Seattle

We are currently en route to Astoria, on the Oregon coast, so I thought I’d type up a decent update on the haps here. We are having a blast so far. Seattle was really fun. Last time I was there, I didn’t really enjoy it much, so this was a good redemption in my eyes. After we all met up back at the hotel, we decided to meet up with Heather’s cousin Josh and his wife Bess at this sushi restaurant downtown called the Dragonfly. It was so pleasant! Josh and Bess are really cool people, and it’s good to make new friends when you’re new to an area. They give excellent advice. We were so tired from the day’s activities so we walked back to the hotel after dinner (around 10:30).

This morning, we ventured out to Ballard, where Josh and Bess live. They had recommended a little French patisserie where we could get an espresso and a pastry. I have to say, I had probably the best espresso there that I’ve had since arriving in the Pac-NW. Anyway, we sat outside in the morning sunshine and ate our pastries and drank our cappuccinos and plotted our day.

We’re eager to get back to Portland, though. It’s already become a home base for us. Tomorrow night, we’re going to see a show (the Fruitbats) downtown at the Crystal Ballroom. The Crystal Ballroom is about 3 blocks up the street from Powell’s Bookstore. (Mom: if you come up to visit, I am definitely taking you to Powell’s—it’s the biggest bookstore in the world, I believe). I guess I never really went into a description of downtown Portland in the blog (sorry!). Well, it’s a very cozy downtown in comparison to SF and Seattle. It’s fairly clean and laid back. I really am excited to explore it further. There are lots of parks and green spaces, too. Anyway, there’s a Saturday market, I hear, that’s full of food vendors, arts and crafts, etc. I think we’re going to check it out this weekend.

5:55 pm
We hit the coast today at Astoria, and then again at Seaside. We had lunch in Astoria and drove on to find better beach. Seaside is fabulous. It’s only about 75 miles from Portland, so it’s definitely going to be a regular destination for us in the future. The beach was beautiful. I’ll post pictures, as I’m pretty tired right now and I can’t aptly describe it.

Chris, Heather, Mike, and I are going to test out the Mexican restaurant down the street tonight. I’ll update with details later on!

--Anne