So Many Visitors!

Hi hi hi! So I know it's been a few weeks since I posted but I have a perfectly good excuse. No, my dog did not eat my homework, sillies. I don't even have a dog or homework! See, my excuse is that I was having too much fun with all of our lovely visitors I didn't have time to write to y'all. So here is the crash course of the past two weekends. 

View of  Seattle (and Mount Rainier) from the Space Needle!

Two weekends ago, Aaron's sister, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Franz, flew to Seattle and hung out at our place for a few days. I believe they flew in on Sunday morning and we picked them up from the airport and had breakfast at Luisa's nearby our apartment. We went back to our place, they took a nap, Aaron worked, and I enjoyed some down time (I had some sort of flu that I was recovering from). In the afternoon, we went to Gas Works Park and then made a snap decision to go to Golden Gardens Park and grill out. After finding some interesting vegan sausage things to eat, we drove to the park and set up. We enjoyed a few beers while staring at the Olympic Mountains whilst Aaron cooked. Then I passed out for awhile, so I'm not even really sure what happened. But we had a wonderful time with near perfect weather.

The Olympic Mountains looking mighty fine with the sunset blazing behind them.

Seattle lit up! It is truly a beautiful city.

Monday, Aaron and I went to work and Kelly and Franz explored Seattle. Later that night after climbing, we came home to discover a bouquet of flowers from Kelly and Franz as a thank you for letting them crash in our apartment. We hung out on the patio for awhile and then I had to go to bed early because I opened the next day. I must have slept well because I didn't hear them come in or anything. Tuesday, they all got to go whale watching as I got to go to work! (Aaron promised me he would take me sometime. Yes, I made it public so now I have witnesses). Anyways, I went to work, rushed home to shower, and beautified myself for an interview for the Customer Solutions Specialist position at ChemPoint. I drove out to Bellevue, found the correct floor, and waited for my interview. Two hours later, I had completed the interview and became one of the thousands of thousands of cars that commute on I90 between Seattle and Bellevue. I love traffic. Anyways, we played dominion later that night, I crashed early again and went to work on Wednesday. Kelly and Franz stopped by to get some Americanos before they left for the Olympics. We had a really fun time with them (even if I was sick/sleepy/smelt like coffee).

Space Needle at night.

Wednesday, my mom and stepdad flew to Seattle. Aaron and I went bouldering at Gold Bar Wednesday evening. I got a text from my mom saying they landed in Seattle and were on their way to Mount Rainier National Park. They explored Mount Rainier on Thursday and part of Friday before making the drive to Seattle. They stopped by work and got some smoothies while I finished my shift. Then I took them to our apartment and caught up while we waited for it was time to go downtown. We stopped by Amazon so they could see where Aaron worked (and see the awesome views)! Then we drove over to Seattle Center and explored the area while we waited for it was time to check in for our dinner reservations at the Space Needle. At 6:30pm we took the elevator up to the observation deck and were rewarded with a 360 view of Seattle. All the mountain ranges were visible and Seattle was looking as beautiful as always. We snapped some pictures and then had the most delicious dinner, wine, and dessert I've had since moving to the PNW. I had salmon with a blackberry sauce, Aaron had 'half of a chicken', Brett had halibut, and my mom had lamb. Since I had gotten the job offer from ChemPoint, we decided to celebrate with Chateau Ste. Michelle 'Indian Wells' Chardonnay (which is easily the best wine I've ever had)!! After dinner, we went back on the observatory deck and took one last look at the Emerald City from the Space Needle.

The Seattle Big Wheel on the Puget Sound.

