Seattle - Day Three

I am trying to finish the recap of our Seattle trip before we leave for New York early tomorrow morning so this might be a "three post" day!

Saturday morning, Kevin and I did manage to get up early and go out for a run.  It wasn't raining (yet) but the air still felt cold and damp.  The hills around Michael and Sheena's home just about did us in.  You are either going uphill or you are going downhill.  There didn't seem to be any flat areas at all and, wow, the hills are STEEP! What a view though!

 

 

After our run, we all feasted on bagels topped with a variety of cream cheeses from Panera.  It began to rain (again) but we decided to continue on with our planned activity for the day... a two hour ride on the vintage Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad train.   We had to catch the train in Elbe, a small town near the Mount Rainier National Park and about 1 1/2 hours southeast of Gig Harbor.  

 

 

Despite the rain and fog, we did have some nice views of the National Park during the ride.  Mount Rainier was under complete cloud cover but since we had such a nice view of it in Gig Harbor on Thursday, we weren't too disappointed that it wasn't visible. 

 

It was cold though!

 

 

 

 

 

By the time the train ride finished and we returned home, dried off and thawed out, the sun decided to make an appearance. Finally! Michael, Kevin and the kids took advantage of the nicer weather and went down to the beach on the edge of the neighborhood.

 

Christopher was not happy that he had to take a photo with his sister! 

 

I am not sure if Christopher is skipping stones or practicing his golf swing!

 

Another busy but fun day in the Pacific Northwest!

Seattle - Day Two

Despite our best intentions to get up early Friday morning and run, Kevin and I both slept until almost 10:00 am.  That might have been a record for me!  Caitlynne and Christopher woke up just before 11:00 am - the long hours spent traveling and crossing over several time zones hit us hard.  Since we got such a late start, by the time we all got ready and out of the house, it was just about lunchtime.  Michael and Sheena took us to this AMAZING restaurant, Duke's, located on the waterfront in Tacoma.  All of the seafood was so fresh and everyone was very happy with what they ordered.  The restaurant also had a wide selection of microbrews on tap which made Kevin very happy.  Sheena, Michael and I each had fish tacos and a cup of clam chowder...

 And, just when we thought it couldn't get much better...

 

 

For dessert, we went to "Hello Cupcake" a boutique (cupcakes only) bakery in Old Town Tacoma.    
Caitlynne in front of the bakery.

The girls patiently waiting for Sheena and I to finish with our picture taking.

My sweet and happy nephew, Declan.  

Clearly a "Keating", he polished the icing off in just a few minutes and showed no interest whatsoever in the cake.  Messy boy!

The girls.

The bakery also offered a selection of fancy candies.

 

It had been overcast and drizzling all morning and, by the time we finished at Hello Cupcake, it was raining quite heavily.  The rain limited our options for activities and, after much discussion, we decided to go to the mall for the afternoon and have a look around.  After dinner, Michael and Kevin took all of the kids to watch the Rainiers' (Seattle's minor league baseball team) game.  

Sheena and I chose to stay home and catch up over a couple of dirty martinis.  

It was cold and rainy at the baseball game so they left the game early and returned home. We later found out that the cold weather had set a record low of 52 degrees for June 22nd.  Brrrr.... For us, coming from the 95 degree weather in Bangkok to 52 degrees in Seattle was definitely a shock to our systems. We were all bundled up in sweatshirts, scarves and blankets.   Surprisingly, the cold weather did not stop the kids from making slushy virgin raspberry cosmopolitans.  

 

It was another late night but we were having such a great time!

Arrival in Seattle

With the exception of a two hour delay on the tarmack in Tokyo,our flights and travel to Seattle were uneventful. One benefit of Kevin traveling so much is that he had plenty of miles to upgrade us to business class for these flights and we had a very comfortable trip! The seats on the flight from Tokyo to Seattle were the newer seats that can recline until totally flat so we were able to get a few hours of good sleep and did not feel all that tired when we arrived Seattle.

Michael met us at the airport and we went home for lunch and a bit of a rest.  Michael and Sheena live in a fabulous neighborhood in the town of Gig Harbor (south of Seattle) and their home overlooks the Puget Sound.  This is the view from their deck...

 

The Cascade Mountains are to the East and the Olympic Mountains are to the West of their home and, on clear days, there are great views of both ranges.  After lunch, Michael took us (along with Kylie and Mackenzie) on a drive through the older part of the town of Gig Harbor.  Gig Harbor was very clean and charming and reminded us of the small towns on Cape Cod.  We were very fortunate in that it was a sunny and clear day and we had a beautiful view of Mount Rainier rising over Gig Harbor.  Guess who forgot her camera though?!?  

After our drive, we met up with Sheena and Declan at a local brewery (Kevin was in heaven!) and the adults celebrated the start of our trip with some drinks in the beer garden.  We also had fun playing "Jenga"...
Christopher and Mackenzie.

 Kylie and Mackenzie.

Oops.

Michael giving it a go. 

Caitlynne having her turn.

Almost an "oops".

Christopher making a daring move.

 

Kevin.  

 Then, it was back home for a BBQ on the deck and, for dessert, S'MORES! 

Yum!  Kylie started us off...

Christopher showing such concentration.

Mackenzie and Caitlynne assembling their s'mores.

Christopher with a mouth full of s'mores.

Michael had the best results with his s'mores because he was the most patient! No burnt marshmallows for him.

Kevin opted for just roasted marshmallows.

Mackenzie and her megawatt smile. 

Michael giving the girls lessons on making the perfect s'more.

Sheena was the lucky recipient of one of Michael's s'mores.

It is light here until almost 10:00 pm and, since it was a great evening weather-wise, we sat outside until well after dark.  We were all exhausted from the late night combined with our jet lag and slept until almost 10:00 am on Tuesday! This was the view from their deck early Friday morning...

 

More to come on our Friday adventures...

Have a great Sunday!