OVERVIEW

I LOVED Seattle. It is definitely the cloudy all of the time. Its home to the first Starbucks, ever. They have lots of seafood and salmon. The have haunted-history tours. They have boats from "The Deadliest Catch." The have boat tours on the water (nice ones). The have a zoo/aquarium. What's not to love?

DOWNTOWN SEATTLE www.grandseattle.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle. It was our 4 year anniversary, we were celebrating. 4 years = big deal! We were in town to see the 49ers (one of Greg's favorite teams) and don't you know... the 49ers were at our hotel?

We were in the elevator with Frank Gore from the 49ers.. one of the 5 best running backs in the league (According to Greg, I actually have no idea who he is). All I know is there was a handful of super-tall football-looking guys, and they were arguing about how much one of the players weighed.

Frank Gore said that this other player (sorry I don't know any other names!!!) weighed over 300 pounds. The other player said not true and asked Greg what he thought.. and Greg said 275 (so proud of him! he used to be a personal trainer, so he know his stuff!). Apparently, Greg was right. He said "THANK YOU!" I'm 275. And for the rest of our short elevator ride, Greg was on good terms with the 275-pound 49ers player.

I missed the sun! Most of the time, I didn't need a hat! There's a Starbucks on every corner. I'd be afraid to enter a dunkin' donuts. I think it might be considered sac-religious there. Also, its home to the founders of Amazon. Lots of cool stuff going on in Seattle.

BUS TOUR OF THE CITY www.graylineseattle.com

Bus tour is a MUST! It takes you all over including:
PIKE'S PLACE - THE FISH MARKET www.pikeplacefish.com
The fish market was so neat! A bit of a tourist trap, but its still worth it. Fish everywhere, lots of locals selling stuff at market. Lots of tourists looking around at worthless crap, and some cool looking people throwing fish like they do on TV!
FIRST STARBUCKS www.seattle.gov/html/visitor/starbucks.htm
As someone that is a caffeine-addict and can barely function without my Starbucks at 2pm every afternoon... I have to say, this was a moving experience for me.
THE DEADLIEST CATCH dsc.discovery.com/tv/deadliest-catch
There were a bunch of boats docked at the bay... they took us to this place where all the fish swim up the levels. Its like mating season and the cycle of their lives, it was really neat. When we were there, we saw the CORNELIA MARIE www.corneliamarie.com ... from the Deadliest Catch. Greg was thrilled. I sometime get caught up in the show, but its definitely man-show time with this one. We saw a whole bunch of crab pods stacked up .. it was pretty neat.

CRUISE OF THE BAY www.argosycruises.com

Amazing pictures. Views of the city are breathtaking. Got a good bit of history! Highly recommend taking this cruise. We even saw seals in the water! The were sitting on this big bell-looking buoy "sunning" themselves in the clowdy weather. Some of them would dive off into the bay.

The tour guide did a great job, he even offered to take some pictures of us with the city in the background. I give this tour a A+. Super nice experience, nice history, and love the picture-taker!

Something cool to check out.. PUGET SOUND en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puget_Sound

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS VS. 49ERS www.seahawks.com

We met the 49ers and Greg was talking to them!! I was completely oblivious.. I probably would have been on my cell phone and ignored them completely if it was just me. Although, they clearly were up to late goofing off (we know because we were too). The game the next day against the Seahawks was pretty sad. They should have easily been able to win this game.. they are the 49ers, after all?

FRESH GRILLED SALMON www.thecheesecakefactory.com

We went to the Cheesecake factory downtown.. it was within walking distance of our hotel and we were starving! I dislike chain restaurants... and I'm not a huge fan of the Cheesecake factory in King of Prussia or from when we lives in Chicago.... way too much food.

I love my carbs as much (or more than) the next person, but enough already! I ordered the fresh grilled salmon in an effort to avoid getting a bowl of pasta that could serve 8. The salmon was nothing short of incredible!

I can't believe I'm even SAYING this, but the fresh grilled salmon at the cheesecake factory was the BEST salmon I've ever had, ever. I'm not even a huge fish eater. I like shelled seafood. If you are in downtown Seattle, salmon is a must-eat.

Negatives? The homeless. I even saw a homeless guy with a dog. I wanted to rescue the dog. Forget the homeless guy. The poor dog is stuck on a leash with that guy! It seemed wrong on some many levels. To top it off, the homeless guy in front of the Cheesecake factory was extra crazy!

SUSHI HEAVEN www.shiros.com

This place is crazy! I loved Shiro's! If you love sushi, and even if you don't... add this place to your list of places to go. Make sure you sit at the front bar area... DO NOT SIT AT A TABLE!! Sitting at the bar is a completely awesome experience... they make everything right in front of you, and they just hand you stuff to try while you are sitting there.

Greg ate some crazy stuff. I tried most of it.. but when I heard and saw squid, I just couldn't do it! Greg face said it all! Thank goodness I was full and couldn't eat that last piece of crazy sushi! There is no where on earth like this place... best sushi in the USA! Sorry Chicago, you don't compare!

AMAZING DINNER www.schwartzbros.com/chandlers.cfm

I know, I'm bias to seafood. This place had some amazing pasta ravioli thing... it was definitely homemade.. and the sauce was so, so good. I only got a bite of it from Greg.. and it was to die for!! I got the fresh grilled salmon.. I know.. it was just so so good at the Cheesecake factory.. I thought .. why not try it here too? YUMMY.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I would love to go back! Any birthplace of Starbucks is a 2nd home of mine! Seafood everywhere! Not too hot, not too much sun! Would love, love, LOVE to go back!