Blind Traveler: A Few Minutes.

After spending a day @ Brian's sending emails and recuperating from the extensive 2 hour drive from Portland we were ready for some more fun. After a spaghetti dinner we at Brian's headed over to Doyle's (a neighborhood Irish sports bar) to watch the Sounder Vs. Barcelona. To say the least, it was a ludacris performance by the Sounders, who lost 4-0. Props to the Sounders though for becoming MLS and also to Barcelona for having Thierry Henry, Katie's personal pick for hottest man in soccer (Ladies I highly recommend the link). Talented, conscientious, attractive athletes aside we had a great time and got to meet some more of Brian's friends here in Tacoma.

Thursday, Dan had a meeting with the firm that Brian works for, unfortunately they had no current openings but it was just nice to get in the door and talk to people in the industry. Thursday also happened to be Joseph's 30th birthday, so we went that afternoon to Seattle. It was a fabulous introduction to the Seattle scene as Joseph, Meredith, and their good friends. The friends blog for their neighborhood, so they have a good eye on where to go for a great time. We started off at a new speak easy called Knee High Stocking Co. All things seemed to imply that we were about to have a good time: door that does not look like an entrance to anything, cozy atmosphere, daily punch selection. We had some very delicious drinks and Dan and I split the Chicago "style" Dog, who no relish, cucumbers and peppers on a hot dog could be so good? After that we transferred to Dinette, a local eatery up the street with some very local color (Tranny with a head scarf, makeup, and mens clothing). The best thing about this place was the Herb Frittata Toast. For all of the Colorado readers imagine Larkburger's Parm Truffle Fries... but better and in toast form.

Friday was spent back in Tacoma on the job hunt path again. Nothing interesting to report there of course so straight to our evening entertainment... We met up with Brian after work for his monthly emerging leaders happy hour. It was held this time at a relatively new bar called the seven oh one. Great happy hour as they had $3 Martinis until 6 pm, which was a really good deal considering the Martini selection and quality. I was the only one of our group who actually got a martini so I figured I would need to get two in order to take advantage of the cost and get to try new things. My first was the Thanksgiving which was a cran- ras concoction and pretty good. The second was a dirty gin martini and was probably the best gin martini I have ever had. That night some of the friends from happy hour met us back at Brian's for a fire. Dan and I recreated our poutine from Portland and it turned out pretty good for a first try.

Friday ended up going into the wee hours of Saturday for Brian so we had a bit of a late start on our plans that day to meet up again with Joseph and Meredith. After some restorative pho from What the Pho (we had to go just to say we had been) we made the rest of our way up to Seattle. We figured a little sight seeing must be in order since I hadn't done that yet. First we headed to Rem Koolhaas' masterpiece, the Seattle Central Library,

followed by Pike Place Market. We watched the obligatory fish fly, passed by some incredible flower stalls, and then high tailed it out of there. Saturday afternoon in summer is not the time to see the Market. It was crowded to the point of not moving and I was overwhelmed. I do look forward to returning on a weekday morning when it is not so over wrought. We then headed to the waterfront and walked to the Olympic Sculpture Park where we saw a super cool Richard Serra piece and some other notable work. If you are in town it is definitely worth a meander.

That evening we met up again with Joseph and Meredith, this time for Meredith's birthday. We grabbed drinks at Havana, another wouldn't have known it existed without well acquainted guides location. The bar tender was super friendly and helpful, really some of the best service at a bar I have ever had. We were there early so he put on our music request, made Meredith a tasty birthday beverage, and set up dinner reservations for us. After some drinks and conversation we then headed to said dinner reservations at our illustrious guides' favorite pizza restaurant, Via Tribulani. The pizza was really good, and surprisingly enough Meredith's pepperoni was my favorite, proving that high quality, local sausages rein supreme. After dinner we returned to Joseph and Meredith's pad for some Wii Resort Sports and lots of laughing.

Sunday had Dan and I returning to Seattle to meet up with J and M for a hike in the Cascades. After 4.5 mi and 3500 ft elev, gain we summitted McClellan Butte. Being at such lower elevations was a a definite benefit to our lungs, being in the car traveling for over a month was no help to our muscles. Dan summitted just fine, I however was sorrily lagging behind. I am proud I made it to the top (sans scramble to the top of the rock outcropping). After the descent and an obligatory post hike beer we headed back to Brian's to recreate Bill and Alba's carne asada tacos. They were delicious and were quickly followed by an early bed time.