Blackberry Festival: Of the Edible Kind

From Seattle you may hop the ferry to Bainbridge, Bremerton,or even Victoria. Because I wanted to visit Yang's Botanical, we opted for Bremerton and landed ourselves smack dab in the middle of the blackberry Festival.
 
You must know that blackberries grow like weeds throughout Washington state, along almost every road. This makes it rather inexpensive to whip up a batch of soft blackberry brew, but I still wasn't convinced there were any blackberries in it.

We resisted the urge for a fried Twinkie,

and instead opted for something we knew had blackberries in it.

In addition to delectable fare, there was plenty of eye-candy, like this spidey halter top, a must have for every wardrobe.

The offerings were colorful and varied, appealing to every age group of the feminine kind.


Cheers!

Market Meanderings

It isn't the Space Needle that makes Seattle special, but somehow it stands as this monument to a place I adore. It isn't because of some Meg Ryan movie, or because of one place or event. It's the place my man loves. It's where he lets down his hair and is completely at home. It's a place where we always find a bit of magic together, just the two of us, and where we just enjoy being together, no matter what we are doing.



Sure, I am a foodie. I guess that's why I love the market. I love the bright colors,









Unique people...







Incredible fresh fish...






The produce...









Delectable cheeses and crumpets...









Adorable hats that I would be tempted to buy for my baby girls if they hadn't been out of the bunny ones...






Funny T-shirts...






Strange stores that carry things like the largest collection of Castile soaps I have ever seen,



Strange concoctions in brown mayonnaise bottles,  



...and things like this: 



We had to eat some Ivars at the pier, because the seagulls MUST be fed french fries. And for dessert? 



You guessed it. The best huckleberry ice cream in the world from Steamers. I am pleased to announce that this trip, one cone did the trick. 

Seattle, You Sexy Thang!

Dear Seattle,

I dreamed a dream, that when we next found each other, it would be a beautiful reunion. I can't explain it, but somehow I just knew. You see, when you are prego with two, your blood increases twice that of singletons. You can't breathe through your nose because your veins are suddenly twice as full and you have two tiny furnaces burning inside of you constantly.

Seattle, you did something magical last night. You made me feel slightly chilled, something I wasn't sure I would ever experience again. My comrades, clad in jackets and shivering, didn't recognize the beauty of goosebumps on this bulbous lady, but alas, it was a sweet flavor to my skin.

You didn't stop there, but I slept WITH COVERS ON, and didn't have to wake up to drink four glasses and then play scrabble for two hours while my overheated self cooled down. What's more, I DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH MY SALINE SPRAY BOTTLE! I woke and could breathe, and even cuddled up to my beloved buddy rather than regarding him as a shunned hot-pocket lying beside me! Oh, Seattle, you know that a restful night for me is so rare, and yet, you handed it to me on a silver platter. Bless you Seattle, for setting me free from sleepless nights, even just for a little while.

(SKIP TO 17 Seconds:)

Riding off Into the Never-ending Sunset

We thought our flight left at 9:00 PM. I was working late to finish the conference, and told C that he could pick me up straight from work where we would head to the airport. A school colleague recently helped him get a prized marathon entry through a personal connection, and so he was eager to pound out some training miles while he waited for me. I finished sooner than I thought I would, and transferred some files on my computer while I waited for him to call. I must have lost track of time, because at 7:00 PM I received a frantic call from C, "We aren't going to make it! The flight leaves at 8!" 

He was twenty minutes away, so I checked the flight status: On Time. 

I called the park-and-ride lot, and notified them of our impending arrival.

I ordered a couple of turkey and swiss sandwiches from the deli, and as C pulled up, I crossed the street to meet him.

We raced off, but the direct-access streets were closed that led to the park-and-ride. C was prepared with plan B, which was to just keep on driving if we missed the flight, but still he sped on to find a new route to the park-and-ride. We arrived to find the shuttle waiting for us, and we pulled out tickets and ID cards, shoved sandwiches in luggage, removed all metallic items and prayed for short security lines. We handed the driver a $10 for getting us there by 7:30 and raced off. Our prayers were answered and we managed to get through security in a matter of minutes. C even stopped to chat with the security officer as I walked through the metal detector:

C: Well, it looks like you have the beauty detector turned off, otherwise it DEFINITELY would be going off! 

Officer: Wow, you're almost as smooth as me!

We raced down the walkway to our gate, arriving just as the First Class passengers were boarding. We made it. C took advantage of the boarding time to snag some chocolate covered pretzels and Swedish Fish, and once on the plane we ate the sandwiches. I'd skipped lunch and after a 12 mile run, C was a bit low on blood sugar.

What luck! We were on a packed plane with a waiting list, and yet sat next to a seat that looked like this:

Doesn't everyone dream of this? Well, it didn't last for long, but the tiny airline employee who occupied it as the flight was about to leave was no trouble at all. She slept like a rock the entire time while C and I snapped photos, ate our sandwiches, and played kissy-face while gulping down the never-ending golden, sunset-kissed horizons for the duration of the entire flight. Don't believe me?

At take-off: 

In the air...

1/4 of the way through the flight...

1/2 of the way through the flight...

  3/4 way through the flight...

Mt. Rainier: Almost there! (blurry, but you get the picture)

And they rode off into the sunset...