That’s all she wrote

Back to work.  That's where we're headed Monday morning.  Cas and I have just enough time left in Spring Break to grocery shop, change the furnace filters and run some clothes through the laundry before we head back to our respective jobs Monday. We landed yesterday in the afternoon, walked to the DART Silver Line and headed to UTD station.  It was so easy.  My dad and my brother met us there and took us back home.  Such an easier post-trip pickup- we had them drive under three miles to a train station in their own neighborhood instead of about 25 to the airport.  

And let's talk about the sunshine.  What a glorious thing to see when we returned to Dallas.  It was actually in the high 80s when we arrived- a little warm for the long sleeves I was wearing, but it was so nice out that the walk to the rail station and the short wait on a bench were downright delightful.  

But that's all she wrote for now.  I hang this blog up until our triumphant Heather-And-Cas-Ride-Again moment comes in the summer.  Until then, go to all the places, see all of the things and write stuff down.  You'll be glad you did.  

tinyurl.com/DunlapSeattle

Last night in town

Grumpy Bean.  That was the name of the coffee shop where we began our morning.  Of course, it started at a coffee shop.  We went from there to a very early lunch at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.  I learned before we left Dallas that they have a mac and cheese that you absolutely must try.  Mission accomplished.  I think I may have overdosed on Lactaid, but no worries- I got the mac.  It was pretty great.  

With our carbs all sorted out for the day, Cas and I headed to the Ballard locks.  These are a pair of locks connecting Lake Union to Puget Sound, and their primary function appears to be to let boats pass through peacefully.  The water levels in these two places are different, and the locks bring boats in to either lift or lower them to the correct level for where they are headed.  It was interesting.  I know it’s not the properly touristic thing to do, but watching a large mechanism raise or lower a whole boat is pretty interesting to me.  Also to Cas.  Heck- maybe we’re a little nerdy when doing tourist things, but we are that way together, so it’s okay.  After that, we wandered down Ballard Avenue, which was nice as we have been staying in the downtown area, and seeing another neighborhood was pretty neat.  We stepped into a wine shop and had a very strange glass of Lebanese wine before heading to a funky restaurant where Cas had a cup of salmon chowder and I had a BLT with the thickest bacon I have seen in a while.  It was a neat spot, a cool neighborhood, and as we have come to expect in Seattle, a nice bunch of people.  

After that, our city bus passes were good for a trip back to the main downtown area, where we took an underground tour.  When it was founded, Seattle was built up of wood.  There was a horrific fire, and the rebuild was strange.  There’s a large potion of that rebuild that is currently underground, and more was built on top of that.  Enough to be significant and interesting- and worthy of a unique tour.  We learned about hotels, banks, hardware stores and sawmills.  We learned about houses of ill repute and spaces that later housed bootleggers.  We got an underground-tour-look at the city where we’ve been sleeping for several nights.  It was a very cool tour.  

And now, we need to hit the hay.  It’s time to get to bed, because tomorrow morning will come very early, and we have to make our way back to Dallas.  This has certainly been a strange spring break trip- it started late and ended at a time we didn’t necessarily anticipate, but it was another good one.  Cas and Heather approved.  I’ll check back in from the house in Dallas, but after that, you’ll have to hold your breath for the next bit of adventure this summer.  If we haven’t told you where we’re going I will leave you in suspense.  You’ll see in June- hoo boy- it’s gonna be a good one.  Until then, here were are underground.  

Here, once again, are our photos: tinyurl.com/DunlapSeattle 

Coffee flavored coffee

There is coffee for sale pretty much everywhere in this city.  Coffee shops may well outnumber people in Seattle.  I am old enough to remember a time when coffee was a thing adults made at home, and nobody purchased a paper cup full while out and about, unless they were on a road trip and they stopped at a convenience store or a gas station.  Kids never touched the stuff.  The flavor options were coffee or *checks notes* also coffee.  Nothing looked like a milkshake.  Somewhere along the way, all of that changed.  I think the seed may have been planted where Cas and I were yesterday morning.  We visited the original Starbucks.  Home of the Carmel Macchiato.  Land of the ubiquitous paper cup.  Spot that has elementary aged kids demanding coffee.  I don’t know how I feel about that one, honestly.  Little kids have favorite Starbucks orders.  Seems wrong, somehow, but I can’t put my finger on it.  When I was a little kid, that was just as much a grown up beverage as beer or wine.  I wanted nothing to do with coffee, and to reinforce that, my grandfather would assure me that coffee would, “put hair on your chest.”  I didn’t 100% believe him, but the idea was still unappealing for a little girl, I assure you.  

