Portage Bay and Hopes of Hiking

As soon as we arrived in Seattle, possibly shortly thereafter, Momo started telling us about her favorite restaurant - Portage Bay.  So, one Sunday morning we loaded into the car and took off for Portage Bay.  Their whole things is farm to table.  The food was amazing.  Momo got a sampler breakfast of sorts with pancakes and a trip to the fruit bar.  The fruit bar had all sorts of fruits, some nuts, whipped cream, and lots of goodies.  And her fresh ham was unlike any ham I'd ever eaten.  It melted in my mouth.  It was amazing.  Joel and I both got the Migas - 3 eggs scrambled with chipotle & cumin, tillamook medium & sharp cheddar, fresh basil, homemade salsa & sour cream, folded into a large flour tortilla with an avocado salsa garnish, and a side of roasted organic potatoes.  Very flavorful and a bit on the spicy side.  Rebecca decided to go with the Farmer's Hash - 3 scrambled eggs, a variety of local, organic, sustainably grown vegetables, roasted onions, fingerling potatoes, fresh herbs, served with house-made toast.  (You can check out the website here - Portage Bay)  

After a fulfilling breakfast we headed out into the country for a quick 4 mile hike up Rattlesnake Mountain Trail.  Things didn't go exactly as planned and our hike was cut a bit short.  However, the weather was nice enough we could hang out by the water and enjoy the sunshine.  So, we did.  Here are a few of the photos for the day.

 (Inside of Portage Bay)

(Open kitchen so you can see everything that's happening back of the house)

 (Me and one happy me.  The photos on the wall behind me were the farms where the ingredients for our meal came from.  So, that was interesting to see.)

 (Menu)

(Rebecca's Farmer's Hash)

 (Momo's sampler - a little bit of everything.  The ham is closest to the bottom of the photo.)

(Me a Miga)

(The journey begins as we eye our conquest for the day)

(This was the outcropping where we were headed)

(A little sign to point us in the right direction)

(Some tall tall trees - usually a sign of a good hike)

 (The sun was poking through)

(And it is lake time)

(There was talk of Rebecca swimming across.  However, after standing in the water for about 30 seconds our legs went numb and so that idea was nixed.)

(MOMO!!!)

(Throwing rocks, but not at the duck)

(And a duck in all its splendid colors.  Possibly a mallard.  I don't know the difference.)

The Gang Heads to Gas Works

The one day Momo had a previous engagement so Joel rounded up the gang and we did a little more exploring.  We headed to another place close to the water called Gas Works.  Gas Works is a Park in Seattle on the site of a former gas plant.  There are definitely remnants of the plant but thankfully no odor.  It is a great little park and there are plenty of areas for kids to play.  Also, we saw slack liners (tight rope walkers) and L.A.R.P.ers (Live Action Role Players).  This particular group was dressed in armor and looked medieval.  And so another journey in Seattle was a success.   

(The area as we entered the park)

 (A tunnel of sorts)

 (Tubes and turbines, turbines and tubes)

 (Some more metal works at Gas Works)

 (Lots of graffiti and a few squatters, although no photos of them)

(More metal)

(If you look closely you'll find Rebecca and the Space Needle)

 (Here was the slackline)

 (Portion of the old abandoned gas plant)

(Here you can see more of the abandoned plant)

(Rebecca and myself)

(Seattle's finest)

 (Joel took another great photo of us)

 (I think Rebecca just made a funny)

 (L.A.R.P.er alert - here just talking things over)

 (The battle has begun.  Although we didn't see any battles, mainly just 2 people fighting at a time.)

 (Not sure who won)

(Seattle's amphibious Duck Taxi)

(And on our ride home we got to see Mt. Rainer)

Alki Beach with the Friedrick Clan

One of my favorite things about finding a job in South East Asia is the opportunity to experience a new culture.  Another thing I enjoy is the food.  It also means I'll be making my way westward.  And when I head west there's always one place I have to stop - Seattle.  There are a lot of great things about Seattle but the best part, at least for me, is Joel and Momo.  Great people and great friends!  There was a period of time where I had spent more Thanksgivings with Joel and his family than with my own.  Rebecca and I were fortunate enough to spend 3 weeks in Seattle and I'm glad she got a chance to meet my second family.  No gyoza challenges this time although there was talk of a spice challenge (it never happened).  