Saturday, we got up slightly early to get to Pike's Place Market before the crowd. My mom and stepdad were trying to find the throwing of the fish; much to their dismay, we couldn't find it :(  We bought a salmon for grilling for dinner. We explored the market and then went down to the Sound by the Big Wheel. We also saw the Gum Wall and the Bronze Pig (all classic iconic Seattle things). Then we drove home to get the salmon out of Brett's backpack and into the marinade. We grabbed a late lunch at the Eastlake Bar and Grille - our go-to place to eat. We killed some more time by going climbing at SBP. It was my mom's second time climbing with me (first time bouldering) and my stepdad's first time climbing with me! It was a fun time with them. I even sent my project I had been working on for a little while. Sending is sweet. After climbing, we went back to the apartment and grilled the salmon on the deck, enjoyed a few beers, played sheepshead, and caught a beautiful sunset.

Part of the ocean glass piece by Dale Chihuly. There were jellyfish, starfish, fish, and all sorts of unique blow glass pieces in this artwork.

Sunday, Aaron had to work to make up for his day whale watching with Kelly and Franz. My mom, Brett, and I went to go hike Mount Si. Before I even get into the story, the best part is the beginning. We were driving on I-90 to get to the trailhead and I point out the window to show them Mount Si. Mom's reaction: "WHAT?!" with a look of pure disbelief on her face. The kind of look that is saying: holymolywhatdoyoumeanthatismountsi-arewereallygoingtohikethisthingthatlookslikeitswaytallerthan4000feet!! The answer is: Yes. That indeed is Mount Si, Mom. I wish I could have gotten a photo of her face; it was the funniest thing ever. Anyways, they CRUSHED the hike like professionals. But then we got to the 3rd class scrambling. It went better than I thought it was going to because they were psyched to give it a try. Well, we made it part of the way when Mom decided she wasn't going to move. Not an inch forward. Not an inch backwards. Not an inch to either side. Not going to sit down. No no no no no. She was going to stay right were she was until Brett and I came back down. Brett and I made it most of the way to the summit but decided we should get back down. We managed to all get down safely with no injuries so it's always a good day :) On our way back to the car, we found some paragliders attempting to take off. We watched them for awhile and saw one guy take off and paraglide down for a bit. It was pretty cool. Anyways, we cruised back to the car, picked up some grilling food and headed back to my home. We grilled out on the deck again - we had near perfect weather again. After dinner, we went inside and Aaron and I taught them how to play the card game Dominion. 

Every piece fit together like flowers in a garden.

On Monday, Aaron and I had to work so we didn't get to see them too much. Mom and Brett came over before I had to work to play some Dominion. We grabbed an early lunch at Subway. After work, we went to eat at one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle: Annapurna Cafe. We had a delicious last dinner together. Mom and Brett brought us back to the apartment and we said our goodbyes (they had an early flight the next morning and Aaron and I were jonesing for a hard climbing session at SBP). With full bellies and happy hearts they went back to the hotel and the next day said goodbye to the PNW. 

This was my favorite piece. The use of light, dimension, colors, texture, and boats makes this piece beautiful.

Then surprise!! On Wednesday night, Aaron and I went to climb Princely Ambitinos (5.9+) in Index, WA and when I turn my phone back on I have a voicemail. I listen to it and find out that Brad and Ruth Kramer and Bill and Linda Koenig are in Bellingham, WA and will be in Seattle on Thursday! Well, wouldn't ya know that I have Thursday off! I call Ruth back and say, "Yes! I'd love to hang out with you guys!" So on Thursday, I bike to Seattle Center around 11:15am to meet up with them. They were on a 2 week vacation/cruise near/around Alaska and they were on their way to Portland, OR to see Peter and Alissa!! Anyways, we spent a few hours in the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum (tons of photos below) viewing amazing glass artwork by Dale Chihuly. We had lunch at a cafe in the museum and then went up the Space Needle. It was kind of hazy but we still had a decent view of all the mountains including Mount Rainier. It was cool because you could only see the top half of Rainier! 

The iconic Chihuly Glass and Gardens piece.

Space Needle and blown glass art.

That's about all for visitors! Dad and his girlfriend, Laurie, will be here in about a month - getting excited to see them!! So, I'm going to eat, climb, and read my book now. Hope  y'all enjoyed the beautiful photos!

Beauty.