Mom and Dad's Visit

Where have the last 10 days gone? Mom and Dad were here and we took the city by storm with all that we did and now our apartment is empty again. What a great week it has been! As soon as I said my goodbyes on the last day of school I was out of there; eager to see my parents. With a slight glitch in their travel itinerary, they arrived safely on Friday morning. A little weary looking but ready to go, we headed downtown in the afternoon sun to Pike's Place Market. It wasn't long before we had fresh pasta in our hands, saw the fish guys do their thing, and had already made another purchase or two. That was just the beginning of the ground we would cover on foot and in the car! We met Charlie that night for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant and then it was an early night as Mom and Dad were exhausted and they had been up for 22 hours. Saturday was really a "welcome to the west coast" as the four of us drove to neighboring Fremont for the Summer Solstice Festival to kick off the first day of summer. It's a huge event with a parade that kicks it off. The novelty of this parade is that it is led by people riding naked on their bikes. Most of them were covered in body paint; some in design and some in character (one of my favorites was a man dressed as a stimulus package-how patriotic of him!) I have never seen anything like it in my life and we were definitely all in awe at first. More power to those that are comfortable being naked. The area was packed with thousands upon thousands of people of all ages. Joe and I found ourselves in conversation about our "hypothetical children" and whether we would take them to the naked bike parade. Joe said yes and so I told him that if they had any questions my response would be to go ask their father.
Father's Day found us at the aquarium and then on the Underground Tour where we got to learn a little history about the city. I learned of this great deal where selected cities in the country offer what's called the "City Pass" where you can get passes to a number of attractions for a discount price. It was so worth it and throughout the course of the week we did the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center with an IMAX movie 3D called "Under The Sea," a harbor cruise that went out on the Sound where we had great views of Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountains, the Museum of Flight, and the zoo. I've been waiting for visitors to do more of the tourist attractions and now have checked everything off my list! On Monday we took a ferry across to San Juan Island where I attempted once again to see the Orca whales (with no luck!). It was a gorgeous sunny day and we walked around the town and the shops, had lunch at a little cafe, and took the car out to Limekiln Park where there is a lighthouse and where when the timing is right you can see the Orca whales. We were about 2 hours too early as they were spotted north on their way down. It became the running joke with mom that she was going to buy me a stuffed orca whale since I've missed seeing them twice now. Maybe three times is the charm!
An even further getaway for us came on Wednesday and Thursday where we drove 3 and a half hours through the Cascade Mountains to the center of Washington and an area known as Lake Chelan. In the middle of desert mountains sits this beautiful (and huge!) lake (the 3rd deepest lake in the country) surrounded by vineyards and a little downtown. We got there around lunchtime and got some munchies and took them to the picnic tables right by the lake. Lots of families and kids around enjoying the beautiful weather and a hotspot for groups of teenagers to hang out. After lunch we visited a few wineries and then hit the shops downtown. We got a hotel room for the night and had a BBQ dinner at one of the wineries with a glimpse of the lake. It triuly is a beautiful area.
Since we were so close, we made a stop at the Bavarian town of Leavenworth to show Mom and Dad how a little taste of Germany was just plopped in the mountains. Joe and Dad enjoyed their brautwursts and german beer and it was another nice day to walk around and enjoy the weather. We made it back into Seattle with perfect timing to try a new Italian restaurant in the city. A little hole in the wall that Grandpa would have approved of.
Friday early afternoon was spent at the Museum of Flight (dad was in his glory :-) before heading downtown to do one more walk through of the Market and for another taste of Pike's Place Chowder which we turned Mom and Dad onto. We had a beautiful day at the zoo yesterday and then met Charlie for dinner. We got a nice guided tour of the mansion houses on Capitol Hill thanks to Charlie before calling it a night.
Now Mom and Dad will be able to attest to the fact that we do have nice sunny weather out here as they got to see it everyday! It was fun to show Mom and Dad all there is to fall in love with in Seattle and why we like it so much. Now my belly must recuperate from all the yummy food we ate and it's time to get ready for our next adventure.....time on the Oregon Coast with Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael and then their visit to Seattle. Gotta love summer vacation! :-)

