Seafood Fest, Ballard, Woodland Park Zoo

Ah....another weekend full of exploring. This weekend Amy and I decided we needed a break from our weekends. We have been exploring non stop, and just needed a day to relax and run normal errands. I know....poor us. Anyway, Saturday came after a quick week at work, and we had plans to attend another festival. In Ballard, a neighborhood of Seattle, they have an annual Seafood fest, and it sounded like fun. We left the house early and drove up to the little
town just north of Seattle. We got there early to take advantage of free street parking, and decided to walk down to the Hiram M. Chittendon Locks. On our way we saw signs to take a tour of the ships of the Deadliest Catch.  We got to see the famous Northwestern and were able to board the Sea Star which I believe was in Season 1 of the show. Now, the Sea Star is decommissioned to actually fish, but works for the Discovery channel as a camera boat. We got to talk to the captain, and see some of the gear on the deck of the boat. We decided to not take the tour, just in case my Mom and Greg decide to come visit. We then walked to the Locks. These locks separate the Puget Sound and Lake Washington. We walked down and saw the boats sail into the locks from the Puget Sound. The water rises 26 feet in about 10 minutes, and then the locks open again to Lake Washington. It was interesting to watch, as these were the biggest locks that I've seen. Also, in the locks they have the salmon ladder. The salmon ladder was built as a result of the locks so that the salmon could swim back upstream to Lake Washington and its rivers to spawn. They have a great bridge separated by a dam and the locks where you can look into the water of Puget Sound and see hundreds of Salmon swimming around. They also have a great path that walks along the steps of the fish ladder, where the fish are supposed to jump from "step to step" to eventually make it up to Lake Washington. There is also a viewing area at the final steps of the fish ladder which take you underground to an aquarium like view of all the fish swimming against the current. It was pretty cool to see. Some of those fish were huge, and they could have been our dinner for weeks! After the fish ladder we walked around the garden for a bit before making our way back to the start of the seafood festival. We walked around the festival and they had very similar things to the other 2 festivals we have been to. We sampled some food and bbq and walked around, Amy hit the wine tasting tent and had some Washington wines, and we even caught a herring eating contest (it was short, the guy who won took 8 seconds to drink down a plate of herring). We then decided to do a couple other site seeing activities as we don't go north of Seattle all to often. We went to see the Fremont Troll under the Aurora bridge. This awesome piece of art is completely made of cement and lies underneath the bridge. It is oddly out of place, but is amazing when you drive up to it. You don't expect such a cool looking piece of art to be beneath a crummy old bridge. Afterwards, we drove over to Gas Works Park which we saw on the duck tour, but never had the leisure of walking around it and seeing the art there. The Gas Works Park is filled with old gas mining equipment and towers that the city made safe, left there, and then called it artwork. It lies right on Lake Union and as we ascended "Kite Hill" we could see the Seattle skyline and all the planes landing and taking off from Lake Union.

The next day we ran some errands and then made plans to go to the Woodland Park Zoo where we had tickets to see Marc Broussard that night in concert. 

We packed a nice little picnic and drove up to the zoo. The zoo was actually pretty nice. Actually, besides the National Zoo in Washington D.C. it was

one of the nicest zoos I have been to. They have a good layout where you can have views of the animals from every direction so even if they are hiding in a corner of their pen, you can have a good view. That evening, we got our cooler full of food and headed for the grounds where "Zoo Tunes" was held. It was a relaxing evening with good, soulful Lousiana music. Marc Broussard

and Sharon Jones were both good singers, and as I looked around, it was funny to see so many yuppies trying to identify with soul music. All in all, it was a good relaxing night. Until next time, Seattle SeaFair's Air and Water Show, and golfing with some friends we've met here. 

Bainbridge Island, The Bite of Seattle, and RED SOX!!

