It’s Labor Day weekend! This time last year I was travelling to the other side of the country to the US Air Force Museum to spend the weekend mileage running and checking out awesome planes. Getting to spend the weekend with two aircraft that I have always wanted to see (the XB-70 and the YF-12) was pretty awesome. Well this year is a little bit different, because my friend Yena decided to come visit. Originally planned to come in around the start of the month right around my birthday, but plans changed and so Yena was coming for a couple of nights (just two sadly) and it would be like old times. Earlier in the month I had already played tour guide for Fiona, but this time was a little bit different. This was like the old days when Yena and I got to hit up France or like back at home when we explored TNQ thanks to 5 Star Mal 😀 This time it would be me hosting, but I would be having some time off to enjoy myself while I played tour guide.
I picked Yena up late Thursday night (after traffic from hell) and we enjoyed a quiet evening of that Seattle staple of Teriyaki, a few stories before hitting the sack, both of us were dead to the world pretty quickly. Friday morning was a little bit the usual for me, work outs, breakfast and fixing air bookings (thanks Tripit for being not so great). With that all done and the sun coming out we decided to head downtown for a bit of random wandering while we explored the city and hit up some time with the big gaming festival PAX on.
After plenty of random wanderings and taking Yena up to the top of the Columbia Center we jumped in the truck (after a failed attempt at trying to have lunch at the Batali Families Salumi) and headed up to Kerry Park for some beautiful Skyline Shots:
After that it was some power shopping at the Mall so Yena could pick up some things before her last flights home and some lunch at a new Vietnamese Pho place (barely opened and the broth was gooooooood). Then it was off to the Boeing Factory and the Future of Flight to show Yena exactly where I really live 😉 I did earn myself $20 in the process though (thanks Blaine!)
Friday night I took Yena out on the town (her request) and after some advice from a some friends we had a good plan set (though since we were running behind It didn’t quite go to plan). We had dinner near Pikes Place Market at Steelhead Diner:
Then after not being able to get a park on Capitol Hill, we headed for a nightcap (or two) at Suite 410:
Today was a little bit of the usual adventures of a big loop from Pikes Place, along the waterfront up to the Olympic Sculpture Park, to Seattle Center and the Space Needle, then the Monorail down to Westlake and back to Pikes Place. I wasn’t feeling so crash hot, so no usual Lunch for me, but we still had a final coffee together at the “First” Starbucks. One last drink before I drove her (slowly) back to the airport so she could begin her journey home.
One thing I will say about having one of my closer friends coming to visit is that it is totally different compared to just other friends or family. I got to really relax, and have fun being a tour guide/tourist in my own town. I got to explore and although I have been to these places before, I still enjoyed it. I still had the best time. As I drove away from the airport on my own I was a little bit sad, but I thought back over how awesome the weekend was and knew that it was all about one thing. This:
I love your life! 🙂