Seattle weekend bonanza

Two weekends ago, I spent some time in Seattle with my mom and siblings. Two days is just not enough time to do all the fun things that city has to offer. We arrived at our downtown hotel, the Renaissance Friday night at around 8pm. The traffic on the way up was very thick starting in Olympia. I thought Portland was bad! We had to rush to get ready for dinner (we had reservations at 8:15) at the Italian restaurant on the very top floor (the 28th). I was getting frustrated because my size 0 banana republic pants were a little snug around my waist (I was in my 8th week of pregnancy). Right then and there, I decided that since I was in Seattle, I was going to do some shopping for some new clothes! Anyway, the restaurant was a bit of a disappointment. We all were thinking it was going to be along the lines of the Portland City Grill, with the same size, atmosphere and all. Well, it wasn't. It was very quiet (no music!) and small. The dining area was about the size of our family and kitchen put together, maybe a little larger. And the food was alright. I like Ramono's Macaroni Grill better. Despite all the negatives, we did enjoy each other's company. Afterwards, it was about 9:30pm, my brother, Adam decided to drive us over to the other side of the sound (West Seattle) and meet some of his friends. The view of the skyline at night was awesome, but I was freezing! I don't have much tolerance for the cold.
The next morning, my sister Amy really wanted all of us to go down to Pike Street Market and try these donuts that she claimed were famous. But being pregnant, there was no way I was just going to eat donuts for breakfast. I wanted a real breakfast, eggs, hashbrowns, maybe some sausage or bacon. You get the idea. I never really liked donuts anyway, except for maple bars. We walked for about 30 minutes or more around downtown Seattle until we finally ate. It was about 11am when we were done. The restaurant we ate at could have been a jazz club at one point.
Now we were ready to shop, shop, shop. least I was! Seattle is the place for it!
Amy really was in desperate need of new shoes. She wore these black pointy toe flats that had holes in them. She wanted to replace them with something practical, shoes she could wear to work and just everyday. What did she buy? By the end of the day, she ended up buying a pair of patent white and black leather high heels! But what's a girl to do? If you see a pair you love, a girl has little choice but to bring them home with her.
If you have never shopped in Seattle, here's a taste. The Old Navy itself has three levels (maternity on the 3rd level). There's a Nordstrom, and stores within the Nordstrom, Macy's, Barney's, a city center mall, tons of speciality stores, and Pike street market. We covered a lot of ground.
We hit happy hour at Palamino's. I last ate at one in Indianapolis. We all ordered pizza (except for Mom). She's on a gluten-free diet and doing quite well I might add. Mine was a little too heavy on the onions.
Adam wanted us all to visit his church that evening for the Young Professionals service (ages 25-35). Service was at 7:30 and there was a parade in town that was happening that night! 2/3 of the downtown was blocked off! It took us about forty five minutes to travel ~ 2 miles. We were fashionably late to church (missed the worship service) but was just in time for the message. The pastor was young, of course, singing the blues of turning 30 (Oh you poor thing!) Mom definitely felt like the oldest one there, but I didn't even think about it. The service reminded me of the Onyx house college-age group,except a little older. It is amazing how God can revealed himself in the middle of a mega metropolis. My family is a bunch of nightowls, except for Mom and I,and they wanted to go somewhere to get dessert. It was around 10:30pm. We just got done seeing Adam's apartment. Truthfully, I just wanted to go to bed and maybe just watch some TV. But I was going to be a good sport and go with the flow. We ended up at this very trendy urban place that was a few blocks from our hotel. Andi and I shared some sorbet (we wanted to eat healthy), Mom had some creme brulee, and Adam and Amy shared this molten "lava" chocolate cake.
The next morning, Sunday, we did finally go to the "famous" donut booth and the very first Starbucks. I got my very first Barista bear! Amy now has a dream to operate her own donut cart. Good luck on that one! We then dropped Adam off at his apartment and drove home. It was a good time and as always, it went by way too fast. Next time, I want go to the Aquarium and ride the ferries.