Saturday July 18th

Well the four 10 hour days are getting better but by Friday night, both of us are tired! I had planned the majority of the weekend during the week, so early on

Saturday, I got Amy out of the house before 10AM!! We drove down to

Seattle and took the ferry from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island where we could check out the sites, vineyards, and small towns of the Kitsap Peninsula. We reached the dock around 10:30 on the chilly Saturday and drove right onto the ferry. We walked to the top level to assure a good viewing platform as we cruised from the port. It's only a 35 minute ferry ride, because MAN!! that ferry cruises at pretty good speeds. Coupled with the temperature in the

mid 50's and the wind from the speed of the ferry, it was quite chilly on the main deck. We toughed it out, and got some great shots. I personally thought the ferry boat ride was more fun and had better views than the cruise of Elliot Bay that we did earlier in the month. It was a beautiful day and Mt. Rainier was out in the background, so we were able to take great pictures. After landing on Bainbridge Island, we didn't have plans, other than to roam around and explore the town. We drove to Winslow which is right off of the port and parked in the town. We ventured into the farmer's market where we got to sample some good food and had some lunch. Afterwards, we walked around the town and explored the little shops that line Main Street. After looking into some of the other activities of the island we visited a couple local wineries and sampled their wine. One in particular is the only winery to grow their own grapes on the island, where the others ship them in from Walla Walla. We came out with about 4-5 different bottles of mostly white wine. We then drove to a small town
across the bridge from Bainbridge to a Swedish community named Poulsbo. Amy's Grampie was Swedish so she thoroughly enjoyed the T-shirts like "Built Fjord Tough" which she was going to get for her brother Scott. We walked around the little town there which had trolls and vikings in every knick knack store. Still not sure about the Norwegian affinity for trolls, but it was an interesting town. The town is right on the water in a valley surrounded by mountains and we bought some ice cream and walked around the water. We drove back later that night to Bainbridge, caught a quick Mexican meal for dinner, and boarded the ferry to catch sunset across Elliot Bay while we ferried back to Seattle. The views on the way back from Bainbridge were beautiful, especially at sunset, and I really enjoyed the ferry ride to and from the island. 

The next morning we had plans to attend the annual "Bite of Seattle" which is the equivolent to the "Taste of Chicago" where numerous restaurants and food vendors from around the area set up booths. For a fee, you can try little dishes that they offer. We decided to leave early in the morning and find choice parking in the city. We then decided to check out the views from the Space Needle before heading to the "bite". Built in 1962 for the World's Fair, the Space Needle elevator soon thrusted us 41 seconds up to the top level floor where we were greeted with gorgeous views of the city, the Puget Sound, Elliot Bay, the mountains, and even Canada in the distance. The 360 degree view of the city and the surroundings were breathtaking. We spent an hour or so walking and sightseeing around the Needle. Afterwards, we

bought tickets to come back at sunset/dusk so that Amy could snap a few more pictures. We then took the elevator down to the base and walked to Seattle Center for the "Bite". With tents lined throughout Seattle Center, we tried to attack the "Bite" methodically. We tried multiple things from different tents. From Beef and Cheese Piroshky's to Smoked Alaskan King Salmon, to wild boar chili, to vietnamese spring rolls we tried small dishes from many of the vendors. We also enjoyed the sights and sounds of the festival, with 4 stages of music playing we sat on the grassy field and relaxed under the beautiful sky. We also caught a horrible comedy act, which I wanted to walk out on, and a corny cooking show which was disgustingly fake because it was being televised. At the end of the "Bite" we went back to the Space Needle at dusk to take more pictures of the scenery. It was gorgeous to see the sun setting over the Cascade Mountain range from the top of the Space Needle. 

The next day we had plans to go see the BOSTON RED SOX!! We had great seats (thanks to Amy) on the third base line, 7 rows up from the field. We drove into the city around noon and first took a tour of SafeCo Field. The field is nice, and we got to see the field and all the luxury seats, and sit in the visitors dugout. I wanted to engrave "Go Sox" into the dugout bench. We also saw Terry Francona hanging out on the field warming up with some of the coaches hours before the game. We then walked over to the Pyramid Ale House next to the field for a quick bite of lunch and beer. Amy again, tried the beer sampler of 5 different beers and really enjoyed them. They actually had some great beers, with my favorite being their Hefeweizen. Afterwards, we walked back through Pioneer Square, and to Pike's Place Market to get Amy a

