Seattle, Philly, FL, NYC! XMAS!!

First of all, we are up to 250 hits on our blog!! That's crazy. I have no idea who is reading this thing, besides our family and a few friends who express their pleasure/displeasure with it, as it

 started to just preserve our memories and experiences accurately, but that's awesome! Glad i'm writing to an audience, so maybe I can quit my PT job one day, and write for Fodor's :)

The last week since we left Seattle has been a virtual whirlwind of activity. Amy and I were able to escape seattle after the first snow storm. I flew out on Sunday to Florida, and Amy flew out the next day to Pennsylvania. I arrived in FL without a hitch, but the next AM I got a panicked

 call from Amy, as no cab would come out and pick her up because the roads were so bad from a storm 2 days ago!!! Believe it or not, the Cascade mountains surrounding the area protect Seattle from a lot of snow, so no one knows what to do when it snows. With a little luck, and pleading from both Amy and I, a cab came by and picked up Amy in the nick of time and she made her flight out home. I spent the next couple days in 80 degree weather, sitting in the backyard (like i am now) soaking in the sun and relaxing. Amy spent some time with her friends in the Poconos, and on Wednesday, I flew up to spend some time with Amy and her family in Downingtown. I got to the airport in West Palm Beach with plenty of time to spare, but as I approached the gate, they made an announcement saying that the flight may be delayed for 2 hours secondary to bad weather conditions around Philadelphia. Frustrated, I walked down the terminal a bit and sat at a little pizza place to grab a bite. 20 minutes later, as I was finishing my pizza, I hear my name announced over the intercom! They had gotten clearance and were waiting for me on the plane. I ran onto the plane, with no problem, and made the flight. Amy picked me up from the airport and we drove back to her house where we hung out with Mr. and Mrs. Ward. Mr. Ward cooked an awesome seafood dish recipe he got from the Bonefish Grill. Amy's Xmas gift also came that day, so we exchanged a gift or two, and even though, she wanted a wide angle lens for her SLR camera, I got her a laptop to more adequately store and manage the pictures she has. (Also, i was getting tired of fixing the problems with her old one). She wasn't thrilled with the gift at first, but I think she is enjoying it more now. The next day, we awoke with plans to have lunch with Amy's "grams", but she wasn't feeling up to it, so we ventured to the King of Prussia mall to do some last minute Xmas shopping before we met with my sister, Vanessa, who is working currently in Pennsylvania, doing contract work for Wyeth. Dinner with Vanessa was good, but we had to cut short our meeting, as we had plans to take Amy's brother Scott and his wife Gail to New York to catch some of the Xmas sites. We drove to Scott's house in Conshohoken, which looked awesome with all the Xmas decorations and renovations they did to their house, and spent the night. The weather forecast for NYC the next day was Heavy snow with sleet, and more snow. After further contemplation, we decided to go. We awoke the next AM and drove to Hamilton, NJ to take the NJ transit into Penn Station. We had plans to meet my aunt Nora and my 2 cousins in Chinatown for Dim sum, so that Amy could meet them, and so Scott and Gail could

have their first dim sum experience. We exited the train

 station, and had some time to kill, so we walked to times

 square (in the snow). We weent into the Toys "R" Us. I haven't been there in years, but it was bigger than I remembered, with a ferris wheel spanning over 4 floors of toys! Pictured at right, they even have this life sized animatronic T-Rex that moved and growled.We cabbed it back to Chinatown for Dim Sum to see my sassy but cute

 cousins. Scott and Gail were troopers, trying a lot of the food, which i'm sure they had never

 seen before. Afterwards, we took the subway back to Midtown Manhattan and saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller center, the NBC store, and then walked uptown past the Macy window displays, to go to FAO Schwartz. The tree at Rockefeller center was gorgeous, but it was snowing so hard, it was a little tough to see. FAO, was fun to walk through, with big lego

 structures of batman, harry potter, and star wars characters. By that time, I think all of us had

