Summer vacation was amazing this year and as always it kicks off with Brian's birthday (September 1st). We headed down to Lake Morton, perhaps for the last time this summer and had dinner with friends and watched the sun set fade across the water.
Sunday morning it was up bright and early for a surprise trip to Los Angeles (Brian was told the night before) and by early afternoon we were walking through the historic Venice Canals and down to the Venice Beach Boardwalk.
Monday it was down the coast to Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and the picturesque Point Vicente Lighthouse before making our way north of downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium.
We wrapped up vacation week with our final Seattle Mariner's game of the year and Brian's first foul ball EVER!
Wonderful memories of a fantastic vacation!
Enjoy!
Stacy
The dog days are here and the long days of summer are fading.
Last week Chick and I went to our one and only minor league baseball game in Portland (Hillsboro) and saw the Hops play on a sticky, smoky night. It's always a highlight of summer to go to as many baseball games as possible and this year we have been to quiet a variety of games.
I spent a long weekend in Seattle working on Friday, but taking some time to eat my lunch down by the Puget Sound (Me Kwa Mooks Park). Then a late afternoon walk up to the Beveranda (Beveridge Place) for happy hour with my guy.
The rest of the weekend was quiet. We harvested cherry tomatoes off the vine to make a rich pomadora pasta sauce. Brian made a beautiful fritatta for brunch and we pickled fresh jalapenos for a delicious plate of nachos on Saturday night.
Enjoy!
Stacy
We had an amazing long weekend in Seattle with my parents.
It began on Thursday night in West Seattle where we enjoyed wine on our backyard patio and a wonderful home cooked meal courtesy of Brian.
Friday we explored Alki and had breakfast at the Alki Cafe and then took the water taxi from West Seattle to the Waterfront and had Happy Hour at Anthony's.
We made our way to Key Arena to see the Seattle Storm (WNBA) take on the NY Liberty Friday night...and to see Mercedes Russell who grew up in Springfield, OR. My Dad and Rosemary have been watching her play all her life and this past spring she was drafted out of the University of Tennessee to play in the women's professional league. As a rookie, she isn't getting much playing time (she played 53 seconds on Friday night) but it was still a great game and a nice way to support her.
We had an amazing brunch at Cactus on Saturday morning and made our way to Safeco Field to see the Mariners take on the Dodgers Saturday night. It was a tough night for me. I love my Mariners, but grew up a lifelong Dodgers fan. I took a lot of grief from my family, but still decked all out in my Dodger gear! The Dodgers lost on Saturday night (still won the series 2-1), and we all had a really good time!
Sunday we headed back to Portland and my parents went back to Springfield.
Great memories this weekend!
Enjoy!
Stacy
Chick bought tickets (Bday gift) to see Train with Hall and Oates at the Moda Center in Portland. The show was last Thursday night and it was fabulous!
Pre show drinks and dinner at Altabria City Tavern on a 95 degree day in Portland! We couldn't sit outside, but we had a nice table in the restaurant that looked out over the city.
Train opened the show and they sounded amazing and played for about an hour....so many great songs. We have seen them before and they are always exceptionally good live.
Hall and Oates came out and played just over an hour (with encore) and opened their set with Maneater and ended the evening with You Make My Dreams Come True. All their classics and even a few songs with Train front-man, Pat Monahan.
Saturday night in Seattle, Brian and I headed over to White Center to see the Highline Bears final game of the season. The Highline Bears baseball organization is a summer collegiate team in the Pacific International League.
It was a fun night to see small community baseball in a small park. It reminded me of being a kid and watching baseball at Civic Stadium in Eugene.
Fun summer memories!
Enjoy!
Stacy
We had a wonderful weekend of celebrating not only my mother's birthday but also the beautiful city of Seattle.
Although we did not officially participate in Seafair, we did celebrate all that Seattle has to offer starting with Friday night along Alki Beach.
First stop on Friday was Duke's Seafood and Chowder. We snagged a table upstairs on the deck and enjoyed a bottle of wine while looking out over Elliot Bay. It was the perfect way to kick off our weekend.
We then walked along Alki down to Cactus, a place we love and go to often. We requested a table outside and watched the sun fade in the western sky while dining on some excellent Tex Mex food.
Saturday was a picture perfect Seattle Summer day as we celebrated my Mom with a quick trip around the Kubota Gardens, which began in 1927. It's a lovely and peace garden that meanders through lush foliage, trees, hydrangeas and Japanese maples...ponds filled with koi and waterfalls flowing under ornate oriental bridges. A great place for pictures.
From there we drove along Lake Washington towards Renton and the Hyatt Regency where we sat outside and were treated a several fly-overs by the Blue Angels. The deck at the Hyatt was amazing and quite a little hidden gem along the water. A place we will go back to summer or winter.
The evening ended with pasta dinner at the Olive Garden followed by a warm summers evening concert on my Mom and Kenny's back patio with singing, laughing, dancing and celebrating.
A perfect weekend for sure!
Enjoy!
Stacy
You can feel the dog days starting, but the heatwave continued all throughout the weekend as Seattle reached unprecedented and consecutive days with 90 or above temps.
Not too much you can do but early morning walks along the water and afternoon car trips to air conditioned luxury (casino, anyone?).
Friday night instead of cooking, we tried a new place in West Seattle that was on Dinner, Drive-ins and Dives a few weeks ago called Pizzeria Credo. We must go back for the pizza! We were both hungry for some pasta which was good (not great).
Cooler temps are on their way and more hot fun in the summer time!
Enjoy!
Stacy
