The Brambles of Bainbridge

Soon after Quinn and I were married my parents and siblings moved down to Washington to the lovely Bainbridge Island. I was so sad to see them go, but they are still pretty close to Alaska so I don't mind too much. I got to visit them at the end of January for ten days, and what a wonderful time it was! My mother took off from work for a whole week so she could spend time with us! And since everyone was pining for her, Greta came along as well (and did much better in the belly of the plane this time around!). 

In true Seattle fashion (Bainbridge Island is only a short ferry ride away from the center of bustling Seattle), it rained almost the whole time we were there! I felt terrible about this, as Greta hardly got out of the house at all. Somehow I don't think she minded all that much though...Inside the house was where all the action was and she got so much love while she was there! One bright morning we were able to escape the house though, and so off on a walk we went - to one of my sister Bethany's favorite running spots.

There were ducks of all types all over the park! It was so nice to see so many brightly colored birds, and Greta especially loved barking and chasing them with Quinn:

Spring has yet to come back to Juneau of course (as I write this there is still snow on the ground), but signs of Spring were already returning to Bainbridge. Below is a photo I took of a budding cherry blossom tree, the pink was absolutely beautiful!

There are certain things I always have to do when visiting my family in Seattle:

   1.) Eat at our favorite ramen restaurant in the International District.

   2.) Eat french fries with my sister Valerie.

   3.) Quinn's favorite - Eat at Taco Bell.

   4.) Shop Pike's Place Market.

I just realized that all four of those things have to do with food! Haha! I guess the best times are had over good food, isn't that right?

We got to do all the things listened above (and then some of course!), but my favorite is probably shopping at Pike's Place Market - It's always fun!

Despite the rain, if you are ever in Seattle make sure to stop at Pike's! I know the market inside and out now, and my favorite store is a little Polish Pottery shop nestled under the hustle and bustle of the street-level floor. Quinn's favorite is a comic book store on the same lower level. You can't beat Pike's for beautiful displays of fruit, vegetables, fish, flowers, and all sorts of other things:

 

Just looking at these pictures makes my mouth water! One of my favorite stalls sells all types of dried fruits and vegetables. I always make sure to get a big bag of their cinnamon apple chips - and then I try not to eat them all before getting back to the ferry!

Pike's is also know for their large selection of fresh seafood, and of course they throw their fish all over! I tried to get a picture of this for you, Dear Reader, but they were too quick for me! Haha! Perhaps next time I'll get one. On a not-so-appetizing-as-the-fruit note, here's some octopus along with your fish:

The octopus is my favorite sea creature, but I'm not sure I would eat it...(though my mother did trick me into squid once. Thanks mom.).

On a brighter note, the flowers! Oh my goodness! If only I could have taken all of them home with me! The brightly colored bouquets were just stunning, and the rainy weather made it all the more difficult not to bring one home!

Just beautiful. I look at these pictures and want to fill the entire Barn with tulips! Washington is known for it's amazing tulip fields, as well as their purple lavender fields. Pike's had plenty of both, and you could get anything with lavender added into it! Not only were their lotions, perfumes, and sachets, but you could get honeys, teas, jams, and all sorts of baked goods with lavender!

I bought a floral printed shawl at my favorite Polish Pottery store, and of course a big bag of apple chips (they're already almost gone! No!), though I may have found a few other things I wanted to take home with me...

How can one resist the call of a herd of corgis!?!

Before leaving Pike's Place we also visited the fabled Gum Wall - and if you haven't heard of this, it's okay, because it's rather strange. You see people (for some unknown reason) like to stick their chewed up gum on the walls of this particular alley way right next to Pike's. Last year, I believe, they had to wash all of the gum off the walls however, since so much had built up that rats were coming and eating the gum. Talk about gross! Although I have stuck gum on the wall in the past, this year Quinn and I opted out, but not before getting some pictures!

I didn't stand too close, don't worry. Haha!

Let's move on shall we? Quinn's birthday was right before we left Juneau, so we decided to celebrate once we were down in Bainbridge. One of our favorite places to visit is the International District in Seattle, where our favorite Asian market (and that ramen place I mentioned) is located. There you can find all sorts of cool things, including foods I would never dare try. But one particular food item has always gotten Quinn's attention when we visited, and this time he wanted to get it for his birthday. What was this food item, you ask? Why one of those cute little ducks we saw earlier:

Here is my brother Wesley and Quinn posing in front of the ducks. We had first planned to just buy a duck or two and take it back to Bainbridge to eat at home, but my momma had other ideas. She had eaten at a restaurant that was known for their duck, so we all met to celebrate Quinn over a dinner of duck and other yummy foods!

Pictured here is my brother Riley, my sister Bethany, my momma, and Wesley. Why Wesley isn't really smiling in this picture I don't know, he was probably just hungry for duck!

The restaurant had a large circle table, and it was fun for all of us to sit around it! Here is Valerie, myself, my dad, and Mikala, my sister-in-law (married to Riley). 

Now, I had never had duck before but I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone more so I was determined to try it. When it finally came out (on two platters! One was the skin, and the other had more meat on it) Quinn was so excited!

I am happy to say that it was wonderful, and everyone loved it! 

Yes it's true, I have such a beautifully photogenic family! Haha! My sister Valerie actually took quite a few of these photos - didn't she do a nice job?

As the meal came to a close we went around the table and said things we admired about Quinn, the birthday boy, making him feel all the more special I'm sure. But this wasn't all! Back on Bainbridge Island there was something else waiting...dessert!

 24 candles!

I'm not sure why everyone is laughing in this next one, 

but I'm sure it was something Riley did.

I know this blog post isn't like what I normally do, but I thought you might enjoy seeing a glimpse into my crazy family. Of course my brothers Cody and Henry weren't there, nor was my future-brother-in-law-to-be Tyler, but it was certainly a wonderful time - and truth be told it was hard to come back to Blueberry Barn, knowing I could't take them all with me. I'll be seeing them again soon though, as Bethany's wedding will be this coming June and that will be a party! 

I think it's true what they say: no matter how far away your family is, you carry a piece of them with you wherever you go. Goodbye for now Seattle, until next time!