Spring Break in Washington

Our niece, Lilinoe, was born at the end of 2019, so we booked a trip to see her in the spring of 2020. That trip got canceled + we’re finally using our credits to visit. Lilinoe is already 2 years old! Happy to meet her + see Liz, Jordan + Mahealani, who we haven’t seen for almost 3 years.

Leaving Chicago

Touchdown in Seattle

Breakfast our first morning at Jordan + Liz’s house.

Me + Lili

Mahea + Makai

Mahea + Lili

Makai and his cousins Mahealani + Lilinoe. And meeting their puppy, Betty!

And speaking of Betty…

Makai and I totally fell for this pup and wanted to take her home!

She is a Boston Terrier that Liz got for Jordan for his birthday, making her only a few months old!

We arrived in Seattle on a Thursday night, got our rental car and drove up to Everett, Washington, where we had a hotel room. Since it was late we went right to bed. The next morning we went to Jordan and LIz’s house for breakfast (see photos above) and then spontaneously decided to take a ferry somewhere.

Makai had never been on a ferry up here (he has been on an NYC ferry).

We drove to Edmonds and took the ferry across to Kingston where we had lunch at Westside Pizza + ice cream + played in the Port of Kingston Kiwanis Park before taking the ferry back across.

On the way home from the ferry, we stopped at the Funko Headquarters store in Everett. We’d told Makai about this before the trip and he was SOO excited.
Aside from all the figures for sale, they had a lot of fun displays of the characters they sell. Me with Batman and Robin.

Ironman!

Really cool Harry Potter display!

Disney princess castle.c

Captain America and Stan Lee.

Star Wars

Godzilla

I don’t know how each of these kids finally decided on one figure each! There were THOUSANDS to choose from! Mahea looked at every cat in the store: Mewtwo from Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Crookshanks from Harry Potter, the Cheshire Cat, etc.

Makai chose Captain America, Mahea got Chester Cheetah and Mahea got Hello Kitty.

This is Liz and Jordan’s second house in Lake Stevens. Dallas had visited them at their first place, but I never had been there. We were curious about the actual lake that Lake Stevens was named for, so Jordan took us to Lundeen Park and drove us around the whole lake.

Swimming at the Snohomish (neighboring town) aquatics center. It was SO nice for a public pool! Makai went down a big water slide about 10 times! Liz and Jordan took Mahea, Makai and Lili in. I stayed on the side.

After swimming the kids were soo hungry so we went to Blazing Onion. Liz and Lili went home and Dallas brought his parents to meet us.

Jordan and Liz had a barbecue and some of their friends and Liz’s family came over. I don’t know why I don’t have any photos except this one of Makai picking up McFurry. He was squirming around and Makai yelled “OW, MY NUTS!!!” in front of the whole BBQ. Luckily no one seemed to hear!

Liz and Jordan also have 3 goats that they rescued: Marley, Fig and Peso! Makai LOVED them. Every day he visited them in the barn and fed them different plants to see what they would eat.


Makai liked to ride around on this motorized tractor. He called it his “Joe Deer” and because he can never be wrong, referred to it as that for the whole trip.

Liz took us for a walk by their house.

That same day there was a random freak hail storm that was super localized today! Liz and Kathy were at a store not far away and there was no hail at all! Kind of fun since it wasn’t big enough to do damage.

WHO COULD IT BE??

Jordan and Dallas went to the casino for a while at night. Since Easter was around the corner, the rest of us decided to dye some eggs. Liz and Kathy dumped the leftover dye in the yard and the next day we found an egg out there too!

Dallas and I took Makai in to Seattle to show Makai some of the common tourist sites. It was fun to explore. I hadn’t been to Seattle for a very long time.

The first thing we did was get lunch at The Athenian. Chowder! Oysters! Fish + Chips! (Makai loves fish + chips now. We just had to tell him it was “fish sticks” like he has at school!) We ate very light because we knew there would be a lot of good things to eat at the market!

We walked through Pike Place Market where the vendors were selling all their wares. We saw the flying fishes being thrown and then we walked out through the gum alley and the gum wall! Dallas was SO grossed out!

We next visited the Seattle Aquarium where Makai’s favorite exhibits were the ones with the otters (both river and sea otters). He also told a volunteer “Me and my dad are from Hawaii” and talked about the tropical exhibit and the Hawaiian species there.

Dallas REFUSED to go on The Seattle Great Wheel and instead opted to sit at a bar in the market and drink a beer! Makai was scared, but in a fun way, he said.

Before we left, we stopped at Beecher’s and split a grilled cheese and some mac n cheese, which were both amazing. Jordan and Liz highly recommended Beecher’s and it did not disappoint. They also recommended Piroshky Piroshky, a Russian bakery. We got two pastries to bring to dinner.

