I HEART Seattle.

It's Take a Trip Tuesday!

I just made that up. It's not a real thing.

We've been blessed to be able to take some great trips, and before every vacation I am on my computer for hours doing research. Other blogs, Pinterest, I'm all over it because I am a planner. I like a good plan. I want to hit the ground running, and I want to know exactly where I am running to. Spontaneous is not a word in my vocabulary and never will be. What I like the best while researching is reading about real people, on real budgets, taking real trips and that's what we are.

Receiving an invitation for a wedding in Seattle from one of the Golfer's past players made for the perfect excuse for a fast weekend getaway. Most of our trips usually involve the boys and are in some way attached to one of the Golfer's tournaments. But sometimes I get lucky and we get to take a vaca for fun.

Where we stayed:

I am a huge fan of small boutique hotels and this one didn't disappoint. The Alexis Hotel (a Kimpton Hotel if that means something to you) had me the moment we walked in. The small lobby was full of people enjoying their nightly free wine tasting. Things got even better when we discovered the fireplace in our cozy room overlooking all of the action on 1st street.

Where we ate:

There's nothing I hate more than going on a trip and eating at a crappy restaurant. To me, vacation food is just about the most important part of a trip. If the food sucks, then you will be grumpy and bummed about everything else on the trip.

We ate at many great restaurants in Seattle. One of our favorites was a place called Local 360. The food was great and didn't disappoint, but that's not why I loved it so much. All of the food served in the restaurant is sourced from a 360 mile radius of Seattle. Hence the name. As their website will tell you, they believe in sustainability "not as an abstract concept, but a daily choice." They even have sourcing guidelines that they follow. Even the "diet coke" that the Golfer ordered was made locally.

Of course I drank lots and lots of coffee while I was there. It would seem sacrilegious to go to Seattle and drink my weight in coffee. I spent the whole trip walking the city with a Starbucks in my hand.

But the best thing I ate while in Seattle (and there's was lots of tasty things) was a cupcake from Cupcake Royale. While shopping around the Capitol Hill area, visiting our favorite bookstore The Elliot Bay Book Company, I stumbled into this cupcake shop "just to look." Ten minutes later I was walking out with my Starbucks in one hand and this cute pink box in the other.

The Golfer enjoyed their Dance Party cupcake while I devoured their seasonal Pumpkin cupcake. Along with the insane amount of enjoyment this bit of deliciousness gave me, I also enjoyed the story about the Random Act of Cupcakes on the side of the box.

What we did:

We read a lot of books. Adjacent to our hotel was a bar called The Bookstore. Books and alcohol everywhere. We were there everyday.

The Golfer had one request: the Seattle Aquarium. He digs looking at marine life in huge tanks. I could take it or leave it, but this aquarium was very nice and small. And I will admit, watching them feed the otters was very entertaining.

Pikes Place Market. Enough said.

The flowers alone are worth enduring the crowd at the Market. I want to buy them all.

But the Piroshky Bakery is why we really went. We discovered it a couple of years ago when we took the boys and we knew we had to go back. They are worth every calorie. I promise.

And yes, that is a Starbucks cup. Not from the "original" Starbucks located in the market, but from the one directly across the street. People joke about their being a Starbucks every five feet in Seattle, but it's real. And I went to most of them.

Chihuly Garden and Glass. For the California Freemans there is an unwritten rule when it comes to vacation: always visit a museum. Museums are there for a reason, and usually that reason is for you to learn something or experience something that you never have before. Chihuly Garden and Glass didn't disappoint. Everything about it was so unique and beautiful.

The garden, in my opinion, was the best part. Unlike anything I had seen before. If I said it once I said it a million times while walking through, "What about hail? I mean, what do they do in bad weather? This kind of garden would never work in Oklahoma!"