Adventures of Alpin: November 2013

The crew in Vancouver

We took our first long vacation together and flew up to Seattle, a visit that was long overdue. The trip was full of great friends, beautiful sites and amazing food.

Friday we flew in and Alexis drove up from Portland. We all stayed at Ngoc and Dave's beautiful home in Issaquah, just east of Seattle. It was wonderful to spend so much time with them, and allow Alpin and Jacob to bond and play with each other. Alpin was very excited to explore the house and find all of Jake's toys.

Friday afternoon we went to see Snoqualme falls near Ngoc and Dave's house. They were running like crazy, and we even saw nesting Peragrin Falcons flying around. We had dinner at a delcious Malaysian spot, I think near Redmond.

Saturday morning Brandon, Adrien and Isaac came over and made waffles for us all. It was so great to see them now that they are back in Seattle, and see how much Isaac has grown. It was fun to see the boys play together, it was the first time they all were together in one place. It will be so fun to see them grow up together (even though we're two states away).

Saturday we went to the salmon hatchery, and it was incredible to see the Coho swimming upstream. They are quite magical. So big and beautiful coloring. The trees in the park were in full fall colors as well, lots of bright yellows and oranges. Afterwards we went to Red Hook Brewery for the tour and tasting, which was fun. Then we met up with Jeremy, Jamie and Greg for dinner at a Greek spot in Seattle. It was so great to see them, and have Jamie and Greg meet Alpin! They gave Alpin a Yellow Submarine shirt, which is his favorite song.

Sunday we packed up and we all (Alexis, Ngoc and Dave and Jake) drove up to Vancouver, Canada. Alpin's first border crossing! We immediately hit up a spot to eat Dim Sum in Richmond, Canada, which happened to be the best Dim Sum around Vancouver. It was the best I've ever had, and I'm sad it is in another country. Our hotel was in downtown Vancouver, so after we checked in we walked all around and explored the downtown. We went to a tiny spot below our hotel called Gyoza King, a Japanese spot, for dinner. It was so amazing, we went back for lunch the next day. I <3 Gyoza.

For breakfast the next day Ngoc and Dave introduced us to Chinese Congee, rice porridge, it was yum! Then we walked all around Stanley Park enjoying the fall colors and the beautiful bay with the boats and shorebirds. Andy even found several geocaches in Canada. I'm in love with Vancouver, it is such a beautiful city, the skyline is gorgeous with all the green-blue glass windows on the skyscrapers and it is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Plus, all the food was incredible. I can't wait to go back!

After driving home from Canada, Alexis had to drive back to Portland to work the next day. We are so happy she was able to come up most of our trip! We're so lucky.

The next day Ngoc and Dave also had to work, so they generously lent us their car to explore Seattle, so we drove around and saw bald eagles flying around and went to Gasworks Park in the Fremont District. We also checked out Theo cholocate factory, it reminded me of the old Scharfenberger in Berkeley. We had lunch at hipster Skillet in Seattle, I had the best friend chicken sandwich I'd ever had. Then Ngoc dropped us off at the airport and we were on our way home!

Alpin did a great job on the airplane, he slept in the ergo the whole time. He only fussed with take off and landing as his ears pressurized. We are so lucky he is such a great traveller, and does well at restaurants! We had such a fun time with all our friends, we really cannot wait to go back. We'll probably drive back up in the summer.

A few video clips from the trip...