 wet socks and shoes, and didn't want to continue to slush

 through

 the streets of manhattan with cold/wet feet. As we exited FAO, amy said the magic words, "hot whiskey" and Scott's eyes lit up. We found the nearest bar and hung out for a

 couple hours  until Scott and Gail had to meet their friends in the city for dinner. Amy and I were going to meet with our friends Mike and Lauren at the famous Buddakan restaurant in the meat packing district, but the weather was so bad, I cancelled our reservation and told Lauren it wasn't worth it to drive from NJ secondary to the road conditions. We took the subway back downtown as I had bought us tickets to go see "In the Heights", the new Tony award winning Broadway musical. We parted ways with Scott and Gail in the subway, picked up our tickets and then wandered around looking for dinner. We had passed the famous "Gray's Papaya" hotdog shop earlier, and had just seen it on Anthony Bourdain's show "no reservations" so we walkeddown a few blocks to try it. The hot dogs were thin, covered with saurkraut and a papaya sauce, with a papaya shake. The hot dogs were pretty good, but I would never trade it for a Fenway Frank. We walked back to the theatre, and had great Orchestra seats for the show. My feet were still wet and cold, but soon, the upbeat merengue/hip hop/salsa music filled the theatre. The musical was Awesome!! It was one of my favorites behind Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q. Below, pics at the theatre, and of the set!!

                                                                           ,       I highly recommend it. After the show, we walked down to Penn station, met up with Scott and Gail, and took the train back to NJ. Besides the weather, it was a nice NY trip and we got to see a lot despite the weather conditions. The next AM, we faced the BITTER cold, and Amy took me to my first Cracker Barrel experience for brunch, we made a quick stop at the traffic congested King of Prussia mall where Amy dropped me off and I ran in and ran out. We stopped by a couple other places for last minute gifts, picked up Grams at her house, where she showed me Grampie's amazing woodwork and her collection of tomtegubbars (swedish elves) and brought her back to the Wards, where my sister was going to join us for another amazing meal by executive chef Mr. Ward. The intoxicating smell of Turkey and all the trimmings filled the air of the Ward household, and when my sister arrived we had a great meal. Vanessa really enjoyed the Wards, and kept telling me how much fun she had at dinner meeting Amy's family. After dinner, Amy's friend Alicia and Brian, who I met in Virginia and fresh from their new engagement, were visiting her family in the area, and were at Victory, a local microbrewery. Amy dropped off Grams, and I rode with Vanessa to the bar. We stayed for a bit, enjoying the beer, and catching up with the Halitsky's. We made it home a little late that

 night, and had plans to go into Philadelphia the next AM to see and hang out with Tiffany and John, our friends we met in Naples, now living in Philly. We took the train in the AM and enjoyed a wonderful day of eating, drinking, and eating and drinking in Philly. John is a chef at a Stephan Starr restaurant, so we definitely appreciated his presence among us "foodies". We started in chinatown for another dim sum session, where we ordered John a virtual smorgasbord of chinese cuisine. Afterwards, we hit bars........First Triumph where the tanks of beer hung from the rafters feeding directly into the taps. Vanessa met us out, and then we continued to preceed to 2-3 other places where we tried different drinks while catching up. We walked back to Tiffy and Johns, caught some of the Philly Eagles game :( had a couple bottles of wine, and then we made it to Buddakan!! We've been wanting to go to Buddakan for some time now, and having missed it in NYC, we made it a priority to frequent it in Philly. Plus, Buddakan

 is a Stephen Starr restaurant, and John works for a Stephen Starr restaurant, so we got great

 service, choice seating, a discount, and free desserts! The layout of the restaurant is beautiful, with a huge statue of Buddha overlooking the entire restaurant. The food?? Amazing. I think we ordered 5 entrees and 4 appetizers between the 5 of us. All served Family style where we could all share, we nibbled on Kobe beef skewers, king crab dumplings, seared duck salad, diver

