Spring Break in Seattle Part IV: The Final Post, I Promise

It's hard to believe that we did the waterfront, the aquarium, and Pike Place all in one day, but we did! Then we headed up to Lynnwood, exhausted, to eat a late dinner and sleep in our hotel. We spent the next morning at a family fun center and then we headed home . . . kinda.

Brandon won our golf game and Maren came in second place.
I lost.

They had arcade games and a go-cart track, too. The go-carts were awesome
but I didn't get any pictures because I was laying rubber.

 After the fun center we found a place in the hills just north of Seattle called Red Mill Burgers for lunch. Our GPS took us through all these back-road cool-old-homes neighborhoods and Brandon was going nuts thinking we were lost and I said, "Just trust the GPS," and lo and behold, the restaurant solidified before our very eyes as we crested the top of a very steep hill. We ordered inside the retro joint and ate outside on  picnic tables. Again, we couldn't have asked for better weather. The burgers were scrumptious.

Then we were off!

Bye, Seattle! Thanks for the fun!

But we weren't finished. 

We stopped at the Seattle Temple to stroll the gardens. Have I mentioned how gorgeous the weather was? And things were already blooming here, so that was extra sweet.

Everything smelled beautiful. Good stop. Brandon had great ideas this whole trip.

And we still weren't done!

We made a little stop in Issaquah. Because chocolate.

And then we traveled on to Cashmere, where we found some of our favorite people. Lucky us.

Those are my parents.

That's my sister.

These are some of our offspring.

And that was our Spring Break Seattle trip! Pretty cool for two days, huh?

Spring Break Part III: Pike Place Market

We made our way from the Seattle Aquarium up to Pike Place Market. I couldn't get over how nostalgic it was to climb those stairs. Things had been updated, but it still felt the same from when I was little, and I had fun pointing out anything I knew or remembered about the location. Brandon has pictures on his phone I don't have yet, but I took a lot, too. Aren't you lucky? What is fun is that I'd just had a short story called "Just Fly" published and part of it takes place right here. So I got to see the places I'd just written about from memory and research! I think this was my favorite part of the trip.

The famous Pike Place Fish Market.
We saw them toss fish but I wasn't quick enough with my camera.
They're like bullets!

Brandon researched and had two places he wanted to find.
One was the Daily Dozen Doughnut Company.
Eureka!

The build-up was pretty big, so our expectations were high.
I have to say, I was skeptical, but I hoped Brandon liked them.

It may not look like it, but these little fried morsels were
the best doughnuts I've ever put in my mouth.
I want more.
Right now.

Pretty!

On the hunt for the second place on Brandon's list: El Mercado Latino.
It was quite elusive.

BUT WAIT! On our hunt for El Mercado, we passed this little stand and I put on the breaks.
This is where my little brother, Mike, and I would buy our treat!
When we'd come to the Market my mom would give us each $3.00 to buy a treat.
Mike and I would always choose a steamed BBQ pork hom bow (meat-filled bun) from THIS STAND.
Those are the hom bows steaming in the oven on the right.

So we bought two. One for me and one for Mike.
But since Mike wasn't there, we all shared.
It tasted EXACTLY THE SAME. Yum.

And then, SUCCESS. We found El Mercado Latino and their promised treasure...

INCA KOLA.
Brandon drank this soda on his mission in Peru. It's hard to find here in the states.
And since I've tasted it before and have formed my own opinion on it's bubble-gummy flavor,
I got Coco Rico and all were happy!

Then this happened.
Brandon, drinking Inca Kola, hearing an Andes music duo singing El Condor Pasa.

It was a moment.

The kids had a hard time believing that Bigfoot was kind of a big deal in these parts.
It was nice to find so much validation.

And here we have the Post Alley Gum Wall, which I wrote about in my story. We were walking south from the fish market and saw a set of stairs on the left with a Post Alley sign. Of course, I had to follow it, hoping to find...

...lots of gooey chewed up gum stuck to a wall.

It was magnificent. And the street was sticky.

Everyone had the same look on their faces: "This is gross and wonderful." 

Finally. we made our way back down, winding along the lower shops. And pigs. 

We can't wait to go back.