Daily Archives: December 8, 2010

A Day in Seattle

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Even though this is a recap of our trip to Sacramento, California, we actually spent the majority of Sunday (December 5) in Seattle, Washington!! :)

 

If you are just tuning in, be sure to read part I and part II of our trip.

Sunday morning got started bright and early with a 4:30 a.m. departure for the airport. After very little sleep all weekend long, I was exhausted, but I still had a fun day to look forward to!

With the way our travel plans worked, we ended up having an 8-hour layover in Seattle!! I was really excited because I’ve never been to Seattle, and I love visiting new places!! :D

Prior to our trip, we called our friends Ross and Jenn to see if they would meet us in Seattle and spend the day with us. They, of course, were happy to do so!! :)

We started our morning with a trip to the infamous Pike Place Market. We don’t have a very good farmer’s market in Anchorage, so I was beaming as I walked past all the fresh, home-grown produce. I was so giddy inside I could hardly contain myself! :)

And of course there was fish, but I’m bummed we didn’t get to see any of it being thrown.

Alaskan salmon–caught in my backyard practically.

Jenn and I did a little perusing at the local vendors.


 

I was so excited to buy home-grown produce from a farmer’s market!

The goods: 2 apples and some carrots. Of course we would have bought more if we weren’t traveling.

I had to know how these purple and white-ish colored carrots tasted!

The purple ones had a hint of beet and the white-ish ones had a hint of turnip in them.

I picked out two varieties I’ve never had before. This one was my favorite!!

We walked the streets and saw the first Starbucks.

We also saw a “team of pigs” pulling Santa’s sleigh (minus the sleigh). (That one’s for you, Mom and Dad!)

By this time, we were getting hungry, so we went to this convenience store to grab a little something.

Bread + cheese (You can’t go wrong with this combination. Craig and I lived on bread and cheese (plus some fruits and veggies) when we drove from Minnesota to Alaska!)

And some bacon-flavored chocolate?!?! While it seemed like a good (??) idea, it was actually quite disgusting!!

Next stop: the Pacific Science Center to see. . . .

the Harry Potter exhibit!!

Jenn, Ross, and Craig

We couldn’t take pictures inside, but the exhibit contained a variety of costumes and props from the movies. It was fun to see all the different things from the movies, and it made me realize how much work went into making the movies!

Next, it was time to get some food to fill our bellies.

We didn’t know exactly where we were going to eat, but when we decided on Whole Foods, I was more than happy!! (Once again, a store we don’t have in Alaska.)

There was so many different options to choose from, and after filling my plate, I realized I had missed an entire bar of food!!

Craig and I also split this kale and bean soup. It was good!

I also had a few bites of Craig’s sandwich. (I was a hungry girl!)

The sandwich contained: turkey, bacon, and avocado. It was also good!

Craig and I split a couple of beverages.

Craig loves kombucha (as do I), so he wanted to try this.

Plus, we have been to Townhend’s Tea Company in Portland, OR. We both really enjoyed this brand of kombucha!

Craig also loves rhubarb, so he wanted to try this beverage as well. It was a good choice!

After hanging out and catching up with our friends, it was then  time to go back to the airport. :(

Bummer! I wanted to stay!!

California Recap, Part II

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

I started Saturday morning with a glorious run! While I didn’t feel all that great due to lack of sleep and not eating the best, there was no complaining coming from my mouth because I couldn’t get over how wonderful it was to run in the mild temperatures!! Once again, I completed 7 miles in 60 minutes, just as the sun was coming up–my favorite time to run! :)

Saturday morning took us to downtown Sacramento to a little cafe for breakfast.

Did you know Sacramento is “the city of trees?” I had no idea, but there were a hundreds of trees lining the streets downtown. It was really pretty!

We ate at Cafe Bernardo.

I wanted something light and refreshing, so I ordered a bowl of yogurt with seasonal fruit. I was pretty disappointed when the “seasonal” fruit ended up being: apples, bananas, and dried cranberries. Seriously?!?!

Oh well, it was still delicious!

I also ordered a side of toast and jam. I love raspberry jam!

Craig had the huevos rancheros. It is his thing to get whenever we go to a place that offers them. Apparently these were good but not the best he’s had.

Me + Craig

That afternoon, we hit up the mall for some shopping. I was really excited to go to a mall that offered a lot of stores we don’t have in Anchorage: Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Bath and Body Works, and H&M just to name a few.

During the course of our shopping trip to the mall, we purchased a few personal items as well as a couple of Christmas gifts.

For lunch, we discovered Pluto’s. Neither of us had heard of it, but the food on people’s plates looked good and the prices were reasonable.

The salad bar.

You pick what kind of lettuce and dressing you want plus 7 different toppings!!

My salad contained spinach + garbanzo beans + tomatoes + pear + walnuts + blue cheese + croutons. (I can’t remember what the 7th item was!?!?)

It was mighty good! A little heavy on the dressing though.

Craig ordered a portabella mushroom sandwich with onion rings.

We split both entrees and really liked both of them!

After seeing the frozen yogurt stand in the mall earlier, I knew this was what was going to be on the menu for dessert!

I’ve been reading about frozen yogurt places on so many blogs that I was incredibly excited to finally try some! (We don’t have any place like this in Anchorage.)

I had a ton of different toppings.

pumpkin + cookies ‘n’ cream + vanilla frozen yogurt

brownie bites + caramel sauce + coconut + Snicker pieces + blackberries + raspberries + mangos + blueberries

Craig loves gummy bears in his frozen yogurt!

Attack of the bears.

Our day included a lot of food!

That evening, we headed to Fat’s Asia Bistro for dinner.

Fat’s reminded me of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

I finally got to use my umbrella I bought a year ago!

Me and my mother-in-law.


The inside was very chic and modern.

I got started with some hot green tea because I was freezing cold!! (go figure!)

A boat-load of food was ordered, and we ate family-style. I like being able to sample a little bit of everything!


I was stuffed and only found room for a couple bites of this amazing banana cream pie. I wish I would have had more room because this was probably the best banana cream pie I’ve ever had!


Craig and me standing next to the warm fire! We were going for a potential Christmas-card picture, but the lighting is pretty dim.

Well, this is going to have to be a 3-part recap of our, so I’ll be recapping the final day when I get a chance!