Seattle Trip Pictures: Wednesday

Yours Truly, "surfing" on the back of a whale at the aquarium.

Welcome to the Seattle Waterfront!

Michelle, Sarah & Val in the dome tank at the Seattle Aquarium.

All four of us downtown near Pike Market.

Seattle Trip Part 3: Wednesday

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 10:11

We departed Val's aunt's house after sleeping in and taking our time getting ready. We figured we would get to Seattle, park, explore, and all would be good.

We weren't quite right.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 10:42

We got off the Interstate. It took us about 30-minutes to drive between where we stayed and downtown. All things considered, not bad.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 11:30

Almost 1-hour later we finally found parking for less than $20/hour, within decent walking distance of where we wanted to be. We parked and prepared to enjoy the rest of the day.
Our first stop was the Seattle Aquarium. This was the one thing that every single one of us wanted to do while on our Seattle trip. The rest of it was an added bonus (*grin*). We enjoyed looking at all the fish and aquatic animals. We got to watch divers feed fish in the dome tank, we watched the octopus flirt with Val (well, it was following her as she walked around the tank, and changing colors as it did so!), and we watched jellyfish.

After lunch we went to Ivars to enjoy clam chowder, fish and fries, shrimp cocktail, and prawns and fries. I am not a big seafood fan, but I do love Ivars. I think it's the memories of eating there when I was little when we would visit Seattle that make it so fun.

After lunch it was time to head to Pike Market. We walked all over the market, looking at the beautiful flowers and fresh produce. We visited the Market Spice Tea store where I bought some delicious tea. We took our pictures with cardboard celebrities. We also spent a great deal of time in the Sur La Table store, dreaming about "someday" when we are rich, or have our own homes, and want to get fun stuff for our kitchens. We took pictures outside the world's first Starbucks. It was great fun.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 17:20

Eventually we were all tired and hungry and ready to go home.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 17:57

We decided to stop at Safeway in Seattle to get a few things for dinner. We found this particular Safeway interesting because it had a parking garage. . .something we definitely don't see back home!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 19:05

We finally arrived back "home," fixed ourselves some dinner, and then went for a walk with Val's aunt. She showed us a cute little lake near her house, and drove us around her town. Eventually we all crashed, ready for the next day of adventures!

While I'm Waiting (John Waller)

We interrupt the Seattle Trip posts to bring you this "rest stop" in our virtual road trip.

If you have seen the movie "Fireproof" you might recognize this song. . .and if you haven't seen the movie, drop everything and watch it now. It's that good. But anyway, I digress. . .

Last night (er. . .and early this morning) I was talking with a friend on the phone. She and I are, at this point, at completely different points in our lives. We are both waiting for answers for various (different) questions we have, and while our stories at the moment are different, somehow there is something similar between the two. I originally heard this song in the movie "Fireproof," as I mentioned, but I heard it again recently and it came to mind after my conversation with my friend last night. I thought I would share it with you all here.



While I'm Waiting
John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Seattle Trip Pictures: Tuesday

Sarah, Val and Michelle in Gig Harbor.

Me near the front of the ferry. My hair was going crazy!

Michelle, Sarah, me and Val at the Rainforest Cafe.

Seattle Trip Part 2: Tuesday

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 08:57

We departed my cousins' house and this time it was my turn to drive. At my aunt's suggestion we decided to drive around Puget Sound, crossing at the Narrows bridge in Tacoma. The bridge is HUGE. . .very tall, and it looks quite impressive. I didn't get a picture because I was driving. :)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 10:03

We decided to pull off in the town of Gig Harbor on the other side of the Sound. It was a cute little town with lots of sailboats, and some resident crabs living in the water near the shore. We were really glad that we decided to stop in this town because it was quite fun to explore.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 11:34

We arrived in Poulsbo, Washington, a little Norwegian town. It was cute - filled with lots of "gifty" and "cutesy" shops, and we enjoyed walking the streets. We also went down to the water, once again, to look at the resident aquatic life and inhale the sweet scent of the sea.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 13:07

To return to Seattle we boarded a ferry in Bainbridge. We parked the car on the ferry and went up on the top deck to watch the Seattle skyline come into view. It was amazing - I think it was, quite possibly, the best spot for looking at the Seattle skyline. Honestly, the pictures couldn't even begin to do it justice. The front of the ferry was quite windy, to the point that I was literally being blown across the deck and had to hang onto the outside wall of the cabin so that I didn't blow away!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 14:20

Visiting IKEA is something we planned to do on Monday, but since we were delayed by traffic we postponed it until Tuesday. We decided to do that after the ferry, and we ended up exploring the massive shopping space and the eating a late lunch at their little cafeteria. There were definitely some cool things at the store - but furniture, etc. was quite pricey. However, I did get some good ideas for how to decorate my home - kitchen, bedrooms, etc. "someday."

