Seattle

Since I was so close to Seattle, it made sense to run up there to visit my dear friend’s kiddo at the University of Washington. I drove up on a Saturday morning in the beautiful rain. It was an easy drive until I got to Seattle – the traffic there was not my favorite. Give me just rain any day!

We had a great day out and about, starting with lunch at a hand-pulled noodle restaurant. The noodles were amazing. We each got a different flavor bowl, and it tasted fantastic. There was so much food; I would recommend if you’re in Seattle. Lan Hand-Pulled Noodles.

It is any honorary “auntie’s” duty to take a college student to Target, so we found one that was in a suburb outside of the city in Bellevue. We got to drive across Lake Washington and catch up. We picked up the essentials and definitely grabbed some stuff that was completely unnecessary. It was the perfect time to catch up and hear about all of their adventures as a college student. I’m lucky to get to see my friends’ children grow up and hear about their successes along the way.

On Sunday, I was also able to meet up with a co-worker at the H-Mart in Seattle. I’d never been to one before, and since reading Crying in H Mart, it was like a full circle moment to visit one. We had lunch at a Korean stand in the H-Mart, which was also delicious, and then we did our own shopping. I was absolutely delighted to see all the different snacks and fun beverages. I even found this peach soda in a clear plastic can. My co-worker actually got groceries. My favorite were these shortbread cookies shaped like little mushrooms with milk chocolate caps. Regular mushrooms = no thank you. Cookie mushrooms = delightful.

If I wasn’t living in an RV, traveling across the US, I would’ve loaded up on all the housewares! The selection was great.

I’m glad that I was able to get to Seattle. I didn’t do any touristy things – other than get lost, but it was a great weekend to get away.

My time in the Pacific Northwest was a full of delicious food, including MEAT HUMMUS. This was a must-try at Lil’ Shalom in downtown Portland. It’s not actually called that, but if you’re there, the burnt beef ends in the hummus are a delight. We also had chocolate-themed drinks at Rosie Chocolate House; I had the Marzipan Moon – swoon! We also had brunch at Screen Door where the praline bacon was definitely a highlight.

Even with all the options in Portland, I did some fine dining at Ikea one night. It just so happened to be an Ikea Family deal night, so I got this whole plate for $4.

Arthur was on neighborhood watch our whole visit. It helped that our neighbor liked to feed the birds and squirrels, so there was always entertainment.