Only a Mama knows: 18th Anniversary Seattle Getaway

Monday, April 8, 2024

18th Anniversary Seattle Getaway

Its hard to believe Sam and I have been married 18 years. That's crazy. It doesn't feel like 18 years.

Last year on our anniversary, I had just undergone another round of chemo, so I was bedridden, and suffering a great deal.

This year, I was in Seattle walking the Pike Place Market, eating delicious food and enjoying being alive.

Thursday evening we arrived in Seattle and settled into our hotel room at the Palihotel. The rooms were small, but extremely nice, especially the showers. That night, we walked down to the attached restaurant, The Hart and the Hunter for dinner. Sam enjoyed some sort of tuna tar-tar dish, and I had a Caesar salad. And since we were on vacation, I intended to splurge. My first being a slice of coconut cream pie for dessert!

Friday, the 5th, was our actual wedding anniversary. The day started with breakfast in bed! You can't get any better than that!

Next we took the short walk from out hotel down to Pike's Place Market. Sam and I have been here together once before, many years ago. So long ago, in fact, that I hardly remember it. So I was super excited to go!

The market was a lot bigger than I remembered. We walked the shops and vendor booths for a few hours, scoring some great finds. We greatly enjoyed our time there. I got a bouquet of dried flowers, and a few t-shirts. Sam got this amazing painting of bigfoot riding a unicorn, lol, and a tasty cider for us to drink at a later date.

After we made a few rounds of the market, we hit the main street in front of the market where we stopped in at Le Panier for a drink and some treats. I couldn't make a decision....so I got two! A slice of chocolate pie, and a slice of strawberry rhubarb tart! The tart was DEVINE! Easily one of the best treats I have ever eaten. I should have gone back and bought the whole pie to bring home.

After making a pit stop back at the hotel to drop off our goods and rest my feet for a bit, we headed back out! This time down to the water to walk the piers. Our first stop was The Great Wheel which is a Ferris wheel right down on the water. That was SO much fun! I wish we could have stayed on it longer!

Next we headed down the pier to Miner's Landing Carousel where we took a ride on the cutest indoor carousel. Again, I wish we could have stayed on longer! I was tempted to ask the lady, seeing as there wasn't anybody else around, but I didn't, lol. We did hit up a photobooth to have our pictures taken though, and get one of those fun photo strips!

A littler further down the waterfront was the Seattle Aquarium, which was next on our list to do. It's not as big as The Monterey Bay Aquarium we've been to a few times during our many trips to CA for Thanksgiving, but it was a decent size and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We took many opportunities to find a place to sit and just enjoy the vibes of the marine life.

After so much fun, we definitely worked up an appetite. On out way back to the hotel, we stopped in at a few places for some treats. First up was Get Baked Seattle where I enjoyed an oatmeal raisin cookie. Right next door was Pike Street Coffee. Sam got a tea and I got a fizzy raspberry lemonade drink. And lastly, I got some of the best mac and cheese I have EVER put in my mouth at Beechers.

I was happy to make it back to the hotel room. I was looking forward to a hot shower, laying in bed, and watching a bit of tv. I was incredibly exhausted. I hadn't done that much walking and activity since prior to chemo. I still struggle with my energy levels, and I'm not in the best of shape anymore. Sometimes I get frustrated with my body, but then have to take a step back and remember the hell I've been through and offer myself more grace. It was an amazing day, I had the energy to do all the things I wanted to do, and it was a good hair day, haha. A lot to be thankful for.

While resting, we had a visitor come to our room! Our little bird friend sat outside our window for a few hours! It was a delightful end to our day.

Saturday morning we headed down to The Hart and the Hunter for breakfast, then checked out of the hotel.

The whole reason we decided on Seattle for our anniversary trip was because Molly spent all of her Spring Break with my cousin Donielle and her partner John at their home in the greater Seattle area. She had the opportunity to job shadow Donielle and a few of her collogues who are in the medical field. It was a great experience for her.

So Saturday late morning we met up with Donielle, John, and Molly at The Georgetown Flea Market for a bit of shopping, and then went out to lunch at a nearby pub.

Afterwards, we headed to Donielle and John's home. The two of them had dinner plans with his family, so Sam, Molly, and I decided to order in some Wing Stop and watch a few movies. It was just the relaxing evening I needed to round out our time in Seattle.