I'm sitting here on the eve before my last week of school and all I can do is think of things to put together a tentative itinerary for when mom and dad visit. Can you see where my mind has gone? I think it's been on "summer vacation mode" since Memorial Day. I've finished up my last week of therapy with all of my kids and now this week I get to focus on getting my paperwork done, tying up loose ends, and actually getting organized for the first time all year! I am sooo looking forward to having time to get these things done! The end of the school year could not come at a better time as my commute has gotten increasingly worse as the days and weeks go on. I'm looking forward to a break from sitting in stand still traffic, inching my way at less than 10 miles an hour, and taking 1 1/2 hours to get home. Thank goodness for cell phones as it's a great time for me to catch up with people (in a very safe and focused way- don't worry Grama!)
Joe and I have found ourselves in a bit of a haze when the weekends approach. We are very inclined to sleep in and then spend a few hours together before Joe goes to work. Yesterday the sun was out and was inviting to anyone sitting in their stuffy apartments. I talked Joe into walking to one of our favorite places to pass time-the used bookstore. This place is great for 2nd hand books and the selection is huge. After making our purchases and stopping for coffee (because 9 times out of 10 that's just what you do when you're out and about in a city where coffee is more prevalent than food! ), we found an empty bench on Seattle University's campus to park and enjoy the sunshine.
My reading material consisted of the Happy Hour booklet that was just published this week for all the summer deals and Joe was intently focused on his fantasy book. As we sat in this peaceful and serene atmosphere I found myself wanting to talk out loud about all the fun things I was finding. After the 3rd time of reading off an entire menu, Joe looked at me as asked if I could just read silently. I had to remind him that I don't do "silent" well and I'm more inclined to just talk about anything. I guess I should have just stopped at "enjoying each other's company" and not gone overboard with too much chattiness. Isn't it true that you should keep the lines of communication open in marriage- even when it is just to share your excitement of cheap food and drinks?
I spent today wandering downtown among the shops and the market (a past time I've come to really enjoy when I've got nothing else to do). I learned that with the summertime comes an influx of tourists and not just of the English speaking type. Lots of French was heard amongst the throngs of people. The cruise ships dock now on the weekends (huge boats right on the Sound in front of the market) and I'm guessing that they have to be coming from somewhere in Canada. I also was privy to the passing of the wonderful British accent as I watched two guys in their very obvious British trousers and trainers jaywalk in the middle of the street. You just don't do that here and I found myself squirming for them. I still feel faraway from being coined a "native" in this area but at least I got the street crossing rules down pat!

The heat has subsided (for now anyway) and we can finally tolerate being in our apartment once again! This past week was another hot one and temperatures just started to cool (and by cool I mean 70) on Friday afternoon. It was so hard to be at work, be at home, pretty much be anywhere and feel such heat! Who knew that I could actually enjoy sitting in traffic as it was one of the few places that I could have air condition blasting on me. Of course the sun took hiding this weekend and only made brief appearances but for now that is okay with me (at least until mom and dad get here). Joe and I ventured down into the International District yesterday for lunch and then walked into some of the asian stores. I keep rediscovering my love for Asian food. I mean there aren't many ways to go wrong with rice and noodles. :-) We went into this neat Asian antique store with beautifully designed chests, vases, tables, etc. Not one piece could we afford but with the right house there were some really neat pieces. It's always nice to dream. Later in the day I went with a friend to a BBQ over on Alki Beach. This beach house was right on the water and as soon as we got out of the car I could smell the salt water. Of course the sky was gray and the air a litte chilly but the sound of the waves was literally right at the doorstep. I learned how to play a new game called Ladder Golf. I'd like to think that my years of playing bean bag toss at the lake helped with my skills as I definitely had beginners luck!
Today Joe actually had a Sunday off! We went to the Arboretum which is a park full of trails nearby so I could try out my hiking boots. I will admit that they are comfortable to walk in but the cuteness factor is still low. It was nice to have the fresh air and the time together. Sometimes it feels like our lives are going parallel with our work schedules and time together is not always a given.
Today was one of the days where I missed something important as Emily's bridal shower was today. I got to see pictures and hear about it but it's not the same as being there. I struggle sometimes with wanting to be two places at once and realizing some sacrafices will need to be made from time to time. So far telling myself hasn't made it any easier....still waiting for that to happen. And so it goes....