"Pike's Market" apron (and some more ice cream) before we headed back to the stadium for the game. We got to the stadium as the gates opened 2 hours before game time to watch some batting practice. We took some great pictures of the Red sox with Amy's new telephoto lens and sat in right field to try to catch a home run ball. JD Drew actually line drived a home run right at me, but after judging the velocity of the ball, I allowed a guy behind me to catch it with his glove. I still regret not taking my hat off and trying to catch the ball. We tried the world famous Grounders "garlic fries" which is just fries that are literally covered with a entire bulb of minced garlic. Amy said they rivaled the famous Chickie's and Pete's Crab fries of Philly!! We found our seats and awaited the first pitch. I was still a little nervous, as the Red Sox have dropped 4 of the last games that I have attended. Our friend Murph from Florida said I would be forbidden to attend any more if they lost out here. In the 4th inning Jason Varitek came through and busted a left field home run, and Jon Lester pitched an awesome game, and, of course, the Red Sox won 4-0. It was a great end to a great weekend!! Until next time!!

Here are pictures of Jon Lester's awesome pitching performance, The Papelbon stare in which he got his 30th save, and Youkilis after he was falsely called out on strikes!

West Seattle/Snoqualmie Falls

Another weekend, another few days of exploring our new surroundings. I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying this 3 day weekend routine. It really gives you a chance to relax after 4 days of work. So, this weekend, I continued to recover from my

flu/food poisoning/whatever, and still haven’t quite regained full strength yet. Saturday we had to run some errands, so Amy and I ventured into a neighboring town named Federal Way to look for a new camera bag. While in Federal Way, I did a little research and found that they have absolutely nothing in the town except for an Rhododendron botanical garden and Bonsai sculpture garden. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Rhododendron, you should probably look elsewhere for the information, because, in the Brandon dictionary, a Rhododendron is a bush. There are many types of Rhododendron (bushes) apparently, because the garden we walked around was 22 acres of bushes. The actual environment of the garden was beautiful, with separate sub-gardens throughout the park. We asked the lady at the desk how long it usually takes to walk around, and she said that some people take all day to appreciate the Rhododendron. Amy and I were in and out in 40 minutes, only in part because we got lost a couple times. Again, it was beautiful scenery, but we probably don’t appreciate the Rhododendron like the grounds keeper. Right next door, was a Bonsai garden.

Now, I felt it was much more interesting then the other garden. All the Bonsai trees were different species but they were truly works of art. Years are taken to accurately trim and shape these trees to make works of art. It’s incredibly difficult…just ask my Mom who killed the one that I bought for her for Mother’s Day a few years ago….. :) Sorry Mom. The next day we had plans to go to West Seattle, for the West Seattle Summerfest. Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, West Seattle is different than that of Downtown, because it is lies on the other side of Elliot Bay. It also houses one of the greatest beaches

in the area named Alki beach. We tried to beat traffic and left the house rather early, found adequate parking, and walked around the great little farmers market that they had. The market featured a decent amount of vegan options, and organic produce from local farms. Amy found herself trying a vegan ginger cookie that consisted of soy this, soy that, and non enriched flour, and no sugar/preservatives. It tasted like gritty poo, and ended up giving Amy a stomach ache. We walked around the street festival lined with tents and music stages at both ends. Amy

bought a few knick knacks of memorabilia, and then decided to check out the scenic drive around the West Seattle peninsula. They say that the best views of Seattle, are from West Seattle, and they are right. As soon as we found the route along the water, we drove down the coast, stopping sporadically for photo ops here and there and checking out the sights. We first stopped at the Alki Lighthouse, which houses two very high ranking officers in the US coast guard. Here are pictures of the lighthouse (just for you mom!) My mom has a thing for lighthouses. We drove down for lunch to a place called Salty’s right on Alki beach, but were turned away until dinner service as they were finishing up a brunch buffet (which we plan on trying as it is ranked #1 brunch in the US via MSN). We parked the car nearby and walked down the shore and saw scuba divers emerging from the water. Crazy Seattleites!! The guy, told me I should try it, but with 50 degree water in the summer and 30 feet of visibility, I think I will stick to my dives in the Caribbean waters (but no more throwing up 30 feet underwater, even though it is an interesting way to see a lot more fish). We ended up walking clear down the shore about 2 miles, watched some beach volleyball, and then came back to enjoy the best dinner we have had in Seattle as of yet. The views, service, and food were amazing. As the restaurant sits on the bay, and we sat outside on a gorgeous day, we got to see the Seattle skyline and enjoy a great seafood dinner. At the conclusion of dinner, Amy wanted to try their famous “The Best Chocolate Cake Ever”. After trying it, Amy even said that, “this is the best chocolate cake ever!" It was dark moist chocolate cake, layered with chocolate cream, surrounded by chocolate frosting sitting in a bath of dark and white chocolate sauce, and then covered with warm melting chocolate. We don’t have a picture, but it was quite the sight, and whoever comes out to visit us, will be treated to this dessert. Now, I’m not a big fan of chocolate, so you can imagine that Amy ate the majority of the cake, and soon fell into a food coma at home. Great day exploring West Seattle!

The following day, we had plans to relax and get ready for work the next day, so we decided on a quick

½ day trip out to Snoqualmie Falls which is about 30 miles east of Seattle. Being the most popular waterfall in the area with over 1.5 million visitors per year, and being in the top 5 in Washington for size/intensity, the falls were amazing! We pulled up and saw the falls from the very top and they were gorgeous. We walked around the top of the falls and towards the gazebo that acted as the viewing tower. Then we took a ½ mile hike downward to another viewing stop at the bottom of the falls. The hike down was pretty steep, but not difficult. We got to the end of the other viewing station and it was still relatively far from the falls. So, we stared at the “Stay on the boardwalk sign”…and we jumped off of the boardwalk, hiked down the rocks and walked closer to the falls. The view
from up close was amazing and you can feel the raw
intensity of millions of gallons of water crashing into the rocks, and feel the mist fill up the canyon and roll downstream. Next, we went to a local brewery pub, for lunch, where it was

surprisingly good. Amy, of course, had the taster which consisted of the brewery’s 9 beers. She says that she tends to prefer wine over beer now, but man, she can still put down a good amount of beer. Next weekend, we are invited to attend our current companies annual picnic, so we’ll see what transpires. Until next week everyone. 

More Touring of Seattle

So I had some time to update the blog again, as I have been plagued by some food poisoning (hopefully Amy's not trying to kill me) over the last couple days and had to miss work.

So, the rest of the weekend went well. Before venturing to Seattle we stopped by a camera shop so Amy could buy a new telephoto lens for her camera. The lens is leagues better

than her old one, so hopefully we can provide nicer pictures! We took another tour that was very informative, as well as entertaining. Appropriately named the Seattle

Underground Tour, you actually go beneath the streets of Pioneer Square to what once was the sidewalks of Seattle. To make a long story short, because of a severe deficit in sewage technology and the ramping hills from downtown Seattle to the Puget Sound the city was forced to build both the streets and newer buildings up one level. Now, all the second floors became first floors and so on.... So Yes, an excess of poo drove the city to build up. It was a very interesting tour filled with good historical information and quick wit and sarcasm which is right up my alley. I would recommend all who visit Seattle to take the tour. They actually lead you down into the old subterranean streets of Seattle so that you can see where old store windows and shops once stood. I never thought I was claustrophobic, but I did feel a bit uneasy staying down there. After the tour we walked down to a restaurant called "Salumi" which we saw on the Food Network. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we walked back to Pike's Market and had a quick lunch of macaroni and cheese and turkey sandwich at Beecher's Cheese Shop where they make there own cheese. We got to sit, eat, and watch as we saw the cheese makers go through the process of mixing the curds and "cheddaring" the cheese. We then walked down to the water where Amy had to have a quick photo-op with "McDreamy" and then visited the

 Aquarium. As soon as we walked in there was a huge

tank (probably like most aquariums) with a scuba diver in it, answering questions from the kids. The rest of the aquarium was very small, and I think Amy and I walked through it in less than an hour. Amy really enjoyed watching the otters and sea lions, and I liked the "petting farm" where you can touch the underwater animals in 40 degree water e.g. starfish, sea

 anemones, sea cucumbers. The aquarium actually pumps the water right from puget sound to all their tanks to impose a genuine (cold) environment for all the fish. After the aquarium we took a cruise around Elliot Bay for a more scenic view of the city skyline.

Again, we got to see more ships from the Deadliest Catch and some great views of the city and of Mt. Ranier in the background. The Olympic Mountains in the back were also gorgeous, but Mt. Ranier and the views of Seattle were the highlights.