But we’re here in Seattle, birthplace of Starbucks and reason so many kids have a favorite Frappuccino.  So we had to visit.  Perhaps it was a bit of rebellion, but we both got their signature Pike Place drip coffee.  Plain, unadorned and really, quite good.  It was utterly necessary, though.  I mean, when in Rome, right?  

Anyhow, after that, we took another stroll through Pike Place Market, our Pike Place coffees in hand.  This time, I got a decent photo of the guys throwing the fish.  It’s very silly, and I don’t know if it makes the seafood taste better, but they seem to enjoy tossing the fish about when preparing to wrap it up and complete a sale.  It was cute.  

After that, we headed to a monorail station.  Seattle has a light rail, a monorail and a decent bunch of buses, but the monorail goes from a spot right next to our hotel to the famous Space Needle.  And we had timed entry tickets.  We got to the end of the monorail line and hopped off.  We instantly saw the option to visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit.  Our Space Needle tickets were actually combo tickets, so we started our adventure with the cool glass sculptures.  We managed to walk in within a few minutes of a free guided tour, and that was very interesting.  Dale Chihuly is an interesting guy, and if you have ever seen a light fixture or a tabletop sculpture out in the world somewhere that looks like a Medusa head full of glass tubes, that’s either him or someone he inspired.  It was a really neat collection, culminating in a “glass house” and a garden.  Everywhere you look, there was interesting blown glass art.  The garden had flowers and grasses interspersed with the art, causing me to wonder about how one gets a job as a gardener there.  Must be pretty competitive.  

After the beautiful glass museum, we stepped into the Museum of Pop Culture.  There was some truly cool stuff- a fragment of a burnt-up-and-smashed Jimi Hendrix guitar, a rhinestone studded James Brown outfit- and there was a lot of stuff I flat didn’t care about.  Cas and I got rid of our cable TV when we moved in together, and I have not kept up with a single Kardashian.  I didn’t find the performance outfits of various pop stars as interesting as I was supposed to, I guess.  It was a cool museum, but a lot of pop culture has passed me by.  I’m fine with that, if you want the truth.  

But the Museum of Pop Culture, was overall pretty interesting, if for no other reason than its unique architecture.  And it closed at five.  Our tickets to the Space Needle were timed at 6:15.  (I tried for a sunset-adjacent time when booking back in Dallas), and there was absolutely nothing to do in between.  We stepped into a food court space, and all but two of the establishments were closed.  We were thinking of a glass of wine to kill time.  We weren’t hungry, and we didn’t feel much like a cup of coffee.  It was puzzling that all of these places designed to serve food were shutting down at or before dinner time.  

So we asked the nice lady at the ticket window of the Space Needle if we could head in early.  Permission granted.  We were up top well before our appointed time, but no worries, we didn’t miss out on a beautiful sunset or anything.  Mostly because the sky was too cloudy for any beautiful sunsets to occur.  We did get to gawk at the skyline and the pretty mountains in the background for a while, though.  It was pretty neat.  

From there, we were kind of running on empty.  We took the monorail back to the neighborhood where our hotel is, and Cas found a nice restaurant where they served us some very yummy dumplings and some nice Jasmine Tea.  It was exactly perfect to round out the day, and we’re all set for another bit of adventure today.  

Oh- today- yeah.  Since our trip started late, Cas called the airline and then spoke with the hotel staff.  We pushed our flight to Friday and added another night on here, so hooray!  We get another day in Seattle!  Which is just fine, because we originally packed for that many days, anyway.  Funny.  

But here we go.  Off for more adventure.  I wonder if there’s a spot around here where I can grab a cup of coffee…

Here, again, are our photos tinyurl.com/DunlapSeattle 

I see food, I eat it

The old joke, of course, is about a seafood diet.  You see food, you eat it.  If you look at this trip so far just in terms of what we’ve eaten, everything came from the water.  Hey, when you’re from someplace that is nearly 300 miles from the gulf coast, you go get seafood when you’re sitting at a table, overlooking the Puget Sound. Yesterday began with a mission to have a the crab omelet at Lowell’s.  They pride themselves in fresh crab, folded into fluffy eggs with some tomato and parmesan to round out the party.  We arrived at the Pike Place Market on a mission to find this delicacy, and on the way, we saw the vendors  and booths, all set up to sell fresh seafood, flowers, produce and other items.  It had the charm of a permanent farmers market, set up by the water.  It was very cool.  We also took a few steps down from there to see the famed gum wall, which was quite disgusting.  We actually didn’t enter the alley space that was coated in chewed bubblegum, but we paused at the entrance to take a photo.  That was plenty, thanks,

We also stopped for a moment back up at the main level of the marketplace to watch the famous fish throwing, but unfortunately, there were too many people in the way for me to get good photos.  Maybe we return today.  

