Seattle

Since we have lived in the Northwest, we have visited Seattle twice and each time I have been there I have fallen more and more in love with the city (this could partly be due to us only traveling in the summer months and not during the rainy season, but really, how different could it be from Oregon?). Both times our visit has been to see the Seattle Mariners. We are not traitors to our Bay Area roots, but not being able to go to a baseball game whenever we like has been a huge drawback for both my husband and I. Growing up in the Bay Area going to see the A's or the Giants would be a regular occurrence. Since our visits to the Bay are always so hectic, we very rarely can fit in a game. Hence, the reason for us migrating up north to watch a game.
So we get to Safeco field and it is very apparent that their fans do not wear Mariners gear. This is very odd to me. I have been to many stadiums on the west coast for different sporting events, and this is the only place that the majority of fans are not wearing their team logo or even their team colors. It is really bizarre. (In defense of my family, I was not going to go and buy Mariners apparel since I already get enough &*A$@ for wearing Oregon clothing since I am an AZ WILDCAT and if we were to disrespect our A's/Giants family we may never be invited home!). The crowd seemed enthused and happy to be there, but for whatever odd reason, nobody wants to wear the Mariners gear.
Because we had company tickets, we had really good seats, but then again, I believe that this term should be used loosely. Were we very close to the field and could see all the action? Yes. Did we (really meaning me) get freaked out every time a batter was up for fear of a foul ball coming and hitting one of us? (The person directly behind us caught a foul ball. They were not knocked unconscious or anything, but, you never know!) The game was boring until the last 2 innings and then it got really exciting. This pretty much coincided with the kids reaching their boredom point and asking "when can we leeeeeeeeeeave"? We did make it the entire game. Mariners won. Kids were filled with junk food. All in all, it was a successful trip.
We ended up spending the night in Seattle and doing the tourist thing the next day. Thanks to Facebook, I got to meet up with 2 college friends that I had not seen in forever! We walked EVERYWHERE and the hills of Seattle should be in direct competition with the hills of San Francisco. Our calves were BURNING (all but Jimmy's who was napping in the stroller that we got him). We had breakfast at a restaurant called Portage Bay Cafe (highly recommend it). All organic and natural and super yummy food. We went to the REI flagship store (I really and truly believe that this is one of the coolest stores I have ever been to in my entire life!) and of course Starbucks (where Alyssa had her first cappuccino. Thought she would not like it...she proved me wrong). And of course, no trip would be complete without going to Pike's Market. I swear if I lived in Seattle I would go every weekend regardless if it was a touristy thing or not (Pier 39 is still on of my favorite places on earth).The food, the fish, the flowers, everything about it made me fall in love with the city even more. If you have never been to Seattle, it is a must. Full Northwest experience in one place. Just pack a pair of jeans, an umbrella and a NorthFace jacket, and you are set to go!