 scallops, Chilean Sea Bass, braised short rib, Wasabe encrusted Tuna, Duck breast, creme brulee, dimsum donuts with ginger cream cheese/rasberry/chocolate, and a banana/cookie tower...........an amazing meal!!! Again, a must have experience where this earns a Brandon and Amy Must Try....And after the amazing meal with the VIP treatment and discount, i think we only payed 30 a person!! After dinner, we waddled out the restaurant, said our quick goodbyes to Tiffy and John, and hit a cab back to Vanessa's friend's apartment, where Vanessa drove us

 back to the train station. The next AM we awoke and rescheduled our lunch with Grams for noon that day. Amy, made me dress up a bit, and I was a bit confused as she insisted on taking her Grams to Nudy's. Not sure what to expect, we picked up Grams and headed to Nudy's. My curiosity disappeared as we pulled up to a quaint little breakfast/lunch place located in a strip mall. We had a great lunch with grams, who is both sharp as a whip, and just a wonderful

 person. Afterwards, we headed back to the Wards house, where Mr. Ward ordered us all great Philly Cheese Steaks, and Amy's childhood friend Steph, came by to visit. The Ward's presented me with awesome Xmas gifts, including red sox gear and a little booklet of pictures chronologizing Amy's childhood! Little Amy pictures were awesome and I will post some of them upon request :) However, when I showed my mom the book when I got home to Florida,

 she got really excited and is out now putting together a little brandon book for Amy. That night, we spent the night at hotel Scott Ward's again, and left early the next AM to Vanessa's hotel, where we flew back here yesterday. Overall......a great trip to Philly. I'm sure those of you readers who know Amy's family know that they are a great hospitable bunch, and I am looking forward to visiting again. As for our travels next? We still do not know. All i know is our cars

 are under 2 feet of snow/ice in Seattle, and when we fly back there next week we will drive south towards better weather. We are still holding out for Arizona, but if we don't secure something by the time we get there, we will drive east towards florida and try to get a job

 there, if that doesn't work, we will turn north towards Virginia and look for positions there. Anyway, we are both enjoying this little bit of time off before we move again and start somewhere else. So, to all of our readers, we both wish you a very merry christmas and happy, healthy, and safe holidays. We hope to see you all again soon as our travels take us from west back to east. Happy Holidays!!!

