopping from bar to bar drinking everything from fancy Tahitian drinks, to mysterious Brazilian cocktails, to good old fashion Maker's Manhattans. All that drinking equated to quite a festive night followed by a not so festive morning after.
This was the first time Andrea and I met Kris. And like all good friends, we put Kris through a rigorous Q & A session and an adult beverage consumption test. We were happy to announced that Kris passed both tests with flying colors! Thumbs up Michelle!
On Sunday, we decided to be lazy and slept in. The bar hopping probably had something to do with our desire to take it easy. We ordered room service for breakfast and eventually headed out around noon. During the Duck Tour the day before, we passed by Seattle's Underground Tour that peaked our interest. Since it was near by, we decided to walk over to check it out. Much of Seattle's old downtown is built above a floor of old store fronts and roads that burned down during the great fire of 1889. So underneath what is now the ground floor of Seattle's Pioneer Square, there is a whole forgotten subterranean world.
Sunday, May 28th, was our official anniversary day. Much like the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle has a lot of good restaurants. So when it came to picking the right one, the restaurant with exquisite flavor, impeccable service and stunning views, I knew Ray's Boathouse was the right choice. You can never go wrong with Ray is what I always say!
So that was how we spent our first anniversary... the paper anniversary. I can't wait for what our next, cotton, anniversary will bring.