For dinner we visited Tandy and Chris on Mercer Island. They were moving literally in a couple days (just down the street), but were still nice enough to have us over and order pizza. Makai and Dallas met up with Tandy recently in Chicago when she was visiting for work, but the last time any of us had seen Chris or the kids was when I was pregnant and we visited them in Japan! Makai instantly made two new friends! Kanoa and Makai are close in age and have the same silly, punny sense of humor!

Jordan took us to Katsu Burger in Lake Stevens. We all really liked it. I had the Fried Chicken Katsu Curry which had curry powder, American cheese, tonkatsu sauce and curry.

After lunch, Jordan took Makai, Dallas and I to BobaKhan Toys. The store is packed with comics, toys and collectibles! They were all loving it! Makai was so overwhelmed when we asked him to pick something. He ended up getting an Avengers graphic novel, a Captain America pin and a magnet by ClockworkArt (Captain America reimagined as a cat).

Makai spent most nights sleeping in Grandma + Grandpa C’s room at Jordan and Liz’s house, while Dallas and I slept in a hotel room in Everett Hampton Inn, which was about a 10 minute drive away. Only on the first and last night did Makai stay with us. ^ Dallas’s parents went to Florida with Caroline’s family and got makai the NASA Cat in the Hat stuffie. The otter is from the Seattle Aquarium and the teddy bear from home.

It was nice in the morning to walk around Everett and do some exploring and to have some time to ourselves. We visited Narrative Coffee, but our favorite quickly became Choux Choux Bakery. It was very close to our hotel, had a daily rotating selection of bread and pastries, the coffee was good and the staff was really friendly.

This mural was near our hotel in Everett. It’s Breonna Taylor and Jatarius Tolbert, a local teen who was murdered.

On our last day of vacation, we decided to go into Seattle and hang out for a few hours, since it’s closer to the airport. Mark the Space Needle off the bucket list.

The Space Needle was fun, especially since there was no line! No photos of Makai because he was too afraid to go by the glass wall or in the rotating glass floor.

We ventured over to Belltown for lunch at Karaage Setsuna, a Japanese/Hawaiian restaurant. Makai asked to try the egg and spam maki then pounded the entire roll plus some fries and karaage chicken! Loved the restaurant and the neighborhood!

Our last activity in Seattle before heading to the airport was the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit. Dale Chihuly is from Tacoma and famous for his glass sculptures. I was so excited that we could now see his work while visiting Seattle – last time it was only in Tacoma. Everything was so gorgeous, I took sooo many photos!

The Case of the Missing Nintendo Mug

My old-school Nintendo controller mug that I use every single day went missing in the office recently. I wouldn’t really care that much, it was an inexpensive mug, BUT! It could not be replaced easily. I bought the mug at the Nintendo America headquarters in Seattle when I visited last year and the mugs were not for sale anywhere else. Also, everyone loved that Nintendo mug. People used to always comment on it in the kitchen or in meetings where I was drinking coffee. They all wanted to know where I got it and I would tell them how I got it at HQ on a brand ambassador trip or we would reminisce about the games we used to play with the old-school system… And then it was gone!

So, I asked around everywhere. All of my coworkers, our administrative staff, our cleaning staff… I checked every cupboard in the office kitchen and the supply room and anywhere that I could think of. No sign of the mug! I even made a MISSING poster and pinned it up in a heavily trafficked area near the kitchen. Someone told me they had seen it in a conference room a few days prior, but otherwise no one knew anything! As I walked around, people would ask me if I’d found it yet and say how bummed they were that I hadn’t. And other people were looking everywhere for it too! Josh was working late one night and told me he checked every desk top! On Facebook, Matt volunteered to drive to the headquarters and buy me a new one, since he lives not too far away. My mom said she tried to buy me a new mug online, but when she Googled “nintendo old school mug” she got this website!

Well, I might never know what happened to the mug I bought in Seattle, but the good folks at Nintendo and Brand About Town completely saved the day and surprised me by sending me a new mug! Thanks so much for making it a happy ending, guys! So glad to have my mug back.

Last Dispatch From the Seattle Area

Just a few last tidbits from my trip out to the Seattle area for the Nintendo 3DS Summit.

Nintendo put us up in the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. The rooms were really pretty.

And about double the size of the last New York hotel room I stayed in where the desk was at the end of the bed so close they were almost touching. And the TV was practically on the ceiling, above the desk!!! These rooms in Bellevue were nice and spacious.

I had a handicap-accessible hotel room. The stand-up shower was so huge! Also, how cute that they left some toothpaste out for me. I’ve had to practically beg toothpaste off other hotels.

Even cuter than that? Look at this note housekeeping left for me!

What? I was in Seattle! And I’ve been to the San Juan Islands! This was delicious.

While I was getting ready I had the TV on the local news channel and I kept hearing my name. Turns out one of their local reporter’s name is Rachelle Murcia. I feel kind of bad about this photo. So awkward. Rachelle Murcia really is pretty lady!

On the night that everyone flew into Seattle, Nintendo hosted a reception for us at the Twisted Cork, our hotel bar.