Thanksgiving and Amy's surprise birthday weekend

Ah....Thanksgiving. For me, it was probably one of the first Thanksgivings that I have had away from my family in Florida or New York, but it was a great one. The night before, a few of us went out to a bar and grille that specialized in stone oven pizza and their own microbrewery, which was delicious. Amy had never cooked a full Thanksgiving meal independently before, but she had some great ideas and recipes, and cooked a fabulous meal! Honestly, it was one of the best tasting Thanksgiving meals I have ever had (sorry Mom and Nora). She really did outdo herself. She cooked all day, and as all those wonderful turkey smells came out of the kitchen, I relaxed and watched football. Amy doesn't allow me to cook with her in the kitchen because apparently I make a mess and she gets upset. Anyway, the meal was great, and all the food was incredible. The next day we had to work, but didn't do much. Overall, I think I saw 5 patients in a 10 hour day, and Amy had 6 people no show, so it was a slow and relaxing. The next day was Amy's Birthday! I had been planning a surprise trip for her for weeks, so it was nice to finally have all my planning come to fruition. I had been very vague in describing to Amy what she needed to bring, but I kept it a secret, and on Saturday morning we pulled up to Kenmore Air on Lake Union to take a seaplane ride to Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island off the coast of Canada. Victoria is a gorgeous little city with english influences on the southern tip of the island. Upon our arrival at Kenmore Air we found the weather not fully cooperative. The gentleman at the desk soon told us that the flight would be delayed an hour secondary to fog. After an hour, it was delayed another hour. Then, it was cancelled. We then looked to see if we could take the 1:30 flight, and hopped out to grab a quick bite of lunch. We found his little restaurant called BluWater, and Amy had a Dungeness crab macaroni and cheese that was delicious. It definitely eclipsed my salmon sandwich. We then made our way back to the airport only to find that all flights were cancelled for that day, and there was no way to get to Victoria that day. I was beyond ANGRY! I tend to plan things out to the slightest detail to make sure that all goes smoothly, and had no idea that it was possible that all flights would be cancelled. The desk attendant told me that they could reschedule for tomorrow morning, but I wasn't about to risk another cancellation, so we booked the Victoria Clipper out of Seattle the next AM. Dissapointed that I had already lost an entire day of our trip itinerary, we went to Seattle where Amy did some shopping as I sat in Barnes and Noble to read. The next AM, we rushed to Seattle as I misread the time of the departing boat, but made it without any problems. We arrived in Victoria a few hours later around 11:30. We departed the vessell and were greeted immediately with the charming city of Victoria. The Parliament buildings and old english style architecture lined the streets. It was a very interesting place to experience. We then walked to ChinaTown and had Dim Sum at Don Mee's chinese restaurant. The Dim Sum was delicious, rivaling, Jade Garden, our favorite place for Dim Sum in Seattle's Chinatown. Afterwards, we walked to the hotel through the quaint, store clad streets of downtown Victoria, and across the "Blue Bridge" to our Hotel. The Delta Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa. We checked in, got our room, and relaxed a bit. Then I surprised Amy with her spa day, a 6 hour spa package including all baths, facials, and nail things that girls like. I got some work done and watched football, and explored the city a bit, purchasing a bottle of BC wine for that night. Upon my arrival back from the wine store, I stopped into the spa to make sure all charges were reconciled, and they told me that Amy had a slight reaction to the facial. I wasn't too worried, and when amy came back to the room that night, she was all smiles and blotchy red. Apparently the chemicals were a little much, so they stopped and gave her some lotion for her face. Afterwards we went down to dinner at the restaurant named Lure. Specializing in seafood fare, we had a wonderful meal. Everything was delicious, the service was excellent, and we even had a great window view across Victoria's Inner Harbour to the Empress Hotel and the Parliament building all lit up with Xmas lights. We then walked down to the water and snapped some pictures, and sat by the fireplace in the lobby for a bit. The next AM we awoke early to more heavy fog and light rain, and ventured into the city to explore. We walked down streets picked up a quick chai latte and spinach/feta croissant and explored around. The city of Victoria is beautiful, and I was very impressed that this small city lies so close to Vancouver and Seattle. We first ventured to the Craigdarroch Castle. The Craigdarroch Castle is a beautiful historic Victorian-era mansion, built in the 1890s by wealthy BC coal baron Robert Dunsmuir. Rising 87 stairs up through the 4 1/2 stories, there are 39 rooms, most of which are furnished lavishly in the 1890s–1900s period. With over 20,000 square feet of space, the house and gardens are being restored exactly as they were originally built, and you will find artisans working on restorations most days. The castle was amazing, rising above the other houses in a mainly residential neighborhood. We also learned that this symbol of wealth was built by Robert Dunsmuir who accumulated his money in very fiendish ways, unjustly treating his workers and taking advantage of them. Nevertheless, the craftsmanship of the castle was amazing. Even more so, was the detail and articulation of the woodwork that lined the floors, walls, and ceilings. Intrictate detail went into the crafting of every room, and as you can see by the pictures, it was quite the sight. We walked through the floors and rooms of the castle with volunteers along the way telling us stories of who lived there and the many uses of the castle. Afterwards we walked back downtown for high tea at the Empress Hotel. I'm not the "high tea" kind of guy, but it was a must do in Victoria (per all the guide books). We walked to the beautiful empress hotel and indulged in one of Victoria's grandest traditions. For almost a century, the majestic lobby of this landmark hotel has played host to England's most beloved ritual - the taking of Afternoon Tea. Served in the relaxing atmosphere of the elegantly restored Tea Lobby, overlooking Victoria's sparkling Inner Harbor in the stately Harborside Room we were immediately greeted by a waiter who served us tea and strawberries and cream. After that, we were given a 3 tiered carousel of bite sized treats. On the bottom, sandwiches including crackers with mushroom pate, middle tier with scones and jelly, and the top tier with sweet cakes and desserts. Afternoon tea was very expensive, and I felt like I could have sat back and ate the carousel in a sitting. However, it was for the experience, which was, overall, great. We then walked around the quaint little streets of downtown victoria, Amy frequenting the shops that lined government street. Victoria is a great little city, and I really recommend a visit to Vancouver Island. The city is great, and there is a lot of sites and exploring around the area to enjoy. We soon found ourselves in a little shopping area, and decided to grab a quick snack before heading to the Butchart Gardens decorated with their annual Christmas lights. We decided on a Canadian take on french fries called Poutine, which was a cup full of french fries saturated with gravy and cheese. I wasn't a big fan of this, but amy really enjoyed it. We walked back to the pacific bus terminal behind the Empress hotel and checked in for our tour of the Butchart Gardens. We soon realized that we were the only participants on the tour. So, amy and I had a empty Greyhound bus to ourselves! Our tourguide was excellent and educated us on a lot about Victoria, and the garden. The Butchart Gardens is one of the world's premier floral show gardens. Jennie Butchart began to shape this magnificent landscape in 1904. She established, in the style of the grand estates of the period, several distinct gardens to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences. An abandoned limestone quarry was transformed into the dramatic Sunken Garden, a reflection of the early 20th-century beautification movement and an exceptional achievement in Canadian gardening history. Through successive generations of the Butchart family, The Gardens has retained much of its original design, and continues the Victorian tradition of seasonally changing the outstanding floral displays. Also, every December, they decorate the gardens with tens of thousands of coloured lights combining with evergreen swags and wreaths of holly and winter berries to line walkways and festoon lamp posts. As we neared the garden, the weather was a bit drizzly, but the gardens were still gorgeous. Acres of beautifully landscaped greenery, covered with christmas lights with the sounds of a chorus and horns playing christmas carols would put anyone in the Christmas spirit. The gardens were amazing! I am not impressed by gardens, but this one was incredible. They had lakes tucked away in limestone quarries with lights and wreaths lining the pathways. Also, the ever-popular Twelve Days of Christmas displays are tucked away about The Gardens which was very interesting to find. After a while, the rain continued sporadically and it got a bit colder, so we watched some of the ice skaters on the rink, perused the gift shop, and found our tour guide to drive us back to the city. Upon our return, we took a few pictures of the parliament building and the Empress hotel, all alit with Christmas lights, and then walked back to the hotel for our early morning departure. The next AM we awoke bright and early, hesitant that we would be able to fly out that morning via seaplane b/c of weather, but were pleasantly surprised to have a beautiful partly cloudy day with no fog covering the inner harbour. We checked out, and soon boarded our plane. I've never been on a sea plane before and i don't feel that I have a fear of heights, but I have a healthy respect for falling thousands of feet. The small prop plane only sat about 8 plus the pilot, and soon enough we were speeding down the water in inner harbour and taking off, leaving the city behind us. The views were amazing, and as we flew below the clouds we got glimpses of the san juan islands, we flew over the olympic peninsula, and eventually over downtown seattle, coming very close to the space needle, and landing on lake union. It was a great trip and steady flight. We took a half day at work that day, so still had time to finally visit Salumi restaurant in Seattle near Pioneer Square. Salumi's restaurant is owned by Mario Batalli's (chef made famous via Food Network) father. He cures all his own meats at that store. We had been wanting to visit the restaurant since we came to Seattle, but because of their limited hours, were unable to go. We arrived at 11 when they opened, and already a line had formed about 15 deep. We ordered some great sandwiches including Lamb Prosciutto, and all were delicious. Then...we went to work. Another great weekend, and a memorable one at that. I hope Amy liked all that we did.

Next up? Not sure. We are currently interviewing via phone for jobs in Arizona, near a town called Bull head City. Not sure about it yet, but we'll see. The city is about an hour south of Las Vegas on the border of California, Nevada, and Arizona. This week will be our last week in Seattle, and we have really enjoyed our time here. I will really miss looking up and seeing Mt. Rainier in the background, or waking up at our little beach house overlooking the Puget Sound. It's been a great experience out here, and I hope Arizona will work out and bring about new adventures as well. Until next time......