From there, we made our way to the ferry departure point, heading to Bainbridge Island.  It was a very efficient way to get to the island, and when we arrived, we found it charming and welcoming.  We checked out a local winery, walked to a cute bar and grill and shared a salmon burger unlike anything I have ever eaten before, then headed to their art museum for a quick stroll through a few exhibits before hopping the ferry back to Seattle proper.  From there, we started our city bus journey.

Using public transportation in a place you’re visiting gives you a different lay of the land.  When you ride a city bus, you see regular folks, just trying to get to and from work or school or wherever they’re headed.  These are the locals who use this mode of transport every day, and it gives you a different feel for the place.  It’s a juxtaposition- in one moment, you’re craning and standing on your tippy-toes to see a man throwing a fish for the benefit of tourists, and in your next act, you find yourself watching commuters, heads buried in their phones, just trying to get home.  And if you’re lucky enough to travel with Cas, you have someone on your side who is good at planning these things and somehow manages to be in the right place at just the right time.  

When our bus odyssey concluded, we were steps away from Ivar’s. Ivar apparently has many locations in the area, and we were at the one most geographically favorable to Jerone and Sara.  We got there a little early- mostly because that’s when the bus showed up- and we asked for a table for four.  We determined we’d wait at the bar until the rest of our party arrived, and when they did, we apparently miscalculated.  Jerone’s son Alex joined us for dinner.  He got tall when Cas and I weren’t paying attention.  Aside from Alex’s dramatic height change, Jerone and Sara looked exactly the same.  Time has been kind to them- or maybe it’s the Pacific Northwest.  

Again, because of course we did, Cas and I had seafood.  I got a seafood sauté with a little bit of everything in it while Cas had a salmon that was probably swimming near the restaurant that morning.  It was a great meal and a great time to catch up with my old colleagues from my high school teaching days.  They’re both still teaching, working at two different private schools in the area, and still pretty happy to work with kids.  I get it.  

Here’s how the crew looks now- Alex is the obviously super-tall one in the middle…

But that was our Tuesday and the see-food diet we enjoyed.  I think today we are planning a cuppa coffee at the original Starbucks in the morning, and we have our timed entry tickets for the space needle at sunset.  There’s also a few things we have planned in between, but more on that later.  Time to get out of this hotel room and see about some food.  

And once again, here are the photos: tinyurl.com/DunlapSeattle

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya’

We made it!  We got to the airport yesterday with boarding passes that showed no seat assignment.  The flight was overbooked.  They offered compensation to anyone who was willing to make a deal, and that earned Cas and me the aisle seats on the back two rows of the airplane to Salt Lake City.  I was one row ahead of him.  Of course, our original tickets featured us sitting next to each other straight through to Seattle, but at this point, we just opted to get here however we could.  Good news, bad news- I got a lot of my new book read, but the guy behind me was pretty distracting.  

When we got here, we stepped off the airplane and walked to the light rail station.  The whole walk was under a roof, which makes sense given what I understand to be the typical weather around here.  We bought transit passes and boarded the train without presenting them or swiping them in any way.  Felt a lot like we got a free ride.  In Dallas, there was a fare enforcement check on the Silver Line, but in Seattle, we just hopped on with the shiny, new cards in our pockets.  Perhaps we’ll find use for them today.  

It was a long day of travel yesterday, so we were in low power mode- at least, it was Heather and Cas low power mode.  We only walked a few large blocks to get to a rooftop bar where we had a cocktail and a sandwich and saw as much of the sunset as the Pacific Northwest clouds would let us see.  We sat high up, looking out over the water and to the mountains in the background on one side, the Pike Place Market on the other, and enjoyed the view.  When you live in Dallas, you get really excited about places that have natural beauty.  I guess we weren’t alone, because we ended up in the nicest chat with two women from Houston.  Apparently, being from Houston leaves you just as hungry for natural beauty as being from Dallas does.  But that’s the day- it was a long one.  We got back to our room with aspirations for a much more interesting day today.  No layovers, now separate seating- just bouncing around Seattle with my guy.  Here’s a great pic of us at The Nest, which is a rooftop bar with nice cocktails and a good poached tuna sandwich!

