Wow. What an amazing experience, taking a 9 month old to the big city of Seattle! One of our dearest friends, Lindsay, and her husband, Kyle have been telling us we need to come visit, and we felt it was about time that we actually did!
Using one of Brian's longer weekends, we were able to head up North just after visiting our newest niece, Isabelle on Wednesday, August 12th. Izzy was scheduled to be born via c-section on my birthday (Aug 23rd) but with minor complications revealed at one of the last ultrasounds, they decided to take her a little early. We were thrilled to meet the newest Straus, and what a dolly she is!
So our trip began around 3pm on that Wednesday afternoon, having no idea how our little Annie would do on her longest car ride ever. We took the truck, which provided more comfort for all of us, and to our delight, Annie was a champ. She managed to get a pretty good nap in before stopping for a bite to eat for Brian and I. Not to mention, she did well herself in the Burger King parking lot with her applesauce and other yummies.
We made it to Lynnwood at just before 8pm. Lindsay was working the Mariners game, so we settled in and chatted with Kyle before all of us crashed out around 10. It had been a long day, but we knew an even longer one awaited us the next morning.
Thursday morning we got up bright and early, early enough to catch up with Linds before she and Kyle headed off to work. They were such gracious, wonderful hosts, we couldn't have had it any better anywhere else. They had done their research on some typical tourists spots to visit if we had interest/time before the Mariner/Yankee game that evening at 7. So we tried to get as much in as we could, starting the day off at the "Sea Star." One of the actual ships used on the TLC reality show, Deadliest Catch. Brian is a big fan of the show, so we thought it would be fun to see what the fisherman see and from their perspective. It made for some great pics, and started our day off well.
Next stop....downtown, lunch with the Guzz. (Lindsay's nickname for as long as I can remember). After parking the car, walking a few blocks, brushing shoulders with Alex Rodriguez, we met Linds for lunch. Yes, that was A-Rod we passed on 6th street. After all, he was in town for the Yankees premiere night in Seattle.
After lunch, is was off to the market, followed by the Seattle Aquarium and then onto the Space Needle. Some of the funnier moments of the day took place at the Space Needle, where other tourists (I presume) got a bigger kick out of Annie than they did of the sights they were seeing. Again, made great memories and pics for all time.
We finished the night at the Mariner/Yankee game where the Mariners got stomped by the good old boys. We still enjoyed ourselves, especially after the game had ended. Lindsay took us down on the field, and there we got some great behind the scenes pics of the field and what it's like from the players perspectives.
Friday morning was here before we knew it. One last stop...the Sound with Lindsay before hitting the long drive home. We should have anticipated it, yet didn't quite expect a 6 and a half hour + drive. It was ridiculous to say the very least. Needless to say, Annie amazed us once again, taking nearly a 3 hour nap, and keeping content with mommy and toys in the backseat with her.
It was a GREAT experience. We now know this little girl can take long road trips! Hooray for the years ahead!
