Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Girls Weekend = Good Times

Outside of Doc's Marina Grill on Bainbridge
 This past weekend I was fortunate to visit with my good group of girlfriends from high school. We traveled to Seattle, which is close to where one friend of ours lives, mostly from the Bay Area besides one of our friends who came from Santa Fe. We lucked out on the weather, which was sunny and mid 80's! With no kids or husbands along for the ride, we had nothing to do but catch up, relax and take care of ourselves. Much needed!

Space Needle was visible from my hotel room!
The Westin was centrally located, and seemed to be busy with travelers for pleasure and business. There were several conferences held there, and many groups going on cruises departed from our lobby. What I loved immediately is that our rooms were ready when we stopped by at 10:00 a.m. to drop off our luggage at the bell desk so that we could set out on the city on foot. So, straight up to the rooms we went to drop off our stuff and head out.

Our first order of business was food - we had all been up since 4:00 a.m. and traveling takes a lot out of you. The hotel recommended we go to a nearby cafe called Lola, which served up a heavenly breakfast. Our second stop was the Gene Juarez spa which had been recommended to me by a friend. Instantly I noticed it was quite a busy place and not terribly quiet which worked out GREAT for our large group of boisterous ladies. Most of us got massages, while a couple opted for facials and one for reflexology which she was very impressed with. Everyone who got a massage absolutely RAVED about it. My massage therapist was named Hazel, and I'm telling you, if you ever go there ask for her! She's got magic hands.

We had plenty of time to hang out there afterwards and visit. Most of us that are located in the same city manage to see each other about 4 times a year, but I am lucky if I see my two out of state friends once every couple-few years. It is amazing how so much time can go by but we still have so much to talk about. While many of us have grown and changed in many ways, we can still appreciate most of the same things about each other. We laughed so hard, and it was just like high school...a big group of girls having so much fun, not paying attention to anything or anyone else and getting stared at and nearly reprimanded for making too much noise.
Seafood! My friends food - for two!

Besides the fabulous company and beautiful scenery, I ate some delicious meals. I took advantage of all the fresh seafood. Prawns, scallops, ahi tacos, calamari were all consumed over the weekend. Although, I did indulge in a nice 8 oz. filet mignon on our last night there, where we had dinner at the revolving restaurant on top of the Space Needle. We did a LOT of walking around the city, so I didn't feel terribly guilty. Plus, who feels guilty eating great meals on vacay? Ok, so I didn't need the massive ice cream cone after our seafood meal on the waterfront the first night, and I probably was too full for the bread pudding (which I shared) after our meal at the Space Needle. I surely didn't need the apple fritter (which I also shared) that I bought at our hotel on our first morning there. And yes, I did bring my work out clothes and hoped to run or at least use the gym while I was there but I didn't. At least I had good intentions! My 343 Challenge is going to continue to the end of the month to include running miles for all the lives lost on 9/11 so I have plenty of time to make up for a few slacker days.

Avoid innocent looking hotel cafe. $17 for what is not a meal!

Pikes Place Market. Heavenly.
Did someone say fish?

 We loved the few touristy sites we saw. In addition to our night at the Space Needle, which we rode the Monorail to, we saw the first Starbucks, went to Pikes Place Market twice, and ate lunch at the Athenian Inn where Tom Hank's character ate in Sleepless in Seattle. (Great food, mediocre service!) We also rode the ferry, a la Meredith and Derek on Grey's Anatomy. That was a gorgeous day, smooth ride to Bainbridge island where we ate (of course) and shopped (DUH).

Going up....

After two 3-day weekends in a row, I am quite out of sorts. This week may very well feel like the longest week of my life. But I have my memories of my wonderful weekend with my great friends when I need to slip into day-dream mode. The laundry can wait.

Let's BEE Friends

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fabulous weekend!! I had a chance to go several years ago & hang out with my favorite aunty and we did a lot of the same things. Thanks for bringing back memories!

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  2. What great pictures! It looks like you had an amazing girl's weekend!

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  3. Glad you had a great time. Love the pics. You make me want to go back to Seattle!!

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  4. I hope I'll be writing about a weekend with girlfriends soon! I'd love to spend my 33rd birthday weekend away on some kind of ladies-only adventure. I miss the days when I spent more than 1-3 hours a go with the ladies who keep me going.

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  5. You did luck out on the weather cuz it's been pretty crummy out here most of the summer! Glad you had such fun visiting and being with friends. I do love living out here; it's a beautiful spot.

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  6. Wow, that's a big agenda to pack into one weekennd. Looks like you had a blast though.

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  7. I love Seattle and I love girls weekends. They are the best and it looks like you girls all enjoyed yourselves immensely. Good for you!

    I need me one of those right about now :P

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