Vacation: Things We Did

Our vacation was very fun. Charlie and I seriously made use of the term "killing two birds with one stone." Except we didn't kill any birds.

First we went to Seattle and spent time touring with Charlie's friend Steve.

We went to Pike's Place Market, pretty typical tourist place. Being there with two men wasn't the greatest time as they do not like shopping, they ate crumpets while I walked around.


Then we went to the EMP museum which had the most random assortment of things. Famous buildings made from Legos, a guitar tower, horror movie memorabilia, and exhibits on Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. From there we walked past the Space Needle. We didn't go in it so I can't full out say "it's a waste of money, don't do it" because I didn't experience it, but there was a long wait, it cost $30 per person, and it wasn't even that tall compared to the other buildings, so I didn't feel like I missed something spectacular. We did ride the monorail, which apparently annoys every person who lives in Seattle. My favorite part of Seattle was taking a ferry to Bainbridge Island. The views were great and Bainbridge was a really cute town. It was kind of like a lot of quaint New England towns so I can see why people from the city would like going there. We ate at a vegan stir fry restaurant, we didn't even realize it was vegan until we were done ordering, and it tasted great. Then we met up with Steve's girlfriend and she took us to the top of the Columbia Tower, which is that tallest building in the city. We watched the sunset over the Olympic Mountains. That view was spectacular which is why I think you should skip the Space Needle and go to the Columbia Tower if you're in Seattle. For dinner we got take out from a place called Paseo which was delicious, they have the second highest rating on Yelp.

After Seattle we went to the Tacoma area to visit my friend Lorelei and her cute as can be baby. We went to Stellacoom to a cute restaurant called Topsides. We went there last year too so it was fun to go back. Such a cute little area. Charlie, Lorelei and I did some runs around the base she lives on. It was nice to do some flat running for a change. We also went to Mount Rainier National Park. The wildflowers were in bloom and it was so pretty. Some of the trail we hiked on still had snow covering them.  Charlie was a sport and carried the baby on his back and complained only minimally. He doesn't really interact much with babies, but since were were there for almost 3 days he got comfortable with her and even picked her up. I was stunned. Seeing the difference from when I first met her a year ago to now was really fun.  

From Tacoma we drove to Spokane for a family reunion with Charlie's mom's side of the family. It was a three day event but I feel like I ate like it was a six day event. The food was delicious. I ate at least a pound of peanut brittle. Day one was in Spokane, day two (pictured) we spent at Coeur D'Alene Lake in Idaho. We floated on the lake, ate like kings, took a hilarious pontoon boat ride (we took on water) and watched the full moon rise over the lake.  Day three was spent eating brunch and being too full to move. 

The last part of our trip was to Glacier National Park in Montana. Charlie's sister Danielle joined us, and provided comic relief in tense situations. We drove on the Going To The Sun Road and couldn't find a parking space for the life of us so we continued to Rising Sun where I had the best salad dressing ever. Huckleberries are apparently huge in Montana and the huckleberry vinaigrette was "lick your plate delicious". Then we went back to Logan's pass and had to park down the road to get a spot, but at least there was a spot. From there we hiked on the Hidden Lake trail. We saw tons of mountain goats, lots of little waterfalls, and glaciers. We were only able to spend one day in the park, I'd recommend spending more, but the time we did spend was great. 

I had such a great time, friends, family, and sights; couldn't ask for more. I am thankful to Charlie for doing all of the driving. We listened to all the songs on my iphone three times, plus lots of radio time, when you could get a station. I'm also thankful to our great friends and family for showing us a great time, feeding us, and letting us spend the night(s). Out of our 13 day trip we slept in 12 different beds! Writing that makes me glad to be home. 

Lauren