Seattle, Washington
I don't know about you, but when I think of Washington, specifically Seattle, I think of three things: rain, Grey's Anatomy, and Fifty Shades of Grey. It's cliché, I know, but I just can't help my inner basic bish sometimes and this is one of those times. Surprisingly there was ZERO rain the entire weekend that I was in Seattle and I still don't know if I loved that or was disappointed by that. I'm a sucker for a good thunderstorm and ever since I left San Antonio, TX I haven't had a good thunderstorm, so I've been itching for one.
Seattle, or Washington in general, is GORGEOUS and I can't wait to go back and continue exploring it as I barely scratched the surface on this trip. Shameless plug for an amazing company that I"m obsessed with coming up, sorry not sorry friends. This trip was 100% based on friendships that I made on my first ever Trova Trip to Zion National Park with Krissy Harclerode and 14 other women that I had never met before. That trip was magical and life changing and it gave me some AMAZING new friendships that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Without that trip and the phenomenal planning that Trova Trip did for us I wouldn't have ever met Nicole or Chelsea and this trip to Seattle wouldn't have happened. It's crazy how life works in such mysterious ways but always manages to give you exactly what you need precisely when you need it
This trip was all about food, fun, and exploring! Nicole lives in Seattle, so she happily played tour guide and chauffeur (and some how didn't get us killed), Chelsea lives in California and flew in like me, but this was her second trip to Seattle in 2021 so I was the only one who had never been before and both ladies made sure I had the best time, even when we did a few tourist things which normally I HATE but I couldn't resist this trip.
First thing Nicole and I did when I got off the plane and loaded into her car was to acquire food. Nicole and I both LOVE tacos, so she took me to her favorite taco place, Taco Chukis, and it did not disappoint. It was amazing, I'm talking I haven't had this delicious of tacos since I left San Antonio and though these weren't Tex Mex tacos, they were LEGIT kinda good. Actually, there's one place on Oahu that had amazing mini street tacos too, but that's a post for another time. The point I'm trying to make is, if you're ever in Seattle, and you want bomb tacos, go to Taco Chukis, you won't regret it.
Our next stop was to Salt & Straw for ice cream. Now I'm not a HUGE sweets fan and though I like ice cream, I'm not obsessed with it as I'm lactose intolerant and I never, ever remember to carry Lactaid with me, which means I always have to weigh the consequences, but this ice cream was fire. I tried the Goat Cheese and Marionberry Habenaro Ice Cream in a fresh waffle cone and it was so refreshing with just a hint of heat which should have been weird and gross, but was actually perfection. 10/10 recommend! Our next stop was to scoop up Chelsea from the airport and then, shocker, we circled back to Taco Chukis and got Chelsea some tacos and she agreed that they're AMAZING. I'm fairly certain the three of us could have eaten there every single day, twice a day, and have been happy but we restrained ourselves and tried other places instead.
The next day started off with a hike and it was beautiful! We hiked up and then over and down to an alpine lake, or part of the way down. It was crazy to me to see snow on the ground still in July, but at that elevation it's perfectly normal. Insane! I had such a blast scrambling along rocks and trees to see more and capture photos of how breathtakingly beautiful it was up there but no photo could ever do it justice. Nature is one gloriously beautiful bish y'all.
After our hike we made our way to our brunch reservations and once again, Nicole did not disappoint in her food selections. I'd never doubt Nicole's food selections by the way. Brunch was at Portage Bay Cafe and y'all....they know how to brunch. Not only was the food sublime, but they allow dogs to be at the tables with you in their outdoor seating area so Kilo got to come with us and that alone wins my heart. I'm a sucker for a pup.
Later that evening, after a refreshing shower and power nap, we snagged dinner at El Grito Taqueria, are you seeing the theme yet? We then hit the town and bar hopped a bit to explore some of the nightlife in Seattle despite pandemic precautions and it was a blast! We started the night at Tapster, where we could try all sorts of different beers and we paid by the ounce. We broke out the Uno deck and discovered that none of us truly know how to play Uno by the rules. I don't remember the names of the other bars that we stopped at or tried to stop at, I'm a terrible person, but just know that they had games and pizza and they were a blast!
Our last full day in Seattle we hit up Pike Place Market in true basic bish fashion and had a blast. We took cute pics at the gum wall, hopped in a photo booth, and snagged mac n cheese on the wharf. Afterwards we stopped at the best cake by the slice place that I have ever been to, simply called Cake Shop, and we each got a slice of cake. I got my favorite, lemon blueberry and it was absolute perfection. Our next stop was paddle boarding on Lake Union! Now I've only been paddle boarding for about a year at this point and all of my experience has been on the ocean, so hopping into the water in Seattle was a little daunting for me. I have a deep and irrational fear of water that I can't see in and the water in Seattle is 100% not clear. There could be monsters in there waiting to drown me. It's dramatic and unrealistic, but I am who I am and I have no shame in that. After a little bit of time I was happily standing up and paddling around and having a blast, almost completely forgetting that the water was deep and dark and full of monsters, but not quite.
The morning that we sadly left Seattle we made one last stop before the airport at Cafe Hagen, which was conveniently right below Nicole's apartment at the time. I 100% left my wallet upstairs in her apartment like the ditz that I am and she had to bring it down to me in the middle of a meeting. I was so embarrassed, but the coffee and food was delish and I'm so glad that we made one last stop before the airport and heading back home.
If you're ever in the Seattle area, I 10/10 recommend all of the places that we made stops at and I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did if you add them to your plans. I personally can't wait to visit Seattle again and explore more coffee shops and hikes, two of my all time favorite things! Until next time friends.
xo,
Chrissi