sunny seattle gets visitors

it has been absolutely beautiful here, and when i got the news that it has already snowed back in my home state of colorado, i must admit i was oh so very happy to be in seattle! my little sister and brother-in-law flew in last weekend for a visit and left just this morning. i have to say that i didn't have half the energy that they did for walking all over this fantastic city. yet, the exploring i did take part in continued to remind me of how wonderful seattle truly is.

oktoberfest: last weekend was the annual fremont oktoberfest. anthony and i took part in the brew ha-ha 5k run first thing sunday morning and then joined up with our visitors to check out some of the other events. as a non-beer drinker i felt the cost of admission to the beer garden was a bit steep ($15), and the food was pretty disappointing. however, we did get to watch the chainsaw pumpkin carving contest! sitting right up front i got sprayed with pumpkin guts, which contributed to a great show overall. as i have a feeling that my running career will be over by next year's oktoberfest, i'd instead like to participate in the street scramble. we watched people running all over the neighborhood for this scavenger hunt, and it looked like a blast! there is also a miss buxom contest, and while i will never be participating in that event, it just may have been worth a visit.

capitol hill: from what i had heard of this neighborhood, it sounded just like capitol hill in denver. and lots of it really is just like denver's cap hill, but parts of it are much more special. the beginning of our visit took us along broadway, where nothing really stood out to me. and then we made our way to volunteer park. as we neared the park, we found ourselves in a beautiful residential area. and the closer we got, the more in love with the neighborhood i fell! it is just stunning! the 50 acre park has a cemetery, public conservatory and the seattle asian art museum. the conservatory is a small building, packed full of tropical plants and cactus (in separate rooms of course!). the asian art museum is also rather small, but full of beautiful exhibits. i definitely think it's worth the trip away from downtown to hit this unique spot. outside the museum is the black sun sculpture, which provides an opportunity for tourists and transplants a unique view of the needle. we also made our way to lake view cemetery, which is the resting place of bruce lee and his son brandon lee.

the aquarium: although there just a couple months ago, i jumped at the opportunity to return to the aquarium with my sister. i haven't been to many aquariums, but seattle's is my favorite by far. for me the best part is the tide pools that allow you to touch all the sea creatures. i've done the starfish and crabs, but it's not every day that you get to stick your hand into a sea anemone. pretty fun! they also have sea otters, which are MUCH larger than their river counterparts. additionally, they have an extensive exhibit about the salmon ladder, which ends with the adult salmon battling the upstream currents with river otters playing right along side them.

alki beach: i wasn't sure that i'd ever find a reason to get over to west seattle, but having my sister in town prompted a visit to alki beach. this park offers 135 acres of stunning views of downtown and the sound. although the rest of west seattle is less than thrilling (at least for me), alki beach makes for a gorgeous and relaxing side trip. plus they have their own replica of the statue of liberty overlooking the waters of the puget sound.

saying farewell: my sister and her husband stayed for over a week, but somehow their departure came all too quickly. for their last night in town we went to a great little restaurant (holds about 20 diners at a time) in wallingford called sutra. this place serves a fixed menu (changes weekly) of 4 all-vegetarian courses. each course is served to the entire restaurant at the same time, so reservation times are fixed and all diners experience the meal at the same time. prior to service the chef discussed some of the ingredients and preparation techniques, which was pretty enlightening for a long time ex-vegetarian. the food was excellent and a great experience that we will definitely have to try again. plus i was turned on to vegan ice cream made with coconut milk. delicious!

and now that our visitors have departed, we are getting back to work (plus a lot of football watching). i start my internship with the league of women voters of washington tomorrow and continue to submit job applications. a paid position would be nice after all. :)

stay tuned as the autumnal weather moves in and brings the rain!