Our good friends run the Puget Sound Aikaiki and the husband was excited about taking an aikido class the first morning we were there. The dojo is right across the canal from Freemont so I wandered around the bike path down there, watched the bridge go up and down, and wandered the streets of Freemont.
After the classes we joined the group for a nice dinner at a Belgian Beer Hall across the bridge. Apparently our friends were a bit worried that we wouldn't fit in with their closeknit group (mostly coders for microsoft) but I embarrassed myself immediately by referencing a Stargate episode and out dorked the dorks. I sometimes forget that my type of dork (science) isn't the only type of dork out there so I spent the rest of the evening saying vapid things about Lady Gaga and Ted Kennedy.
The next morning I met a friend from grad school for an early breakfast at Volunteer Park Cafe at 17th and Galer. Totally unbeknownst to me I had to walk right by Dan Savage's house (the writer who lives in Seattle) in order to get to where I was going.
This required me to walk through the Capitol Hill neighborhood, one of the most architechtually interesting places I've ever been.
After breakfast, we loaded up a picnic and headed to the beach. Now its not a swimming beach but people just kind of hang around on the rocky sand and do stuff. At this point I've just accepted that every time I open my eyes I will see a stunning incredible view of Seattle but here are some pictures to show you:
We also saw the most rediculous hipster that has ever burned my eyeballs. He was fishing in a 1920s style onesie bathing suit. The suit was bright red stripe with a green butt flap and fanny pack. It was an incredible specimen and blew the Brooklyn hipsters out of the water. Pick it up Brooklyn!
I'm not sure what we did for the remainder of the afternoon but I can assure you it probably consisted of hanging out, having interesting conversations and just generally basking in the warmth of our friendships.
I believe it was that evening when we went to Poppy, a relatively new restaurant on Broadway and Roy. Here's their website They set up a series of tastes, think little ramikens on a round tray, and you order one of 4 or 5 of the selections. Mine had little pickles, string beans and shallots, a lobster mushroom lasagna, a beet salad, some icky tomatoes, and the best gosh darn thing I've ever tasted (sorry roasted cauliflower soup from Blue Hill) a sweet corn soup with lemon and thyme. It was a perfect blend of sweet and savory with a really smooth consistency. I really wanted to order more of it for dessert. We rolled out of there so happy and stuffed with a couple of new tastes for us to think about.
Out of respect for my marriage I will not post pictures of what we did the next day but it was silly and rediculous. Malory suggested that we head out to a 13th Century village living museum complete with costumes from her friend Staci. So we pile in the car (with Jonathan dressed half in his version of 13th C clothing and half as a samurai) and don Staci's renaissance/elizabethan/ye olde oldey timey costumes. Malory and I are both in complete head to toe and Peter has thrown on a pirate tunic and large floppy hat complete with giant feather. Staci, the master of this plan, decides she's not going to dress up but throws on a very silly red wig and informs us that this really isn't a festival like we originally thought but just a place where they show you with it is like at that time period. No one but the people who work there will be in costume, including her.
So we get in the car, drive there and wander around in the rain. We have a quick and surprisingly good meal, a few glasses of mead and spiced wine and talk to the "villagers" about their crafts. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without the mead or costumes though I have to say I was really happy to get that corset and 20 yards of wet velvet off my body.
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