get away for mom

Aunt Nan provided a great excursion for me, Shauna, aka MOM, for a long weekend.

Nan had a conference in Seattle, she couldn't talk any of her children into going with her so she called me. She knew that we had loved Seattle and figured I'd come along and we could go exploring after her meetings. I had a fabulous time along with a much needed break from real life. I slept in, or at least stayed in bed late, for 3 days, and had no "agenda" and no one that I had to take care of or entertain. The first day I called Barbara O'Brien and asked if we could get together over the weekend. She was busy on Saturday but said we could meet for "coffee" in an hour. She picked me up, we went back to Madison Park and she showed me all the changes and the sames, and had brunch at Tullys. Barbara is wonderful. She is full of positive energy and such a joy to be around. I was lucky to see Doug, he was off to meet another friend, and met their dog. It was perhaps more beautiful there than I had remembered.

After a fun visit with Barbara I walked to the Paramount Theatre in hopes of finding a way for us to get tickets to The Lion King that night or the following one. I had tried on phone and computer and through the consierre but no luck. I asked the woman at the box office, she offered to look but did not sound hopeful. The people ahead of me had had the same request. Two tickets for Saturday had just become available. They were on row L (12th row) center. After completing the transaction the clerk suggested that I now use my luck and purchase a lottery ticket. The show on Saturday night was fabulous! It was a super end to the trip.

After Nan's meetings we wandered downtown Seattle. We went to the Pike Place Market, bought t-shirts for the guys, walked down to the waterfront, had clam chowder and halibut at Ivar's, took an evening ferry ride to Bremerton and back then worked our way back uphill to the hotel. We stopped for hot cocoa, Nan tried a steamed milk with almond (I don't think she was a fan but she did try it). That was a lot of walking!

Saturday, after her meetings we went shopping. Nan was on a mission for new shoes and a white shirt. We found that and a bit more. We then wandered back to the market, then hopped a bus to the International District to explore Uwajayma, the largest Asian grocery store. Here Nan tried vegetable and shrimp tempura and gyozas. I don't think she was a fan of those either.

When we checked in at home we found that everything was running smoothly with Joe and Todd and the kids. Nan and I decided we need to do that more often especially since everyone did so well without us. THANKS NAN for a fun weekend.