It's been a year in the making and it FINALLY CAME!
Thursday 3/13, Jenn, Shauna and I all hopped on planes and headed to Seattle. We all arrived about the same time and Tash was there to pick us up. We were all pretty hungry, so we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and filled our tummies. Tasha was able to get us a night at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, and so we headed down and got settled in. We were a little delirious from flying all day, and since Tash booked us under Dave's "Elite" status, we had access to the concierge lounge. We headed up for a cookie, water and Pepsi Party!!! Woo Hoo! We headed out to the balcony and tried so hard to take selfies and enjoy the view. This is where we came up with our weekend hashtag - #gurrrlzgetaway2014.
Friday 3/14 - Seattle
We woke up to a damp morning and headed out to Pike's. I started my morning with a delicious organic caramel apple cider. We had a great time strolling through the public market...
I love all the free samples. And this time I even had my first Pickle Juice Shot! Woo! It was delish!
One of my favorite stops, was the cheese factory...crackers and fresh cheese in my belly!
The clouds receded and the sun came out! We took a little break down on the waterfront, before heading underground for a Seattle Underground Tour.
We headed down under the streets to see and learn all about Seattle's history. There's a whole city under there! Its crazy!
It was kind of creepy and smelly too!
Our last stop was an underground club. I love the skylights on the sidewalks...
Poor Jenn had an upset tummy and stayed in the car to rest. We got her some sprite and crackers...and then the rest of us enjoyed these yummy delicious things - fladenbrots- at the Berliner.
The soda and crackers really helped Jenn. So, we continued with our adventure and headed over to Fremont.
We made a little stop to see my old friend, the Troll-
Then we headed to Theo Chocolates for a factory tour! Yum! Check out our "blue" oompa loompa hats-
The tour was short and sweet and HOT! We were all happy to end up in the cool store and purchase some yummy chocolates of our own.
On our way back to Seattle, we decided to stop at Gasworks Park. The views of the city are amazing!
And while we were there, we were so lucky to see this-
We were right there at the top of the hill and were able to witness and take pics of this special moment. It was pretty cool.
Next stop, the Space Needle...and right at Sunset! We didn't even plan it!
It was beautiful!
We hopped on the monorail and got in some retail therapy at the Gap-
And then we finished the night with dinner at the Yard House. I had myself the shepherd's pie from the St. Patricks Day menu and it was kind of big-
We monorailed it back to the car and called it a day!
Phew! What an amazing first day! We packed in so much and were exhausted. We went back to Tasha's that night and got a good night's rest. Happy Day 1!
Saturday 3/15 - Canada Eh!
Saturday we woke up and were treated to homemade crepes, courtesy of Dave. Then we began the wet drive to Canada for some fun in Vancouver. I was so excited to go out of the country. I couldn't wait to see it, meet the people and hear them talk like Hozers!
Our first impression of Vancouver, was not expected. The dude at the border crossing was not as friendly as I had hoped. The journey into Vancouver was a little confusing and really wet! But our hotel, courtesy of Dave's "Elite" status again was awesome. And we were able to decide on an excellent place for dinner. We headed to the Cactus Club Cafe down at Canada Place in the Harbor. The food, the atmosphere and the service was top notch!
Even the bathrooms were cool!
And right out in front of the restaurant was the Olympic Torch Replica. Pretty stinkin cool and really warm to stand by! Which was really nice, because it was cold and rainy. We were all pretty beat from the day's journey. We headed back to the hotel for a nice, relaxing night of p.j.'s and t.v.. It was just what we needed.
Sunday 3/16 - Vancouver Trolley Tour
Because none of us knew anything about Vancouver, we decided to do a city trolley tour. It was so perfect! It was a on/off tour on an on/off rainy day!
We were able to see so much from the comfort of our little trolley, like Stanley Park.
After seeing Stanley Park, we hopped off for a little ride on the False Creek Ferry to Granville Island.
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| Thanks Skipper Bob! |
Granville's Public Market was warm and had wonderful booths and vendors!
We all got fresh, homemade candies for our kids!
We wondered around Granville's shops and then hopped back on the trolley. We drove back over the bridge and into downtown to see historic buildings, sports complexes and Chinatown. When we got to Gastown, it was time to hop off again and get some lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
And Gastown was full of tourist shops for us to get souvenirs-
Gastown was my favorite stop of the tour. Look at those street lamps!
We finished our tour and said goodbye to Vancouver. I was pretty bummed, I never heard anyone talk like the McKenzie Brothers from Strange Brew...eh. I was told I needed to head out of the metro area to the small towns to get that. Oh well! It was still so amazing to see this city, and be in a different country. And it was so fun to do it all with my buddies!
Home Sweet Home! USA USA!
On our way back to Tasha's, we stopped in Burlington, WA to do some more shopping at the outlets, and to have dinner at the coolest dive, the Train Wreck! The food was so yummy. The Walla Walla onion rings were the bomb! We made it safely back to Snohomish and got all packed up for our trip home in the morning.
Monday 3/17 - St. Patricks Day - Home!
We all slowly got ourselves up and ready for our journey home. We were all ready to go home and see our families again, but we were also sad to leave. These weekends are so fun! Before heading to the airport, we stopped at the Maltby Cafe for a delicious St. Patricks Day breakfast. This place is my favorite. The food is amazing and people are pretty darn sweet! Check out the cute little Irish man playing the Irish jigs on the clarinet for us-
Here's our last group photo. What a weekend! Tasha was an amazing host/planner ( & her family..). We did so much and saw so much! #gurrrlzgetaway2014 was a success!
Goodbye my friends! Already planning our trip for next year... Can't wait!
To see all the pics I took - Click HERE.
I made it home safely and came home to these wonderful people-the loves of my life! And they loved their treats from Canada!
Having fun with the girls is such a treat. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to go and get in some girl time. But the feeling I get when I come home is the best in the world! I love and miss them so much...and the feeling is mutual. There truly is "no place like home".
