Family weekend - South of the border

Rob and I set off for a weekend adventure on Friday afternoon. After packing up our stuff and hopping in a Zipcar, I drove over to school to pick Rob up and we were on the road by 3:30 pm. Lots of traffic in the city and line ups at the border slowed us down, but we still made it to our hotel in Seattle at around 7:30 pm.

We decided to try to make the most of our visit, so even though it was raining we drove into the city and explored a little that night. We saw Pike Place Market (though it was already closed for the day), looked out over the waterfront, and then decided to stop in somewhere for a quick drink. After much deliberation, we stopped at SAM TASTE, the restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum. As we opened up the door though, we noticed the opening hours said it closed at 10 pm...it was 9:55. The host ushered us in anyway and assured us there was time. Let me just say that everything you could want in a restaurant was there...friendly service, great ambiance, subtle music, delicious food and drink, and all at amazingly reasonable prices! At a place like this, I figure you could expect to pay easily $20/person, for a main course...it was more like $10! We had already eaten dinner, so we just decided to share a dessert (7 different cookies to sample - Rob was happy!) and some cider. Just as our order arrived, the host/owner came over and told us he didn't want to waste what was left of an open champagne bottle...so then we got a free glass of champagne too! We left a big tip and a glowing comment card. And figured we would pass on the word here!

Saturday was the original reason for our visit - Rob was taking a 1 day course to be certified to teach Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics. I dropped him off at this huge high school first thing in the morning. Apparently, it was pretty decked out inside, with Smart Boards in all of the rooms, and fancy classroom layouts, etc. He had a full day there - 7:30 am to 3 pm - with lots of teachers from Washington state, breakfast and lunch included. Seems like it was a worthwhile course and a good thing to add to his resume too.

While Rob was in class, it rained...a lot...I'm told it was even a lot for Seattle. But I really wanted to go hiking, even in the rain. I found out about this small trailhead where I could hike up to Squak Mountain. I had some difficulty finding the small turnoff, but then spent 2 hours hiking up and around the mountain. When the sky started to get dark and I could hear the wind pick up in the tops of the trees, I made a beeline down the mountain. A storm did start up behind me, but I managed to make it out totally unscathed, escaping the storm, and was one happy camper!! Quite proud of how muddy I got. I managed to get some reading in at Starbucks to wait out the rain and wait for Rob to finish.

Saturday night was the start of the events with Rob's family. Dinner with Uncle Walter, Aunt Connie, and cousins Agnes and Mary. Connie cooked tons of delicious food and we were surrounded by amazing conversation. Lots of stories from Walter's childhood, and lots and lots of laughs.


As a last stop before leaving on Sunday morning, we got to see Aunt Mary. Aunt Mary is Walter's ex-wife, but Rob remembers a couple of visits with her when he was younger, and has some fond memories. He was really excited to reconnect and I was happy to meet her for the first time. We chatted and met her miniature ponies, dog, and goats, then went for a walk and some breakfast by the beautiful Lake Washington. After really interesting conversation, we picked up cousin Mary and got to spend 3 hours in the car with her on the drive back home.

After everything was said and done, we made it back home with fresh groceries in the fridge and all by 5pm. Now it's time to get ready for the week and take it easy after a tiring, fun-filled weekend!

-Sara