There was ahi and kobe sliders and pulled pork and hours of passed appetizers. Open bar, although I only had 2 glasses of wine.

This DJ was kind of odd. He was playing house music all night and no one was dancing. Then he’d throw on something random like Footloose and everyone would crowd the dance floor. And then after one song he’d go back to his stupid house music and everyone would leave. He really was not reading or catering to his audience.

Later in the night? Cake pops! Along with a nice selection of other desserts.

In the Seattle airport, ridiculous Twilight series coffee by The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie. Some of these sounded good, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.

Finally, one of my favorite souvenirs: Old-school Nintendo coffee mug for the office.

Disclosure: This was all part of the Nintendo 3DS Summit weekend. For this trip, Nintendo provided the airfare, accommodations, meals, a Nintendo World gift certificate, and Nintendo 3DS. I was not paid, or even asked, to write this post.

Anthony’s Pier 66

After our day in at Nintendo, we went back to the hotel for a little R&R (playing games all day is exhausting!) before heading out to dinner in Seattle. A few weeks ago we were given a list of restaurants to choose where we wanted to dine. I was lucky enough to get my first choice, Anthony’s Pier 66. I thought that the descriptions of this restaurant made it seem like a “Seattle experience.” Seafood, a view, etc. I wasn’t sure if it was absolutely the best food choice, but it seemed like it would be a good experience.

Anthony’s was a really nice restaurant inside. Big comfortable seats. Nice warm tones. We were presented with a limited prix fixe menu because there were a lot of people in our group. For a salad I chose the Northwest Seasonal Salad – Seasonal greens tossed with citrus shallot dressing and finished with Danish blue cheese, candied pecans, and red flame grapes. One of my favorite savory/sweet salads.

For my entree I was debating. We could choose Pacific King Salmon, Alaska Red King Crab Legs, or Double R Ranch Filet Mignon with Garlic Prawns. I didn’t think I wanted the steak.. so salmon or crab? Salmon or crab? Robyn, who was sitting across from me, made the point that salmon was more of an every day food and you could get it anywhere. So, king crab it was! She and her husband Rigo and Gretchen, who was seated next to me, and I all got the crab.

When the crab was served… wow… the legs were so big! I couldn’t even wrap my hand around one of the joints. And when I pulled the meat out? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of crab meat that big. Out of curiosity, I asked our waiter how many ounces of crab meat each serving was and he said “15 ounces, just under a pound.” Holy crap!

The king crab legs were served with garlic mashed potatoes that were topped with fried onions (omg) and asparagus. This was all soooooo good. And so much crab.. I am so ashamed to say that I couldn’t eat it all. I was so stuffed! Normally you order crab and it’s so much work and not a lot of payoff. This time the payoff was so huge, I wasn’t even up to it!

For dessert I got the Dark Chocolate Victory Cake – Flourless bittersweet chocolate with homemade caramel sauce, Olympic Mountain dulce de leche ice cream, peppercorn pecans, and seat salt around the rim of the plate. Wow. Again with the savory/sweet that I love! This dessert was so delicious. Too bad I was so full of crab, I could not even manage to eat half of it!

Finally, Robyn used Gretchen‘s camera to take this photo of Gretchen and I at dinner. I thought it turned out cute and Gretchen was kind enough to let me post it here for prosperity’s sake. She was obviously rigged up with a better camera and better flash than me!

Even though it was cold and rainy outside, a few of my fellow diners and I could not resist stepping outside on a back deck to get a better view from Anthony’s. So pretty. I wished I could stay in Seattle longer. I’d only visited once before (with Kelly and Jeff in 2003. WHOA! 2003!) and it would have been nice to see it again. Oh well! There’s always a next time.

As for Anthony’s Pier 66, it really exceeded my expectations. For some reason I thought it was going to be some kind of cheesy, touristy place that rides on it’s view and location. But it really was a classy place. Our waiter was really great and the food was so delicious.

Disclosure: This meal was part of the Nintendo 3DS Summit weekend. For this trip, Nintendo provided the airfare, accommodations, meals, a Nintendo World gift certificate, and Nintendo 3DS. I was not paid, or even asked, to write this post.

Pikes Place Market Art

A couple months ago I got this email:

– – – – –

From: Andy Fletcher
To: “rachelle@rachelleb.com”
Date: Aug 16, 2006 2:50 PM
Subject: Pikes Place Market

Rachelle,

My name is Andy Fletcher. I am a water color Artist in Davis, CA. Your
“Public Market Center” sign at the Pikes Place Market inspired me to do a
10×12 watercolor for an upcoming show.

Thanks,

Andy

– – – – –

Cool. This is the photo I took. I thought it was a little odd because that sign has to have been photographed 1,000 times, but inspiration is inspiration and I’ll take it!

Here’s another time a photo I took inspired some derivative art.

And here’s Andy’s watercolor:

2006_11_public_market_center.jpg