Recently I went to Seattle to meet up with my friend Mandy. She lives in Washington DC but is a jet setter around the world for her journalism career. (This girl is totally inspiring!) She happened to be teaching a conference from Wednesday–Friday, and asked me if I wanted to meet up with her for a weekend of fun. Obviously I said yes! I hopped on an Amtrak train at noon on Friday, and when I arrived at King Street Station I was swiftly carried away to my downtown hotel, transported by a cheerful cab driver, where I was soon presented with beautiful downtown Seattle.
It was a great time to travel, as the autumn rains hadn’t completely set in yet. In fact, it was a flawless sunny weekend, a rare treat in October for the Pacific Northwest. We took full advantage.
We checked out some local gems that first night, starting with the complementary happy hour in our hotel. Free wine every night at 5:00? Yes, please! A fabulous dinner at Ivar’s Acres of Clams and a flight of beers at Pike Brewing found us befriending a grizzled chocolatier named Vladimir (Could he be the man of my dreams? *insert fantasies of living in Willy Wonka’s world here*) who then invited us to visit him at his chocolate factory the next day.
Both being runners, we wanted to test out our legs in a new city, so we ran along the beautiful waterfront Saturday morning and up into the hills for a very challenging run. We richly rewarded ourselves later with a delicious brunch at Planet Java and, of course, a visit to Vladimir’s chocolate factory. Filled with sweet delights, Mandy and I took to the water and took a ferry to Bainbridge Island.
In the evening, we took a cue from our younger years and decided to hit the energetic nightlife in Capitol Hill to go dancing. Seattle, you did not disappoint. There seemed to be a huge variety of places, from your typical club scene to niche bars, to hipster joints to punk rock palaces. We stayed up way past our bedtime and had a blast doing it.
The next day, Mandy had to leave early to catch a flight, so after breakfast I was on my own to explore. I chose to visit the EMP (Experience Music Project) and Science Fiction Museum. I had heard about the excellent exhibits and was curious to check them out, especially the Nirvana exhibit. I grew up in the grunge era and have fond memories of the grunge era, Nirvana and Alice in Chains especially. I also very much enjoyed The Lure of the Horror Film. My dad, should he ever step foot in Seattle, would go completely gaga over this exhibit. He raised me with the classics, and they were all represented at the EMP. There were original costumes and props from movies, mini documentaries about the many horror sub-genres, a screaming booth, a monster timeline, and more. It was seriously cool.
Seattle is incredible! I definitely created lots of memories to take away with me, and I can’t wait to make more. Give me more than two days and see what happens then!
After I left, all I could think was that I wanted to go back sooner than later. Well, I got my wish! I’m excited to announce that I am collaborating with RAM Racing Series as an ambassador for the Seattle Hot Chocolate 5k/15k 2014! (It’s perfect for me, don’t you think?) This is great news for me and even better news for you. I get to be a part of a fantastic event that is raising money for a worthy charity (Ronald McDonald House) and YOU can join me for a weekend of fun, running, and of course, chocolate! Even better, if you sign up with my promo code, CURIOUSMUG, you not only get the amazing goodie bag (see below for details), you also get a bonus gift because you are awesome and read my blog. This is my chance to give back to you for being such loyal readers and all-around amazing people!
You can sign up today, OR you can wait for my next post, because guess what? I’M GIVING AWAY A FREE REGISTRATION TO ONE LUCKY READER! That’s right! Stay tuned for my registration give-away, and in the meantime, mark your calendars for March 2, 2014.
beckydancer
11 thoughts on “Seattle Trip + BIG NEWS!”
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Julie Meier
Very nice! How far is a 5 k??? Do I have to run?? How much does it cost?? Where do we stay??
beckydancer
5k is about 3 miles. I know you can do that – I’ve seen you do more at Portland to Coast Walk. You don’t have to run but you have to keep a pace of 15 minutes per mile, which is a quick walking pace. Click on the links above for cost and details. They have a suggested hotel, and I’m going to find out if there is a group rate for the runners.
thedancingrunner
Those hot chocolate races are SO fun! So cool that you are an ambassador!!
beckydancer
I’m glad to hear that! I am really excited for it. If there is a Hot Chocolate race near you, you can still use my promo code to get your free swag too! It’s for every race in the series! 😀
thedancingrunner
Oh wonderful! Thanks!
AC
Awesome, sounds like fun, and this blog post of yours is excellently timed for me. I have never really been to Seattle, have only gone up for a specific show or event and then come back home. This year, the week after Thanksgiving, my family and I are going up to spend a few days in Seattle, going to the EMP (top of my tourist priorities), the top of the Space Needle, and other museums and sights that none of us have ever been to. Looking forward to it, and even more so now since reading your glowing review!
beckydancer
That’s so great! I’m so glad I could reaffirm your vacation choice! I hope you and the fam have a great time. 🙂
Jenny
It looks like you had a lot of fun during your trip to Seattle. Chocolate and running are two of my favorite things – and it makes sense to go for a good run after consuming mega amounts of chocolate…
beckydancer
Right?!?! What a great combination! Thanks for reading and commenting.
🙂
K
So very very cool!
November is Awesome! | this curious universe
[…] is the Hot Chocolate Run? Well, you should have read my last blog post about it, but if you didn’t, here’s the scoop. You choose a 5k or 15k distance. You […]