Seattle Day 1: Weekend Getaway

One of my biggest work deadlines of the year is always on September 15 so I was really excited when we booked a trip for a long weekend in Seattle for the very next day. Alex and I arrived at the airport in time for a mimosa and my usual morning Coke.

The flight was about four hours and just as we were coming into Seattle, I looked out and saw what I assume was Mt. Rainier right outside the window. I don't recall ever flying that close to a mountain that high before.

We arrived in Seattle and picked up our rental car, a silver Toyota Forerunner, and headed from the airport to downtown. We rented a condo a couple of blocks off the waterfront. It was very blue.

It was early evening by the time we reached the apartment so we cleaned up a bit then walked down to the waterfront for dinner. We strolled along the boardwalk for several blocks.

We arrived at Elliot's Oyster House right on the water and were seated at a table on the patio (next to a heater for Alex) with a nice view of the harbor.

The server recommended a selection of oysters for us.

They clearly labeled each kind for us to still forget later.

And we added some mussels to the mix. Both the mussels and the oysters were fresh and tasty.

For entrees, we split an order of scallops in a red pepper risotto. These were not good at all. The scallops didn't have a good sear, the risotto was dry and clumpy, and the red pepper sauce just didn't go with the dish.

I thought I'd try again with dessert and ordered strawberry shortcake with pound cake but the cake was dense and dry.

We left the safety of cover and a heater to walk the mile back to our condo and discovered it was very cold and very windy. I had planned to take a ride on the ferris wheel before ending the evening but Alex was cold and tired and promised a raincheck.

So in order to stay warm and avoid climbing up a giant hill, we called an Uber to take us that mile back to the condo. When we got back, we saw that Thursday night football was on at Belltown Pizza, a neighborhood bar next door to the condo. We stopped in to watch the rest of the game and have a drink. This would become our daily ritual.