Stacie visits Seattle

Yes, that's right! Auntie Cee Cee came to Seattle for a visit and we had a fabulous time! The kids were thrilled to see her, to say the least. She did not, however, make them the Buckeyes Micah so desperately wanted. She did make Autumn Chowder (delicious, cheesy soup) and egg bake (her own special recipe).

On Friday Stacie, Marissah and I went to the Seattle Premium Outlets mall. Wow, what a great place! Too bad I can't afford Kenneth Cole even at outlet prices. Lots of great stores there, including Coach, Banana Republic, Michael Kors and Liz Claiborne. We bought some goodies at Harry and David's (yum!) and Marissah had a wonderful time at Claire's (big surprise).

On Saturday Stacie and I went to Pike Place Market. We had a great time, in spite of getting accosted by many weirdos. Apparently my sister attracts them like honey attracts flies. One of them was even surprised to learn she was "English" and opposed to Hispanic. Because you know, with her blonde hair and fair skin she looks SO Latin. He started speaking Spanish to her and was surprised when she didn't reply in kind. He bummed a cigarette off of her and then tried to give it back five minutes later. Um, no thanks, dude!

Off on a little tangent here......Neither Stacie nor I have ever felt so completely conspicuous as smokers as we did in Seattle. I don't think *anyone* smokes in this state. Whilst having a smoke outside of Pike Place Market we were even coughed at. Talk about passive-aggressive. It was weird to feel so out of place.

We ate so much at Pike Place Market that I thought I was going to explode. We sampled everything from goat cheese to dark chocolate fettuccine (it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great either) to rose petal jelly (that was disgusting). For lunch we had a seafood feast. Stacie had clam chowder, oyster shooters, seviche and steamed clams. I had clam chowder, steamed mussels and Dungeness crab cakes. I also had some of Stacie's seviche and it's now my new favorite food. Oh, it was so delicious. I need to find a good recipe and make it for myself this summer. We ended up buying some delicious cheese: a garlic and dill chevre and a rosemary and garlic feta. I am so decadent that I put the chevre on my ham sandwiches and feel not one ounce of guilt. It is that good.

And back to our visit with Stacie, on Sunday she and I took the kids on the ferry to Whidbey Island. The ferry ride was fun. It wasn't too long, only about 20 minutes. We went to a beach and found shells, rocks, and even brought home a hitchhiker in the form of a teeny, tiny crab. When I say "teeny, tiny" I really mean it-it was smaller than the very tip of Stacie's index finger. Stacie named him Hitch and we fed him some hamburger after a quick Google to see what crabs eat. And then he promptly died. Oh well. We had a lovely funeral in the bathroom and Aaron loved being flusher.

On Monday I took Stacie to her hotel so she could get on with the real reason for this trip: WORK! Unfortunately, I dropped her off at the wrong hotel. Fortunately, the right hotel was just a few feet away. I mean, really, who puts a Holiday Inn next to a Holiday Inn Express and just expects people to know the difference?????? Sheesh!

We really had a great time-at least I hope she had as much fun as I did. I hope she'll come visit again. Maybe next time we'll remember to look for Mt Rainier.