Vacations!

I thought of this as I was walking to the club to work out this morning at 5:15 am. I get some of my best thoughts when I am doing that. Vacation. We are almost on one. And you have hopefully noticed that my title is plural. VacationS! That's because when we go on vacation, we often have a lot of little vacations along the way.

For instance, as I have mentioned Kathleen and I are leaving for two weeks and a day next Monday morning to visit friends in Florida and take a cruise. But that isn't just one vacation--it's about eight I think. Here's how we celebrate vacations around here.

1. On Friday when Kathleen pulls her car into the garage and is home from work for two weeks+ we are on vacation! Celebration number 1!
   
2. On Sunday when Bob and Judy get here from Chilliwack (we are traveling with them) then we are on vacation! Celebration number 2 starts.
3. When the airplane lifts its wheels off the ground and we are in the air to Florida on Monday morning, we are on vacation! Celebration number 3 starts.
4. When we land in Florida, get our car and get to Cape Canaveral we are on vacation. Celebration number four!
5. When we get to Mike and Carol's in Boynton Beach on Tuesday afternoon, another vacation start! Celebration number five.
6. When we head out to Key West on Wednesday morning for two nights and three days, another vacation is underway. Vacation number six.
7. When we get back from Key West and meet a bunch of the folks we are cruising on Solstice with on Saturday night we celebrate again! Vacation number seven is underway.
8. When we board Solstice the next morning at 11:00 am or so, well now, that's a vacation!!! And that''s number 8.
   

So as you can see, this coming two weeks is not just a vacation, it's a VACATION! A whole bunch of them. And if you have one coming up, count them all. You may find you have more than one. You might have eight like we do. Can't wait!

Getting close to vacation

Have we mentioned that we are getting close to vacation? We are inside of two weeks. Yahoo!!! On Monday March 9, we (Kathleen, Bob, Judy and I) are flying to beautiful Orlando, Florida. We are staying there for about five whole minutes until we jump in a rental car and head for Cape Canaveral. That night there is a scheduled launch of a Saturn rocket and we are at the hotel closest to the Kennedy Space Center. Picture time!!!

The next morning we head down Florida A1A to Boynton Beach where we will be staying with our other bestest friends Mike & Carol. We'll spend the night with them and then jump in the car the next morning and head for Key West where we'll spend two wonderful nights before heading back to Boynton Beach. We'll spend two nights with Mike and Carol again before we embark on Celebrity Cruise Line's newest ship, Solstice for a week long cruise in the Caribbean. I am not the biggest fan of the Caribbean but I am a big fan of cruising and the people that we meet and sail with on Cruise Critic. We have a huge group this time as it is a Cruise Critic sponsored cruise.

We have stops in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Labadee, Haiti and St. Maarten. That and a couple of sea days and we are set. Then back to Fort Lauderdale and one more day with Mike and Carol before we fly home. Whew!

We have been planning this trip for more than a year. We started posting on our Cruise Critic thread last January. Others have been posting even longer than that. I told Bob in an e-mail today that I had good news and bad news. The good news was that in two weeks we would be in Florida but the bad news was that in four weeks we would be home. Work has been very good but has also been very stressful. We need this vacation. And I promise to blog all about it when we get back.

All about Seattle--my favorite things.

We love to travel. We are also people who cruise. And from cruising we have met so many great friends. One of them e-mailed me today to ask about a friend of hers who is coming to Seattle. I love telling people about Seattle. About our favorite things to see and places to eat. So I sat down and typed out my favorite things and I thought I would add them here for future posterity. Plus this will tell you about my dinner yesterday. And "Milk" was extraordinary. The Hopper exhibit was interesting but small. But that's OK it gave Kathleen more shopping time.

I would love to give you some background and info on Seattle. I am with your friends. $300 for a hotel room is a big no-no for us. I even hate to pay $200. And yes, we do stay in Seattle ourselves from time to time. Even though we only live 20 miles away in Redmond, we often go to late concerts or plays and then spend the night so we don't have to drive home. Kind of a designated driver/room.

Of the hotels you mention, the only one I would consider is the Andra. The others are pretty worn/tired. The Silver Cloud is a chain and I wouldn't pay more than $125 for it. I wouldn't go over $160 for the other two. So, what to do? Hotwire.com. This will mean your bargain-hunting friends will need to be brave. On Hotwire you reserve and prepay your hotel without knowing which hotel it is. But I can guarantee you that if you pick the right section of town and the right star rating, you will get a great hotel and a great bargain. For instance, I just went to the site and put in a three day stay in September 09 and I got a $166 a night room at a four star hotel in the Downtown-Pike Place Market area. And that's the area they want. Make sure they pick a hotel in Downtown-Pike Place Market area. Any 3.5-5 star hotel in that area will be great bargain. For instance, I can just about guarantee that the 4 star I just mentioned was the downtown Sheraton. And there was a 3.5 in Downtown-Pike Place for $145. That is probably the Warwick or the Crowne Plaza and that's a good price on them.

