My Run Last Saturday

Last Saturday I went for a run after volunteering at the Seattle Humane Society. On the way I enjoyed some beautiful fall colors (they would have been even more spectacular in the sun, I am sure).

Off the Factoria exit from I405.

By the Renton Community Center and the Cedar River Trail.

It had been raining very hard all night and morning, but had dwindled down by the time I arrived at the "trail." Unfortunately as soon as I had turned around to head back it started pouring. I was able to ring my clothes out before getting into the car and was soaked through all of them. BUT I am proud of myself for going on the run in the first place (even with the threat of rain) and I am sure that this will help me out in the upcoming months (although hopefully it will be more of a drizzle that everyone keeps telling me about).

Why?

Here is a truck I saw last week in the Safeway parking lot (it was early before a work training). I think I could have driven the Subaru under it (notice the car driving by behind it)!

Last Week

Last weekend Big B worked a weird schedule, but this opened up most of Sunday. For the day I planned some kayaking and then shopping (which was more like looking) and dinner at Z Tejas in Bellevue. The Bellevue Collection is a pretty neat shopping/dining area. You can actually search interactively on a map and make reservations throughout the area.

We rented kayaks off Lake Washington and explored Mercer Slough.

One of the things I really like about Washington is the greenery. Because there are so many trees you can be in the middle of a city and not even realize it. You can barely see the Bellevue skyline above the foot bridge.

We also saw some wildlife. Ducks, Blue Herons, at least 3 breeds of turtles, a couple other birds I haven't seen before and Big B saw an otter (we sat quietly for a while hoping it would resurface nearby, but it was too smart for us).

This Weekend

We had our first official visitors this weekend.  My friend was in town for the AVMA conference and Big B's dad was in town for the Seattle to Portland Ride.

My friend got into town on Thursday, she went sight-seeing for most of the day until I got off work and was able to pick her up. We decided to head back to my apartment and wait for Big B (who had to work OT) and then eventually we headed to dinner. The plan was to eat at Blue C, but they had closed and locked their doors pre-maturily, so we ended up at Duke's Chowder House, which also has delicious food, and we were just in time for happy hour.

Unfortunately I had to work on Friday, so I dropped my friend off at her hotel for the rest of the week before heading into work. That evening we met up with Big B's dad in the U District and ended up eating at Blue C.

After dinner we walked around the outdoor mall a bit and hoped to get some cupcakes, but they were closed. I am excited to go back to the U District during the day and check out the campus, which looked beautiful even in the dark.

On Saturday, Big B and I became official Washingtonians (we got our licenses...what a pain, but that is another story). After that I headed to Lake Meridian in Kent to check out the Dragon Boat races during the Cornucopia Days. The weather was beautiful and the lake wasn't too crowded.

Later that evening we met up with my friend and some of her friends at Pier 57 and had dinner at Fisherman's Restaurant.

After dinner we walked around Seattle a bit. We had hoped to catch Pike's Place Market when it wasn't too busy, but apparently they close after a certain time...who knew!

Big B's excellent parallel parking job.

Eventually we grew tired of walking around and decided to try to find a bar. We walked, Big B drove and we walked some more...3 hours later we still hadn't find a bar that we could park and find on foot. Eventually we headed to Gordon Biersch which was near my friend's hotel.

My beer sampler at Gordon Biersch. The seasonal Sommerbrau was my favorite, although I had hoped there would be the Dunkelweizen available to taste...since my dad enjoys this beer.

Big B and I walked my friend back to the hotel and then headed to the car, which was covered in popcorn. Who knows how it happened, but there was popcorn all over the hood and top of the car, luckily most of it blew off on the roads and the highway.

When we woke up Sunday it was cloudy and it began raining shortly after that. This is only the 3rd rain since we moved. I went and worked out and then we headed to Seattle again. We decided to ride on the "Ducks" for a tour.

Quickly after the tour began we discovered that we were originally parked just down the road from a bar (or as we drove further, bars) the night before. Below are some photos from our tour.

The green house on the far left is the houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle. After the tour Big B and I headed home to get ready for the week. What a great weekend!

Fourth of July

Big B and I went to watch the fireworks at Gasworks Park. The show has been ranked in the top 10 in the nation a few different times. We had a little trouble finding where to park (seems to be a reoccuring problem since we don't know the city yet). After finally finding a place to park we grabbed some food at Ivar's Salmon House and then worked our way through the crowd to find a spot to sit.

Although we were there a bit late we still found a pretty good seat, at least until the even later arrivees stood in front of us...actually it wasn't too bad since most of the show was over their heads.

We enoyed the sunset and then the real show began.

Overall the fireworks were great and set to music, and we had a pretty good walk back to the car which cut back on the traffic!

My First Month in Washington

On Monday, May 25th we (me, my parents, Big B and his mom) took a break from packing and explored the area. We visited Chateau St. Michelle.

And the Columbia Winery. After the wine we took a picnic break with a riesling, cheese, salami and some pita chips.

Later we visited Redhook Brewery and tried their beer sampler.

Then we watched some of the excitement at the Locks (we have gone to the Locks since then and enjoyed some free music).

We rounded up the evening at Pyramid for some more beer sampling and food. Then we ended up the evening by watching the Nuggets in my parent's hotel lobby.

On Tuesday, May 26th Big B's mom flew home and I had my 5th interview with Knowledge Learning Corporation. After that we met up with my parent's and drove around Emunclaw, Auburn and explored the pier at Des Moines. For dinner we met my dad's cousin and his wife at Anthony's.

There wasn't much more excitement the remainder of the week other than Big B starting his job and I was offered a job as an Assistant Center Director in Federal Way.

I have lost track of time, so all of the below isn't necessarily in order. We have seen a good number of movies: Night at the Museum, The Hangover, Taking of the Pelham 123 and Transformers. We have also eaten at a bunch of different restraurant with different cuisines.

We also went to the Museum of Flight.

Then this weeekend we went to the Taste of Tacoma. I don't have any photos, but it included: me tripping and having splinters all over, fairly good food, lots of interesting people, and music. Later that evening we went to Laughs where they were having a local comedian competition.

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