Seattle, Whistler and the BIG 30 … Here I come!

On Wednesday, Jeff and I will set out for Seattle and Whistler for a nice, extra long weekend. And the trip is all because I turn 30 next weekend …

As for 30, I really don’t have an opinion about it (but it makes me wonder how many other blog posts are out there about turning 30 – humm.) And since I never get to the end of long emotional posts (no offense meant to anyone; it’s just my need for short and quick), there will be no post about turn 30 and what it means to me or how I feel.

Instead, I am super pumped about making the trip to Seattle and then driving to Whistler. We arrive in Seattle late on June 3 and then drive to Whistler on June 4. To be honest, I only know a little about Seattle … Pikes Place Market, Space Needle, Seattle Grace Hospital (fictional – I know – from Grey’s Anatomy), and I once read in Runner’s World about its great running trails. And, I want to make sure we take in Seattle’s best on Thursday.

So, my task this weekend is to be an Internet junkie searching for the best of the best for our trip and looking for tips on where the locals go.

My search has only just begun, but it began on the Pikes Place Fish Market Web site. On it, there is a slideshow of the city. Picking up a few clues from it, my next step is to look into the following:

• Dick’s Drive-in
• City Market
• Post Alley

And my questions are …

1. Is it worth seeing the Space Needle if we only have 6 hours of daylight in the city?
2. If you were going to have only three meals in the city – late dinner, breakfast and lunch - where do we go?

This weekend, Jeff and I are also going to buy a little pocket camcorder to capture our trip. Video will be a new adventure for me.

I am pushing my max length on what I am comfortable reading … I’ll keep you posted.

MPLS St. Paul Local Artists

A couple weekends back, Jeff and I ate at the Mill City Cafe in Northeast. Lucky us – the local artists in the building where the cafe is located open their studios to the public on the second Saturday of each month. It was a great morning outing, and here are a few of the artists that caught my attention.

Jennifer Massoll (oil painting)

Marcia McEachron (steel and bronze sculpture)

Kit Wilson (jewelry)

New Blog Name – Do you know that place?

Now that I’ve been in Minnesota for nearly six months, I suppose it is time to make the official blog name transition. And lesson learned … don’t name your blog after a city or a boyfriend or anything that might change!  Renaming is a bugger!

To really break it down, I love searching for the mom and pop shops. The places tucked into a side street and hidden in a residential neighborhood. The hunt for shop or cafe that offers everything that you wouldn’t find at your typical chain restaurant and department store. I love neighborhoods, homes and communities that have character and personality. Sometimes I want to hear brilliant banter from the guy who could be a college professor, who plays the guitar and who connects the whole world together with his knowledge of history. Other times, I want to sit at the neighborhood bar and enjoy the life of a simple man. So what do I love … finding just the right consignment store, donut shop or veggie sandwich to add to my very own Best Of … list.

Do you know that place?

This is me on the weekends. This is me when I am traveling.  That is how my mind works.