Olympia

Good Morning All!

Monday we explored the Olympia area. We had to go kind of far and wide, because…well…there isn’t much to do in Olympia when you are here on Monday and Tuesday (the Farmer’s Market runs Thursday-Sunday). In fact, there isn’t much to do here in Olympia, period. We drove over to the Tumwater area to visit the Tumwater Falls, though! It was beautiful and peaceful. There, we had lunch at the Terrace Restaurant, which overlooks the falls. We ate deep fried avocado with bleu cheese dressing (so surprisingly good we can’t believe we havn’t stumbled upon this delicacy before) and a burger dip (like a French dip but with hamburger). We then drove out to the Mima Mounds. This is an area were there is a bunch of seven-foot-high mounds of earth that scientist can still not explain their origins or existence. More interesting were the beautiful flowers growing all around the area. And more interesting, or maybe frightening, were the drunken couple that flew (literally) up the one lane road to the site behind us in a giant Ford truck. The deliverance song popped in our heads, George even began mouthing it. The couple jumped out of their truck and followed us fast up the trail and asked, “Where are you from?” George was ready to fight to the death! But it turned out they were just drunk (did I mention they were drunk?) and wanted to lay down on the information dome. Go figure.

After the mounds experience and the drunken couple trauma, we decided to take a drive out to the coast. While most of what we saw was depressing, as the towns were small and obviously economically impoverished, we did stumble upon a jewel of a store in Aberdeen, WA: Sucher and Sons Star Wars Shop! This store was started when the owner wanted to find something to keep his pre-teen sons occupied one summer and it sort of took off from there. It was full of everything Star Wars you could imagine from the original toys and comic books to pizza boxes and soda cans. Honestly if you’re looking for anything, and I mean anything, Star Wars this would be the one-stop-shop to find it. George spent his entire time taking pictures of everything, while I reminisced about the original Millennium Falcon that was exactly like the one Ken and I had. Of course, I couldn’t leave the store without Chewbacca and Yoda miniature action figures…for sentimental reasons. The owner was entertaining and informative. He also had an awesome tattoo of Princess Lea on his left deltoid, underneath which he had Carrie Fisher’s tattooed-over signature. Yes, he had that signature tattooed over so he permanently has her signature on his arm as well.

We returned to Olympia and after resting in our room for about an hour, we went to dinner. We ended up at La Taqueria, as I had a craving for Mexican food. George wanted Asian food, but he capitulated to his ethnic roots and my desire ;-)p How was La Taqueria, you ask? Well, our first clue that this might not be up to our Southern San Diego standards was the fact that our waiter kept calling us “amigos”. George wanted to punch him the throat after the fourth “amigos”. But then the chips and salsa came, which seemed pretty authentic. So, we ordered. I was in the mood for tacos, I ordered the taco combination and George got the chimichanga. Yeah, well…I ended up getting something akin to Taco Bell tacos: powdered ground beef and processed hard-shells. George’s dish was a little more authentically made, but the taste was super-sub-par, and somehow neither of these indiscretions stopped us from eating (even finishing our plates) and paying with upset tummies (you don’t wanna know what happened) the rest of the night.

So, without further adieux: goodbye Olympia! Hello Portland! We still miss Seattle :-(

Love Johanna and George.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Seattle :-( However, before we left, we made it a point to stop at Top Pot and get some doughnuts. Thanks Ken and Nik! So good! But it took almost a freakin’ hour to get them! Yeah, after leaving our hotel, it took us that long to get some doughnuts, because Seattle was celebrating “Gay Pride” and we ended up on the wrong side of 4^th street, which meant we had to drive in a big circle around downtown in major traffic. But, we finally made it to Top Pot and the doughnuts were awesome.

Before we could leave Seattle completely behind, however, we had to make a stop in Fremont (an eclectic artistic community) in order to get a picture of the authentic Cold War-era V.I. Lenin statue imported from Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia). George insisted that he get to take a picture with his “great-great-grandfather”, fists in the air, chin up, and all. :-) Yes, he is that much of a Dork!

Coincidentally, Sunday’s just so happen to be Farmer’s Market Day in Fremont too, and so we enjoyed walking around, looking at all the neat things that were for sale. George had a fresh falafel sandwich and I had street tacos; they were good.

