Seattle With My Dudes

J had a business meeting in Seattle on Friday, so we decided to extend the trip overnight and take a mini vacation. I hopped on Priceline, held my breath and bid on a 4-star downtown hotel for $75. To my surprise (and delight) the offer was accepted. Seriously, $75 a night. We ended up at the Grand Hyatt on Pine -- super swanky and way cheaper than if we had gone with our usual, Holiday Inn Express. Little enjoyed racing down the hallway, which was shiny, cool, and made lots of noise when banged. It also led to the bathroom, which had a giant mirror over the tub -- perfect for admiring one's hair and giggling. Speaking of the bathroom, the shower was larger than our walk in closet. In fact, we could have hosted a dinner party in there if given a little more time to prepare. I think we're going to do this Priceline thing more often.

While J attended lunch meetings and work sessions, Little and I cruised over to the Seattle aquarium for the afternoon. Just when I thought that he was a little too young to appreciate the fish, we headed over to the sea otter tank and spent most of the rest of our time watching them dive into the water and skim the edges of the tank. It was pretty awesome to watch Little stare into the water and gasp when the otters swam by. After we spent some time watching them below the surface, we moved on to the outdoor tank and spent a good deal of time watching them above ground. The otters splashed, rolled and played on the rocks and would dive in the water for a special thrill. I'd say the day was a success. We then went down to the tide pool area and observed other little kids touching sea anenomies and starfish. 

After the aquarium, he and I walked around and then met up with J for dinner with Jeremiah & Jeovanna. It was such a nice little getaway -- just what I needed after a week of just me and Little. On Saturday morning we met up with Jeremiah for breakfast in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle at Hi-Life. Seriously, the breakfast was a revelation. J had a fried egg with herbed breadcrumbs, dash of vinegar and home fries so good that we weren't even tempted to apply ketchup. I had eggs sunny side up (cooked to perfection I might add) over black beans and a flour tortilla filled with sharp cheddar and scallions. I will strive to replicate the deliciousness in the next week or two.

For now, I'll leave you with Little, the 4-star baby: