A Little Trip Way Back When, or Under the Puerto Rican Sun

Well there was no catching up here before, during or after the move and now it's been two months that I've been gone! Where to begin...

Well, we live in Seattle now! I wish I could say we're all settled in, but not quite, but almost. Putting the finishing touches on the house. Organizing, hanging things on the walls, swapping out some lighting, acquiring a few pieces of furniture and other odds and ends needed. The whole process has definitely not been smooth and stress free, but I'll go into the gory details another time. For now, here is a little album from the trip we took to Puerto Rico back in March.

We rented two adjoining condos in San Juan with three other couples, right across the street from the beach and complete with a rooftop pool, deck and barbecue. 

The first full day we went to the beach for a few hours and naturally, being super pale on top of just having come off the winter, got burnt to a crisp, so we spent the rest of the trip sheltering in the shade. But really the Puerto Rican shade is just as nice as the Puerto Rican sun.

The second full day we went to Old San Juan, first here, el Morro, the dating-all-the-way-back to 1539 Spanish fortification.

It's a very photogenic place. Fabulous light and colors.

This palm tree studded spit across the way was once a leper colony. I suppose if you have a horrible disease, there are worse places to live out your days.

We wandered around for quite awhile before we spied this big ship coming in and decided to beat all the people aboard to some refreshments.

Sightseeing and picture-taking along the way.

Next stop saw us all acquire souvenir fedoras. When in Rome.

By this time the streets were packed with cruise ship passengers so we decided to head for the hills.

We spent much of the rest of the trip poolside lounging,

view enjoying,

and making our fedoras look good. 

We did return to Old San Juan the last day for a little more sightseeing and souvenir shopping.

Snoozing street kitties everywhere. All looking well-fed and quite satisfied with their existences.

It was really a great trip. It was nice to be able to cook for ourselves part of the time as both condos had (nearly) fully outfitted kitchens. Each couple got their own bedroom and bathroom. (I think a little privacy is key to contentment when vacationing with friends.) There was a washer and dryer, which rocked. We didn't have to share the pool with strangers. The beach was oh so close. But the best part of all was the time spent with some of our favorite people.

Back to stay, the next post shall be sooner than later.

A Rainy Day in Georgetown

during which I took a lot of pictures. I took a cab to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, because flowers WILL play a role in this new adventure, because it's happening in the Pacific Northwest, because the Pacific Northwest is THE place for flowers, if there ever was one. I don't know if I will be growing and/or arranging for others, but I know I will be for myself. And I know I will be coming here often, even if just for their public hours on Fridays. It was EVERYTHING I thought it would be, and here's the thing, there weren't even any bloom blooms yet. Just loads of lovely branches. I mean, when I go back in a month or so, I am going to be OVER THE MOON!

This was pre-any sign of spring in the midwest, so the sight of daffs! And ferns!

I had am impression which turned out to be very wrong that the Grower's Market was in some sort of industrial no-man's land. On the contrary, Georgetown is a slightly gritty, über hip (to the point there are definitely some clichés going on) neighborhood with more than a handful of appealing shops, bars and restaurants. The east side of Airport Way S, the main drag, is dominated by the blocks-long Original Rainier Brewery (not to be confused with the Old Rainier Brewery, different property, different area, but also on Airport Way S), which is now mixed-use, housing all sorts of artists, artisans, small businesses and the Grower's Market.

It's a gorgeous piece of early industrial architecture, just decayed enough, but thankfully not rotting away.

I did learn that this last bit was used by Rainier after actual brewing had ceased for cold storage and ice making, for which the building was never intended nor properly outfitted. The constant freezing temps caused major structural damage and the building wasn't salvageable, in fact was dangerous, and had to come down. :( But they did manage to save a small part of the facade. Searching around I found some great pictures outside here and inside here of the building shortly before it was torn down. Hopefully they did some salvaging in there beforehand. Amazing metalwork.

The General Offices (die for that font) building sits at the end of the complex all by itself now next to the empty lot where the cold storage building used to be.

It started to rain not long after I finished up at the Grower's Market so I spent the afternoon ducking in and out of a few pretty great antique shops.

And had some coffee of course.

In between showers, I spied these lovely gates and then the even lovelier garden and house within and couldn't help wandering in. It turns out that this is The Corson Building, a restaurant with a little different operational model that sounds pretty good to me.   

Spied at the edge of an overgrown lot. Lesson: don't stand still too long in Seattle.

Husband was down in Oregon on business at this point in the trip, so I decided to stay on for happy hour at Fonda La Catrina and to convince the friend we have in town to join me for dinner. Turned out to be a very good choice.

Just two weeks away from moving week. More posts to get caught up on in the mean time with any luck!

Hi, Seattle. Nice to Meet You.

Meeting in a coffee shop followed by a little reading in a coffee shop. That's what people do here, right? At Ballard Coffee Works, searching for the middle way.

I enjoy mastering public transportation in strange cities, so after the coffee shop I headed over to the University of Washington's campus to the Burke Museum via bus.

And then on to Pike Place Market and on the way a little glimpse of the Needle.

It was like 3:00 and lunch had managed to elude me up to this point, so I devoured this duo from Pike Place Chowder.

I wandered around and admired the bounty, especially the seafood. Pretty dazzling when you've spent your whole life in the middle of the continent.

Then I slipped out the back...

and stumbled on the Gum Wall. Have to admit, for something so theoretically disgusting, it was actually kind of pretty.

One of the last shots of the day looking west over what I subsequently learned is the non-Earthquake proof, on-its-way-out Alaskan Way Viaduct towards West Seattle which I subsequently learned is to be our new home!

Be Right Back

Life has had me neglecting my blog, but I shall return with pictures from travels and an update on the state of things: a little crazy, but all good! :) 
In the meantime only two weeks after the last snow of the season (and it was a doozy!) I think spring might be here to stay as evidenced by 70 some degrees today and daffodils finally showing their lovely faces!