We made it to Olympia around 6pm and stopped at the capitol buildings to take pictures before checking in at Fertile Grounds, our bed & breakfast. When we arrived at the bed & breakfast we were a little worried because it lacked curb appeal, but it is nice and clean inside, the owner is wonderfully sweet, and Amy Goodman (the host of “Democracy Now!”) stayed here. We enjoyed dinner at the Urban Onion, where we ordered bleu cheese French Fries, a California Burger, and Smothered Chicken (chicken and pasta smothered in a creamy pesto sauce). Yummy! Yummy! Nitey nite.

-Love George and Johanna

"The Bowl" if you buy a Theo bar with any mix ins, it has gone through this bowl.

Good Morning Everyone!

So our day began early yesterday morning, as we had to be at the Chocolate Box by 8:30. Since we spent the first couple of days sleeping in until 8 am, having to leave our hotel that early was a bit rough, but totally worth it! The first thing they gave us was hot chocolate (REAL hot chocolate, not the crappy powdered stuff). The tour is both informative (we learned quite a bit about how chocolate is made and about the industry itself) and tasty (we got to eat a lot of chocolate). The couple that owns the Chocolate Box also owns Simply Seattle (a souvenir shop) and 106 Pine (a wine shop next door to the Chocolate Box; they also do wine tours, which we have added to our list of things to do on the next trip). Our tour guide was fabulous, although George did have to correct him about Pantera being thrash, and not death, metal (there is a stern difference, and apparently death metal is crap). On the tour, we went to three different chocolate shops in the Seattle area. The first stop was Theo’s (the only certified organic and certified free- trade chocolate producer in the United States. Theo’s is also one of the only bean-to-bar shops—meaning, it is both a roaster and melter. The chocolate plant uses old German (40s-50s) machinery to roast the beans and make chocolate. Theo’s also makes some very unusual flavors, like Buttered Bread Chocolate (which was good, with the salty sweet combo) and Coconut Curry (which we did not care for because of the curry...in fact, on a personal level, it was pretty nasty and the after taste was difficult to kick). Our next stop was O’s Chocolate, where we “learned” (they really did not teach us anything) how to hand temper chocolate. I was not fond of the process as far as results go, but it was sure fun to work with the chocolate! Our third stop was at Fran’s. If the name is familiar to you, it might be because President Obama was asked in an interview what his favorite chocolates were and he responded, “Fran’s smoked salt chocolate caramel.” Yeah, for nostalgic (and apparently geeky historical purposes) George hasn’t eaten his free sample yet. Dork! The tour ended at106 Pine (the wine shop), where we were given iced hot chocolate with chocolate whipped cream! Yum! All in all, the tour was completely worth the early wake up!

For lunch, we went across the street to Zaina, where we had probably the best Gyro’s ever! After, we walked down the hill to the Seattle Aquarium, where we got to see all kinds of local marine life. While they have less jellyfish than the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (and no white shark) it was definitely on par. We got to go to the dome under the Puget Sound, just in time for afternoon feeding! That was pretty cool!

In the evening, we drove around and ended up in the International District for dinner. We ate at the food court, definitely not our best meal. I take the blame, or at least George is making me L After dinner, we drove through downtown (almost up and down every street for a last look) and the waterfront again. We are sad to be leaving Seattle, as we both really like it here, but we are excited to see other places. And, we know we will definitely travel back here to do all the things we have missed.

Love,

George and Johanna

Again for more pictures look on facebook! :-)

Ballard Locks and UW!

Hey All! Since our chocolate tour was rescheduled to tomorrow(Saturday) morning, today was our free-roaming day! And, since we walked over five miles yesterday, we decided to do a lot more driving today. But, we still walked quite a bit.

To begin with, we stopped at Seattle’s first public school, West Queen Anne Public School, which has now been renovated into condos. Go figure.

After, we went to Ballard Locks and checked out the flower garden and fish ladder. Beautiful and awesome!

Next, we stopped at a nearby marina to have a car-picnic lunch; quaint and sentimental.

After filling our bellies with cheese, bread, chips, cherries, beer, and chex mix we stopped at Golden Gate Park which reminded us a little bit of the Mission Bay area, only smaller. There we found a swamp area with ducks and turtles. We then stopped at Café Fiore, an organic coffee house, to satisfy our mutual sweet tooth with hot chocolate and latte.

Then, we visited the University of Washington! Took some pictures, albeit not a lot (but made sure to get one of a pacifist Methodist church that condemned torture and war via large banners…damn LIBERALS…we just wouldn’t fit in up here) , and bought some souvenirs from the bookstore. (Oh! And we checked out the new IPads on the tech. floor…yeah, freakin’ awesome! Want one!)

