Seattle!!! -- Part II

Here is the rest of the scoop on our trip to Seattle. I'm also writing this as a journal entry for myself, so if it has WAYYY too much detail for your taste, you can just skim it and look at the pictures.-K

After our harbor cruise we went to Pike Place Market and grazed our way through all the little shops for dinner. We found a shop called "Piroshky Piroshky" that had Russian food, so I got to have my first sample of Borscht and a piroshky. Our piroshky was "potato-cheese"- a flavor that according to Dave (who served his mission in Russia) is very Russian, but not one that I would have thought of myself. It turned out to be really good-- kind of like scalloped potatoes wrapped up in a yummy roll. We also got an apple cinnamon roll that was amazing (although the kids complained, "Why are there apples in our cinnamon roll?" So unappreciative of culinary art... =] ). However, the kids were thrilled with their chocolate chip meringue from a french pastry shop and Dave and I were in heaven with the artisan cheese and not-your-Kraft-out-of-a-box Macaroni and Cheese from Beecher's Artisan Cheese. Simply some of the most sublime mac you'll ever taste. Yum!
After another day full of fun, we went back to our hotel to spend another evening at the pool. Jared kept encouraging me to "take the plunge" and jump right into the pool (which was just a tad chilly). The kids had a fabulous time playing and splashing and we ended with a few minutes in the spa to get warmed up again.











Friday morning we were off to the aquarium. The kids love seeing the diver in the tank and they also really liked the "tidepool" area where you could touch the animals. We saw sea otters and sea lions get fed.

It was time for lunch... Dave suggested eating at the aquarium, but I said, "We're in Seattle and you want to eat here? Let's go someplace cool!" So we went to a nearby hole-in-the-wall Mexican place from a guidebook called "El Puerco Lloron." It truly was quite the authentic experience: hand-made corn tortillas, no kids menu or flour tortillas to be had. Jared was fine as soon as we explained the "carne asada" meant "steak." He said, "OK. I'll get that. And tell them to make it medium-rare." Camryn, on the other hand, was less thrilled about the options. She just wanted a flour tortilla quesadilla like they have at Taco Bell. She was starting to get upset (and I was starting to get frustrated) when I tried to picture myself in her shoes: Here she was at this totally unfamiliar-looking place and they didn't have a single thing she remotely recognized to eat. So we compromised: she got a corn tortilla quesadilla and I got her an orange soda to go with it. All better.

We went back to Pike Place market and let each person choose their own lunch treat. Jared went straight for another chocolate chip meringue. Camryn, after careful looking (and initially wanting the first thing at the first booth she saw) chose an item called a "Drom Roll" from a Swedish bakery. Camryn was doubly excited when the lady at the booth told her that it meant "Dream Roll": it was chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting rolled up inside.

We spent the afternoon at the Pacific Science Center, but we were all starting to get worn out, so after a little while looking at exhibits we opted for an IMAX film so we could rest for a while. Jackson LOVED the slide in the toddler room. He went down about 25 times in a row.

By the time we were done with the Pacific Science Center, our little troopers were REALLY starting to get worn out. We decided to go to an seafood restaurant and both Jared and Camryn clonked out on the drive there. We went to the more casual upstairs cafe and waited for a spot at the busy restaurant. Jared was really tired and didn't seem to be feeling well. By the time we got our table, Camryn had perked up, but Jared was still dragging. When all Jared wanted for dinner was a drink of soda we knew we might be in trouble.

Luckily, Jared was OK through dinner. Camryn happily devoured her noodles with parmesan cheese (Is it just me, or does every restaurant everywhere have the same kids menu?) and Jared sipped his soda and nibbled at part of a roll. When Camryn ordered a kids sundae for dessert we asked Jared if he wanted anything. He perked up a teeny bit and said that the sugar cookie sounded good. When they brought out this cookie, it was seriously the size of a personal pizza. You could really tell Jared didn't feel great because he just grimaced at it like, "You expect me to eat this thing?". We figured this was our cue to take him home for some rest.

After some Gatorade, tylenol and a good night's sleep, Jared felt good as new. We enjoyed the last morning of the breakfast buffet, checked out of our hotel and headed off to the Museum of Flight.







After we finished at the Museum we decided to skip the Space Needle and just head straight home. It was cloudy and rainy and we were tired and ready for home. We were afraid the kids would be disappointed, but they happily plugged into their movie, ate their Happy Meals and off we went.