Anyway, the one day we went to Alki beach.  We went for a nice walk along the water, saw a different view of the city, played in the sand a bit, and took some photos...

 (Rebecca and I with the city in the background)

(Oh hey, look!!!)

(Holding up the Space Needle)

 

(Another view of the city)

(A sweet house we passed on our walk)

 (A view of the beach)

(3 wild and crazy dudes hanging out on the beach)

(Momo taking some photos)

 (Everybody hanging out by the water)

 (I think this photo was staged, but I am not 100 percent sure)

 (The Friedricks living the dream)

(Another artsy photo, probably taken by Ms. Rebecca)

Seattle Downtown Part II (The Pike Brewing Company & Seattle Art Museum)

After making my way from Olympic Sculpture Park up past Pike Place I found myself at The Pike Brewing Co.  I noticed it as I ventured down Post Alley as well as looking at places to go online.  You actually pass the back entrance as you make your way towards the gum wall.  So, I decided to stop in and grab some lunch and try out their beer selection.  The food was good.  I was not impressed by the beer.  I had a Dungeness crab chowder which was quite tasty and some poutine (I guess I was craving a taste of Canada after living there for 6 months).  The poutine was definitely American style, that's for sure.

After lunch I made my way to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).  There was a special on Peru and kind of made me want to visit.  I should find myself in South America in the near future so this shouldn't be a problem.  There was a lot of interesting pieces although I must say I'm not a huge fan of contemporary art.  A few of the pieces it kind of looked like I could have made them, and for those of you who do not know, I'm not very artistic.  I did like how you are able to take pictures and I think I may have gotten a few good ones.  Enjoy.  

I'll be making my way back to 'The Sweetest Place on Earth' tomorrow and am looking forward to seeing family, friends, and family friends.  I must say, I do love my life at the moment and feel like whatever track I'm on, it is the right one!

 (The Pike Brewing Co. as viewed from Post Alley)

(The Gum Wall once more.  Down and to the left is the back entrance to The Pike Brewing Co.) 

 (This was a Photo Op but seeing as how I was by myself you'll have to just imagine me in the photo)

 (The brewery was on the bottom floor and was quite big.  The brewing operation made its way to the 2nd floor at times and this was one of the photos from the 2nd floor.)

(This was a view from the 2nd floor down into the restaurant area.  There was a lot of these plates as well as memorabilia throughout the restaurant.)

 (Here's a view from inside the restaurant - notice all the memorabilia)

 (The coaster on the right as you are looking at the photo reminded me of a special person in my life so I took this photo)

 (More of the plates)

(And some more memorabilia)

 (Seattle Art Museum from 1st Ave.)

(Signs for SAM)

 (Caterpillar Man 1)

(Caterpillar Man 2)

 (This 'plump' woman caught my attention)

(An interesting piece from Africa)

 (Some contemporary art)

 (This was perhaps my favorite piece in the museum.  There are nails, a lot of them, in this statue.)

 (I also liked this 2 headed glass.  I wonder if you can find these for sale?)

 (Lion armrest)

(Speakers made into art)

(This door had me pondering - not the door itself but rather wondering about the people that passed through it...)

(Immediately as you enter SAM you see these cars)

(This picture was taken at the end of my time in SAM from an opposite angle and a floor lower than the previous shot, possibly 2 floors)

 (I took a picture of this because I thought it was terrible.  I thought it was terrible because I could have painted this.  However, I didn't and so this person's artwork is in a museum and not mine.)

(This was a modern Native American piece and I really liked this part of the museum)

(A modern soul catcher.  Soul catchers were used when a patient was put in a trance to make sure the spirit wouldn't leave this world.)

(This is an older soul catcher made out of bone)

 (More Native American art)

(This was a fun piece of art)

 (Another headpiece)

(Rope)

(This vase was made out of glass)

(This was my artsy shot for the day)