Finally, we drove through Mercer Island, which is kind of like Pebble Beach with smaller houses. It was secluded, serene, and eye-catching…seems like a wonderful place to live, but too expensive L

All in all, we had a great sandbox day: good environments, pictures, food, and great company (as always).

‘Till tomorrow!

Love,

George and Johanna

Marina

Bench at Golden Gate Park
University of Washington
Lake Washington swimming hole on Mercer Island

Space Needle and Pioneer Square

Good Morning All!
Yesterday we went to the Space Needle and Pioneer Square.
Since our hotel is relatively close to the Space Needle we enjoyed a morning walk to it. Because we needed post card stamps we walked to the post office and then came through the cultural center park area to the needle. It was a delightful surprise to walk around a corner and come face to face with a water fountain play area.
The view from the needle was beautiful. We spent a lot of time walking around and taking photos. By time we got back to the hotel we were ready to go in search of lunch. We decided to drive down to Pioneer Square, have lunch, and go on the Underground Tour. What we did not know at the time was that there was a Mariners game in progress. Unlike San Diego (which is an area we are familiar with) we could not find any decent parking. And, we were shocked at the mark-up of parking garages—one was asking $30, and it was practically full. After driving around for an hour and a half, and getting snippy with each other, we decided to return to the hotel and find public transportation.
Our hotel has a shuttle for $2 a person (which we did not know until we asked) and they happily drove us down to Pioneer Square. We had lunch at the newly reopened J&M Café and Cardroom. We enjoyed a cheese plate appetizer, a BLT&A sandwich, a Grinder sandwich, and some drinks. We were scheduled for a 6 pm tour of Seattle’s Underground so we had some time to kill after eating our late lunch. We walked around the neighborhood and stumbled across some posted fallout shelters. The Underground Tour was great and we definitely recommend it. It was fascinating to learn the history of Seattle’s underground. The fact that Pioneer Square is completely supported by Cedar beams is a little astonishing and slightly frightening. ☺
After the tour, we decided to walk down to the Waterfront, have ice cream for dinner, and visit some of the shops. We had intended to catch the free bus to get closer to our hotel, but we were enjoying the weather and instead decided to walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Garden. By this time it was already 9pm and we were only a few blocks away from the Space Needle so we walked to it and went up for the night view. Finally, we walked back to the hotel. All in all, we walked over 5 miles during this adventure. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got back to the hotel just before 11pm. What a wonderful day.

Love,
George and Johanna

P.S. the link in the comments section will/should take you to more photos on Facebook.

Pike's Place and the Waterfront

Hey guys! So, yesterday was super-eventful! We ventured through Pike Place Market for about four hours. There was SO much to see: corner musicians, boutiques, bakeries, book stores, the Pike Brewery, the Gum Wall, and flying dead fish. We took tons of pictures! We also walked to the Waterfront for a bit…and yes…we took more pictures ☺ Afternoon brought a craving for a sweet treat and we found cheesecake truffles (Like a cakeball only cheesecake). They were good, but they were no cakeball! ☺

On the way back to the hotel, there was a large immigration reform rally several blocks ahead in the major intersection to get on the freeway. It was so bad people started driving in reverse on the side of the street for about half a block back to go around. Yeah, we sat in it for about forty-five minutes. And, randomly, a driver next to us pulled out his binoculars to see what was going on down the street. Who the hell has binoculars within reaching distance in their car?!

For dinner, we walked to T.S. McHugh’s (an upscale Irish pub); we had a beef and Guinness Pot Pie, pot roast, and beer! Interesting enough, our waitress was a recent graduate from San Diego State University. Originally from the Bay Area in Northern California, she went to State and moved up here last year. She also has a cousin in Grants Pass, Oregon where my brother lives. Small world, eh…

Day 1 in Seattle!

Hey everyone! Well, we arrived safe and sound in Seattle last night. The weather was beautiful! Sunny and temperate. Yesterday consisted mostly of travel arrangements. Flying here direct from San Diego. George was impressed with wifi at 10,000 feet. We got our rental car, which was upgraded to an SUV. YAY!!! Got checked in at the hotel and then went in search of dinner. So yeah we had a very uneventful day. Today we are heading out to see what there is to see.
Love you all,
Johanna and George

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Good morning! We are up and getting ready for our trip to the Pacific Northwest this morning. We will be posting pictures and writing about our day as often as possible. Hope you all enjoy!
Love,
George and Johanna