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 15:40

Before we left on our adventure, my friend Devin told me about the Rainforest Cafe in the Westfield SouthCenter Mall. It sounded like a lot of fun, and after having several other people tell me how cool it was, I knew it would be fun for us to go there. So, we decided to eat dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We explored the mall first, and then headed in for dinner. Wow. I loved the jungle theme. Every 20-30 minutes the lights dimmed and "lightening" flashed across the sky. At this noise the monkeys and gorillas started to sing, and eventually the elephants joined in. It was quite the experience and, I think, totally worth it!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 19:34

Our goal on this trip was to try eating venues that we don't have here in North Idaho. We purchased Entertainment Books which gave us Buy-One-Get-One coupons for the major attractions, as well as coupons for restaurants, etc. We decided to use our coupons for the Marble Slab Creamery, which is very similar to Coldstone Creamery, but had some different, more unique ice cream flavors. I got raspberry ice cream with Sour Patch Kids candy mixed in. Yum!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009: 20:39

For the majority of the trip we stayed with Val's aunt who lives outside of Seattle. We finally arrived at her house, lugged all of our stuff inside, and began making plans for Day 3 of our Seattle Adventure. :)

Stay tuned for Day 3. . .

Seattle Trip Pictures: Monday

Me, with the beautiful Columbia River in the background.

Val, Sarah & Michelle on one of the horses at the Wild Horses Memorial.

The view from the car. . .this was taken at some point while we were "stuck" on I-90.

Seattle Trip Part 1: Monday

Hello! I'm Laura, and I'm here to tell you about my roadtrip to Seattle with three of my closest friends. My plan is to devote one or two blog posts to each day of our trip. I will share with you some pictures, as well as what we did each day. Are you ready to go on a virtual roadtrip? Fasten your virtual seatbelt, and let's go!

Monday, May 25, 2009: 08:42

We loaded up the car, and departed on our journey, excited for the adventures that were sure to lie ahead. We were armed with lots of snacks (thanks to Sarah) and were fairly well rested. We loaded the CD player with a VeggieTales CD, and began the drive across the great state of Washington.

Monday, May 25, 2009: 11:35

On the side of I-90, up on a hill, is a Wild Horses Memorial - a whole bunch of metal horses line the top of the hill in memory of the wild horses that used to roam the area. Visitors can hike to the top of the hill and even climb up on the horses, all the while overlooking the magnificent Columbia River. We decided to stop at this spot to eat our lunch, (Sarah made us some amazing Curry Chicken Salad!) and we spent over an hour eating, climbing on the horses and taking pictures. However, before long it was time to be on our way again.

Monday, May 25, 2009: 13:54

The journey westward was going well, with smooth sailing, until this point. However, lest we should get the early impression that this trip would be flawless, in the next 2+ hours we traversed a grand total of 30 miles - 6 of those miles were covered over a 45-minute period. Yes, traffic was bad. :) I tried to keep myself amused by taking random pictures, logging in our notebook about where we were, and we continued to listen to music. Once we got to the base of Snoqualmie Pass, it was, once again, smooth sailing. . .but by then we were tired, bored, and starting to get a bit frustrated with traffic.

Monday, May 25, 2009: 17:53

We arrived at my cousins' house, where we stayed for the first night of our adventure. We ate a tasty dinner of hamburgers and potato salad, went for a walk, and then enjoyed a mint ice cream dessert. We collapsed into bed later that night, tired, but excited about what the rest of the week would bring.

Stay Tuned For Part 2. . .

I'm Baaaack!!!!

Oh girls they wanna have fun

Oh girls just wanna have fun

- From the song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm back! :) I am starting to work on some blog entries about my trip - it was absolutely amazing, totally awesome, and something I won't soon forget. :) We girls DID have fun. . .and I hope to soon share all that fun with you. I took over 500 pictures. . .but don't worry, I won't post them ALL. . .just enough to give you a sneak-peek. :)

Stay tuned. . .