Boise Idaho

After we left beautiful Seattle we headed to Boise, Idaho.  Andrew was worried we would not arrive at our lodge in time for the complimentary milk and cookies - but we did!  We ate dinner at a local restaurant "The Front Door" - known for their delicious pizza.  (Ironically, there was not a potato on the menu.)  After dinner we were beat and decided to go to sleep and see the capitol in the morning.

We woke up early and walked around the historic district downtown.

Andrew was impressed by the Boise State accouterment store, which basically stated that the money spent there would go directly to the football team.

We stopped briefly on our way to the capitol building so that Nicole could help "Lewis and Clark" find their way.

The Boise capital building was impressive, even from a distance.

We were even more impressed to find out that the building was open - even on a Sunday!  The security guard not only let us in, he told us where the visitor's center was so that we could watch a video about how it was built!

Andrew felt the rotunda was the coolest part of the building.

Nicole disagreed, though.  She thought the coolest part was how open the state Senate and House chambers were.

Andrew was shocked - absolutely shocked! - to find that Lobbyists had their own secured entrance and meeting place in the building.

On the way out, Andrew wanted to stop to try the local Mongolian BBQ - but, for both their sakes, Nicole stopped him.

From there, it was a brief and scenic drive to Salt Lake City - but that story will be told another time...

Pike Place - the Place to Be!

While in Seattle, we woke up early to visit the famous Pike Place marketplace.  It is, essentially a daily farmer's market, but its business model has been inspirational for many companies trying to increase worker synergy.  But anyway...

Because we were up so early, coffee was a necessity. And what better place to get a cup o' joe than at the original Starbucks location?  (Recognize someone off to the left?)

Our moods were immediately lifted after that bittersweet mead hit our lips.

The Pike Place market is most famous - locally at least - for its fresh fish selection.  The fishermen are renowned for throwing fish orders at customers - literally heaving the heavy packages across the counters.  (Although we were lucky enough so see some fish thrown, we weren't able to capture it on film.)

Even though it was only about 8:30 in the morning, Andrew couldn't resist a crab salad - literally fresh from the ocean!

Nicole took a couple of bites too.

As much as we loved Seattle, we needed to move on.  So we took one last look at Puget Sound and took the highway to Boise...

Seattle Here We Come!

After a relatively short car trip, we arrived in the waterfront city of Seattle.  We checked in to our hotel - "The Edgewater" - which turned out to be, quite literally, on top of the water!

To greet us in our room, we found a friendly, cuddly bear.  (He was a fair-weather, friend, though, and would have charged us $30 to be permanent friends.)

The view from our room was spectacular.  We were able to take in the downtown Seattle cityscape from our window, including the famous Space Needle.

There wasn't much time to enjoy the view, though, as we needed to get to Safeco Field to catch the Mariners game!

Walking around the stadium was a real treat, with some spectacular views!

While waiting in line at the concession, Andrew ran into the Mariners' star player - Ichiro Suzuki!  (Alright, not really.  But doesn't this guy look like him?  And his costume was spot-on, including a wiffle bat!)

Nicole tracked down great seats on StubHub, where we enjoyed the game with our Mariners Dogs.

Although the final score was a bit lopsided - Rays 8, Mariners 0 - we both had a blast and would love to come back soon!

We had to get to sleep right away after that so that we could enjoy the Pike's Place farmer's market early the next morning.  But more on that later...

Olympia Washington

On our way to Seattle we took advantage of stopping in the capital of Washington - Salem.  We maneuvered off the freeway and found the capital easily.  We were pleasantly surprised by how friendly and open the capital building was to the public.  The policy was any open door you can enter and take pictures.

The majestic capital!

Nicole in front of the governor's office

Andrew in front of the governor's office

The state Senate

Everything had the state seal - even the door knobs

Portland Part 2

This morning we woke up and took advantage of our "free" breakfast at the hotel.  We dined on potato/cheese quesadillas (which reminded us of the infamous St. Paul burritos), bagels and orange juice.  There were waffles, but the line was too long.  After breakfast we had two destinations in mind - Voodoo Doughnut's and Powell's Bookstore.  Both of these destinations were reached!

The line for the doughnut was relatively long (especially for a donut shop), but moved very quickly.

Once inside, we were overwhelmed with the number of doughnuts to choose from.  

There was a moment of disappointment when Andrew was told that the famous Voodoo Doll doughnut had just sold out and that we'd have to get back in line later if we wanted one.  Luckily, when he went back into the bakery to get another doughnt, the cashier returned with a hot, fresh Voodoo Doll.

Nicole was originally tempted by the "Coffin Full of Doughnuts" offer, but ultimately decided on one covered with Cap'n Crunch Berries.

One last pit stop in Portland required a visit to the world famous Powell's bookstore - a four story complex taking up nearly an entire city block - where Andrew managed to spend $50 in less than ten minutes!

Lastly, we were amused that we had to cross a real, actual draw bridge on our way out of town.

It was smooth driving into Washington, up to our brief tour of Olympia (of course, the state capital).  But that will have to wait until later.  For now, we're getting ready for the Mariners game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field.  (An earlier post incorrectly referred to the Texas Rangers as the visiting team, mainly because Andrew was too lazy to double-check.)  Nicole is ready for her Seattle Dog - a hot dog in a pretzel bun with cream cheese!

Portland Here We Come!

First off - we vastly underestimated the immense drive from Berkeley to Portland!  It was a very scenic and interesting drive, but it was just about 2 hours more than anyone should be in the car.  That said here are some highlights of the trip.

We hit the road early and enjoyed our overcast / foggy trip out of the bay area, crossing some bridges along the way.

After a while, we left our lovely state of California, but were welcomed with open arms into Oregon.

Looking ahead at the map, Nicole wondered whether or not we'd be able to pick out Mount Shasta.  Her question was answered rather quickly as we came around a bend in the pass.

We were surprised to pass a truck from a familiar place heading in the same direction.

Somewhere past Eugene, Andrew crossed the 1000 mile threshold for the trip, and soon after passed on the reigns to Nicole.

There was a brief detour to the state capital of Oregon - Salem - so that Nicole could take a picture for her students.  (Unfortunately, due to complete technical incompetence, Andrew accidentally deleted the picture of Nicole actually in front of the building.)

Nicole also hung out with some of the famous Oregon Beavers in a park near the capital.

Back on track, we finally made our way to Portland, although we hit some traffic coming through the downtown area.  We made our way over to Henry's Tavern for a "happy hour" dinner.

Before:

After:

Lastly, after dinner, we tried to run over to the world famous Powell's bookstore - four stories of books, a half of a city block on each side!  Unfortunately, we arrived moments after they closed.  But that didn't stop Andrew from posing for a picture!

Tomorrow morning we'll be hitting up Voodoo Donuts and try shopping at Powell's again (if time permits).  After we leave Portland, we have the shortest leg of the trip up to Seattle the hometown Mariners will be hosting the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field.