Mini-vacation

Joe and I usually only have Sundays off together, but we were able to spend Friday evening and Saturday together this past weekend as well, which was quite nice. Because of this rare opportunity coupled with stress we've both been experiencing, we decided to take a mini-vacation. It was very nice being able to spend time just the two of us together.

We drove to Seattle on Friday and stayed in a hotel not far from the Seattle Center and Westlake Center. We were fairly hungry shortly after we arrived, so we decided to walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We looked at the list of suggested places to eat that was provided by the hotel, and we decided on one we actually knew how to get to from walking without looking up directions. It was described as a 24-hour diner, so we were thinking it'd be something like Denny's. The name of the place is 13 Coins, and it far exceeded any of our expectations. Joe had a philly cheesesteak sandwich and I had some spinach stuffed ravioli. Delish!

Saturday we went on the Duck Tour. It wasn't as informative as I had hoped, but it was nice being able to see different parts of downtown Seattle and spend some time on the water. We did get to see the house on the water that is the Sleepless in Seattle house and some other historic sites. After the Duck Tour, we visited Pike Place Market and had some amazing donuts (the tour guide from the Duck Tour recommended the donuts) and did some browsing. We stopped by a toy store in Pioneer Square and got a great lunch at Speciality's Cafe & Bakery. Then we headed to Westlake Center and walked around. I saw a store the offered extra dark hot chocolate, and it was like heaven in my mouth! Afterward, we went back to the hotel and hung out a bit before going to see a disappointing Christmas show (we left in intermission). But we had a very nice day.

My mother-in-law asked me yesterday what my favorite part about the day/trip was and it was just being able to spend time with my husband making some memories together and just relaxing. It was just the kind of mini-vacation I needed.

We are excited to take a vacation later this month to see some of my family and some of Joe's family for Christmas, but it was nice to be able to spend some time together alone.

If anyone wants a mini-vacation (or longer) and needs a place to stay, you are always welcome here!

It's nice having today off work too, but there are lots of errands to run, and the kittens are currently at the vet getting immunizations, fixed, and declawed. I'm sad that they might be in pain, but it'll be nice not to have our couch (or curtains or other furniture) scratched up any more than they already have been by the kittens.

I'm also excited that I've made a new friend at church. We're going to start walking together (starting today) and she's really sweet and cool.