A Little Slice of Seattle Heaven

Last weekend I went to Seattle for 5 days to visit my very good friend Alicia. Seattle is gorgeous in August and Alicia is everything I could hope for in a friend, but what made time with Alicia in Seattle so special is that I left Maria behind! Mark and my mom took good care of her and I missed her a bit, but not nearly as much as I thought I would! Again, no mom-of-the-year awards for me, but it was heavenly to eat food while it was still hot, have long, uninterrupted conversations, change no diapers, eat at nice restaurants without fear, stay out late, shop till we dropped, sleep when tired and wake up late!

On our first morning we walked from Alicia's apartment with a Space Needle view over to Pike Place market for a breakfast of fresh berries and pastries. We ate dim sum, talked, shopped at some favorite stores that sadly don't exist in my town, soaked up the sun and picnicked at two different beaches, talked, walked all over the place, talked, and even redecorated Alicia's living room! We got some funny looks when carrying the curtain rods home from Bed, Bath and Beyond, but overall I loved living in the city for 5 short days. Very different from my usual walks at home which involve looking at the corn and soybean fields and needing to drive just about everywhere. Living in the country has its advantages, but city life sure is attractive! And time with a good friend is priceless... thank you Alicia!

Maria paints Chicago pink!

Last weekend Mark's mom was in Chicago for a women's conference for the Covenant church. We decided that a 2.5 hour drive to see one of his parents was much better than the usual 9.5 hour drive and so the plan was hatched.

We had to ask directions to the hotel when we were less than a block away(!), but other than that the drive went well. Maria was a big hit with the ladies from Mark's parent's church, though she burst into tears suddenly after too much attention! Boy was her grandma happy to see her!!

We ate at a restaurant called Italian Village and after an exceptionally loud crying spell in the women' s bathroom, Maria finally fell asleep in the restaurant. We decided to order dessert to take full advantage of her nap. Tiramisu is always a happy experience!

From the restaurant we walked past a mosaic by Marc Chagall on our way to Millenium Park.

It was neat to explore Millennium Park since it's relatively new and because the two face fountains were especially refreshing in the 90 degree plus heat. Mark especially enjoyed taking self-portraits and unique pictures in the giant reflective bean.

From there we walked through Grant's Park to Buckingham fountain. We collapsed in the shade of a crab apple tree and watched all the couples taking wedding and quince (sweet 16) photos. I didn't realize that quinceanera girls not only dress up in a formal gown that rivals many wedding dresses I've seen, but they also have a tuxedoed escort and a court of 2 or 3 matching couples to follow them around, not to mention professional photographers! The parallels to a wedding party are downright uncanny! There's even a magazine devoted entirely to quince parties! I'll try not to go on a tirade here about the excesses involved in modern weddings, but I have to say my feelings now extend to quincaneras as well. Frightening!

Anyway, we had a wonderful time exploring Chicago with momma Nina (pronounced "nine-uh") and it was neat seeing her and Maria together!