Skiing in Seattle

Greg and I just got back from an epic eight-day trip to Seattle.

I started the trip out right by staying up alllllll night the night before we left. We were set to leave the house at 5 a.m., and I was working until 1 a.m. Since I need about an hour to get myself together in the morning, I decided against sleeping for three hours. It turned out to be an awesome decision. I slept all the way to Seattle. Total win.

We decided to take a trip out there early in the year so that we could take advantage of good skiing weather and the opportunity to visit Greg's sister, who lives out there. We went Wednesday to Wednesday, and she was able to take off the second set of weekdays, so for the first few days we headed out to Crystal Mountain ski resort about two hours outside of Seattle.

Can I just say it was amazing? We stayed in the cutest little suite/condo with a dollhouse-sized kitchen (we did all of our own cooking for this portion of the trip), sitting room complete with wood stove and a hot tub and heated pool.

And the skiing was awesome the first day. Powdery and fun. Best of all, I hadn't forgotten how to ski. (I was a little worried -- I just learned how last year!) The second day was slightly less awesome -- I fell a lot and the slopes were more crowded because it was a Friday. And there was no new snow.  Ah well. Not every day can be a winner, right? That day we did get to take a nice detour to see Mount Rainier at the top of the gondola:

Friday night we hopped off to Seattle to meet up with Greg's sister and her boyfriend, who are just the nicest people with the cutest house and the silliest little Boston terrier. Greg's sister, happily, was able to act as our tour guide for the remainder of the trip, Tarzan (the Boston) in tow:

Over the weekend, we did all of our sight-seeing. I'd never been to Seattle before, so I was super excited to visit Pike's Place:

It reminded me of a giant version of Baltimore's Cross Street Market, which is a block away from the house I grew up in. Needless to say, I adored it.

We also visited the sculpture garden:

 I made that dress, by the way. More in another post since I made three of them. I don't remember what this sculpture was supposed to be, but it was shaped like a giant geometric donut -- with a bite out of it.

We also visited the locks. Oh. My. Goodness. I'd never seen a lock in action in person before. It's fascinating. I probably would have watched all day if I hadn't been with other, less interested, people. But I did get to watch twice! I took a long cell video of the process (I'll spare you my poor cellphone videography, no need to worry.) Also, that first boat was ADORABLE. All wood detailing... the lady aboard said it was a 1978. So pretty. Seattle is chock full of beautiful boats.

We rounded out the trip with wine-tasting, another day of skiing and visits to several local independent fabric shops (!!). I'll try to have a separate post with my haul from the fabric shops. Too good to be believed. And, of course, nothing like what we have here.

All in all, it was an amazing trip and incredible food, a sweet hostess, good skiing and a ton of fun. It was so sad it all had to end, though I confess that I do think one of the best things about going away is coming home. At least for me, returning home always increases my appreciation for little things: my bed, a glass of my favorite wine, non-travel bottles of toiletries (I hate them!), good milk and general familiarity. Home is, after all, where your sewing machines are. ;)