It’s almost time to get started today.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and in all of the stopping and starting, I somehow forgot to pack a single green thing to wear.  Hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me . We have a ferry ride in the works and a trip to have some extremely authentic Starbucks coffee.  Should be a good one, and this evening, we’ll have a nice dinner with Jerone and his wife Sara.  Hooray! Off to go explore, and top o’ the morning to ya’!  

By the way- here is the photo album I am sure you were anticipating: tinyurl.com/DunlapSeattle 

Lemons to lemonade

So, when you have a weather-related cancellation on a Saturday, there are a couple of things that happen.  First, you are rarely the only one facing that challenge, and second, that throws off other travel well beyond your original flight.  Makes sense- I mean, there was a plane, a pilot and a whole flight crew that didn’t get to Seattle with us, so they were not where the airline planned for them to be on Sunday.  I expect it was a similar situation that left us in Dallas yesterday.  All the folks who missed traveling on Saturday tried for the few flights Sunday- anyhow, here we are, sitting at gate E-13 on a Monday morning.  

It did give us the opportunity to have a beautiful, sunny Sunday to go and play.  We went to old downtown Carrollton and saw a very funny production of Arsenic and Old Lace at Pocket Sandwich Theatre and had a light lunch at the Three Nations Brewing patio.  It was all capped off with a visit to the amazing candy shop that’s located in the downtown square.  Considering we got stuck at home in Dallas for the second day in a row, we certainly made the most of it.  

That leads us to this morning.  We were well prepared for departure when Jeff showed up to drive us to the train station.  We’d had a few days to remember little details we may have otherwise forgotten to pack.  So, lemons have become lemonade, and we’re at the gate.  So far, the digital display near us says everything is on time.  I shall re-cross my fingers just as soon as I finish typing with them.  

Also of note, the DART Silver Line.  That was a slick way to get here.  We left the UTD station at 8:36 am and arrived at our seats here in old E-13 an hour and 15 minutes later.  Not too shabby.  And the train dropped us at the farthest spot from this particular terminal, so we used the airport’s loop tram to get here.  Pretty dang efficient.  Lemonade.  This is now the official, Heather and Cas approved way to get to the airport.  Change approved.  

Here we are, waiting for the train:

And for one more lemons-to-lemonade situation, it got cold in Dallas last night.  It was 36 when we were waiting for the train, and my weather app said it was 46 in Seattle right at that same moment.  And they hadn’t seen the sun rise yet.  So, yeah.  Who would have thought it would be smart to go from Dallas to Seattle in March to warm up?

Anyhow, we’re at our gate and I am skeptically glancing at the “on time” sign with a blend of hope and doubt that I think may be completely understandable at this point.  We’ll check in (hopefully) from the Pacific Northwest, folks!  Wish us luck!  

Seattle by way of Paris

So many pieces have to work seamlessly to get to a place. You have to arrange transportation.  That transportation has to function correctly.  You have to be in the right place at the right time to make it all work.  And if there’s an airport-threatening weather event at your destination, you may as well hang it up.  You could be having the sunniest day on your street in your neighborhood, but if the place you’re headed is not navigable, just stay home.  

That was the case last night.  We were supposed to be leaving our house at 4am to get to the airport and head out of town, but last night, we got a notification that our flight was cancelled.  No worries, we thought- we’ll just take a different flight.  Except that it was so many flights that were cancelled.  There was terrible weather on the way, and nobody in their right mind would land a passenger airplane there.  

Fair enough.  We can take a hint.  We’ll sleep in.  But first- what about Paris?  Cas’ StepDave had a birthday in February, and we gave him a pair of tickets to a show in Paris, Texas on Pi day.  Today.  March 14.  Well, he loved the idea, and was only disappointed that we couldn’t go along.  So we drove to Paris, bought a second set of tickets to the same show, and are coming to you now, live from the Fairfield Inn.  Life is funny, you know?  Tomorrow, we drive back to Dallas in the morning, grab a different (already packed) bag and hop on the DART Silver Line to DFW Airport.  It will be our first experiment with DART to the airport since the new line came into service.  

Then, it’s on to Seattle, where we hope the weather has begin to calm down and cooperate.  But until then, Bonjour, ya’ll.