As to what to do here's the do not miss stuff:
This first part of the list can be accessed from any downtown hotel without a car.
Pike Place Market. (http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/)That's where to start. Just spend the morning walking around. Weekends are best but weekdays will be less crowded.
The Pioneer Square area is where Seattle started. Do the Underground Tour. (http://www.undergroundtour.com/)It takes about 90 minutes and is really good.
The Seattle Art Museum (http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/) is wonderful. We are members and were there yesterday. You can do the entire museum in under two hours unless they have a big traveling exhibit. Yesterday we went to see a traveling exhibit of Edward Hopper paintings. It was outstanding. And their Olympic Sculpture Park which is near the water is wonderful--and free.
You say they are music lovers but not what kind of music. If classical, then trying to find a concert at Seattle's premier concert hall, Benaroya Hall (http://www.seattlesymphony.org/) is a must. The hall itself is so gorgeous and the acoustics are superb. We go a few times each year and love it.
If pop music lovers, they should try the Triple Door. (http://www.thetripledoor.net/) It is underneath the best Asian restaurant in town, Wild Ginger (http://www.wildginger.net/). Or Demitriou's Jazz Alley (http://www.jazzalley.com/)which has excellent jazz.
Any Argosy cruise. (http://www.argosycruises.com/)There are a bunch. of them including one that leaves the harbor and goes through the Ballard Locks into Lake Union. You really get to see a bunch of Seattle. You will find it on the waterfront near the cruise dock and the aquarium.
The Seattle Center and the Space Needle. This is the 1964 World's Fair and you will note is number 7 on my list. Still fun. The EMP (Experience Music Project) is cool if you like the history of rock or science fiction but we think it's overpriced. The Space Needle viewing area is worth the money on a clear day. BUT DO NOT EAT THERE!!!! The food is OVERPRICED and not that good.

If they have a car, then I would add the following:
The Ballard Locks. The trip there through Fremont is fun. Stop in Fremont (where all the old hippies still live) and then on to Ballard. If they go there and like Italian food, check out Volterre (http://www.volterrarestaurant.com). Outstanding.
The Boeing Museum of Flight is south of Seattle at Boeing Field if they are into aviation and the Boeing factory tour is north of Seattle at Paine Field. You need advance reservations for the Boeing tour that you can make at (http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/tours/).
Come to the Eastside and cross a floating bridge on Lake Washington. Take I-90 out to Snoqualmie and see Snoqulamie Falls. Truly beautiful and easily accessible. Then go back through the shopping mecca of Bellevue and recross the lake on the 520 to get the complete floating bridge experience. On the way back on the 520 the big college on the right is the University of Washington so they could get off there if that interested them.
If they like zoos, our Woodland Park Zoo isn't too bad. While there, see the Greenlake area. (http://www.zoo.org/)
Just east of downtown is Capitol Hill. Where all the real hippies still live. Great restaurants.

That's probably enough on the touring front. If they have questions I would be happy to answer them.

Now on to food. These are my favorites within walking distance of downtown. We love to eat out and have several faves downtown.
Lola. Hands down my favorite restaurant in the world. New Greek but so much more. Seattle's premier restaurateur is Tom Douglass. He owns five restaurants within about 8 blocks of each other. All are fantastic. For truly great and interesting food, try Lola. We ate there last night. I had fried pita with a kalmata olive and fig spread, dolmades (stuff grape leaves), a wonderful octopus appetizer, a tagine of goat with winter root vegetables and an apple/pomegranate crostada for dessert. I can still taste it all. Lola is in the Hotel Andra and their breakfast is OUTSTANDING too.
Across the street is Dahlia Lounge, one of Tom's other restaurants, the grand dame of Seattle (actually seen in Sleepless in Seattle) restaurants. More expensive and fancier than Lola (Lola is casual night, Dahlia is semi-formal night). Dahlia is doing a new brunch. Yummy.
Tom's other restaurants are Palace Kitchen (a young, trendy crowd), Etta's Seafood (touristy and near Pike Place market) and Serious Pie (gourmet pizza) are all within walking distance. All are good. (http://www.tomdouglas.com/)
Down in Bell Town (a little longer walk) is Restaurant Zoe. Really good. (http://www.restaurantzoe.com/)
Purple Cafe and Wine Bar is nice and mid-priced. Best place for wine. (http://www.thepurplecafe.com/)
For Asian, the aforementioned Wild Ginger is wonderful.

We are not big steak or just seafood people so I can't give you recommendations. I would always stay away from anything on the waterfront. Food down there is touristy to the max. Best food is downtown and up on Capitol Hill. Or if you go to the Eastside (via car) stop in Bellevue for seafood at John Howie's SeaStar (http://www.seastarrestaurant.com/) or head to Madison Park to my second favorite restaurant in the world, Cactus. (http://www.cactusrestaurants.com)Incredible Southwest food.

That about does it for now but I promise to repost anything new I find in the future.