Seattle was a great time. On Saturday, we hit up the Boeing facility up in Everett. We attended a 90-min Future of Aviation tour. Really. cool. And I’m not even an aviation geek. But we got to see the assembly floors for the 747, 777, and 787 Dreamliner. That carbon fiber, man. It is a game changer: so much lighter and stronger than steel, aluminum, or titanium. Amazing. Seriously, air travel never ceases to blow my mind: I mean, to get hundreds of people up in the air: living, breathing, eating, shitting– and transporting them thousands of miles all over the world- it is freaking magic!! Anyway, I highly recommend the tour.

Overall, our time was spent hanging out, playing board games (three new ones!), walking around, and eating. Yes, LOTS of eating, and John insists that the food in Seattle is better than the Bay Area. Then again, we’ve always felt that Bay Area food is overrated. Among our culinary delights in Seattle:

• an amazing beef/lamb gyro + baklava dessert from Sultan’s in the university district,
• doughy-crusted pizza and Italian apps at Mio Posto near G&J’s house,
• cupcakes from Trophy,
• yummo fresh doughnuts from Daily Dozen,
• raw oysters and seafood at Elliott’s Oyster House by the water,
• Mexican chocolate pie (among others) from A la Mode,
• an amazing burger (crimini mushrooms and swiss cheese) at Uneeda Burger
• more doughnuts from Top Pot,
• vermicelli noodles from Dong Thap noodle shop in Little Saigon

And no, that is not even the comprehensive list. As you can see, the no-gym, carbo-loading theme continued for the entire trip. As for city attractions, well, the weather was wet– intermittent sprinkling but consistent wetness/dampness. We still stopped by some parks– Kerry Park, Washington Park Arboretum, Discovery Park, and Magnolia Park but aside from a longer stroll with Baby O and his parents through the Arboretum, our outdoor time was brief. I imagine the locals are completely undeterred by the cloudy skies and perpetual moisture, but I was pretty much paralyzed without sunshine.

I think the other couple and their kid H had a good time too. We hung out less with them: I think H is maybe on a stricter schedule. I’m not exactly sure. He isn’t quite as well-traveled as Baby O, so maybe the process was just a bit more tiring for them. He’s also in a different growth/development stage where I think he’s a bit more difficult.

The funniest thing is that J and I are the only child-free couple, and yet we were exhausted. J thinks we’re still recovering from our cold (eh, maybe, kinda), but I think it’s just the exposure to constant motion/chatter that causes mental fatigue. Then again, it could be a combination of factors. I’m sure the binging and minimal exercise did not help. Anyway, I’ll have to debrief with J&J to get their thoughts on traveling with the little man. Seemed like they enjoyed the break/escape esp following a very emotionally trying and depressing week (Trumpocalypse and all).

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Regardless, we’re happy to be back in the Bubble. Marty did well again. This new sitter, I’m telling you. I hope she’s always available until the end, bc she has been a Godsend.

What’s on tap this week? We’re heading back to the gym. Also, I’m thrilled to be getting our new tankless water heater installed tomorrow!! J & I have def been pushing our luck with the old 40-gallon. For real. There is all kinds of rust/corrosion/water ponding on the top of it (signaling it’s imminent demise), so I can’t wait to get this old sucker (dated 1998) hauled outta my house! The work should just take a day, so fingers crossed! We removed all the junk (supplies, shelving, shoes, etc.) out of the hallway washer/dryer area to make room for the plumber. He’s supposed to mount the tankless unit on the wall above the dryer, and then he’ll remove the old tank. Phase 2 for us will then involve finding a contractor to bust out part of the wall and then we’re hoping to move the master bath commode to where the water heater sat so as to make room for a larger sink/vanity. We’ll see. I haven’t even contacted any contractors or anything. That’s later. First things first. Gotta remove the exploding bomb!

Beyond that, I’m planning to hit up the kw office tomorrow and the rest of this week: I’m submitting my paperwork and kicking off my first 100 days. Woohoo!

Of course, just as I’m ramping up for real estate, I’m also getting a ton of requests for Rover for Thanksgiving. So far, I’ve turned them all down though. Mostly bc the dogs are too young (< 3 y/o) and I don’t want the added stress on Martin. Don’t worry: I’m still hustling via eBay and Craiglist. In fact, a Palo Alto techie is coming by tomorrow to buy J’s old Apple monitor! Yeehaw! More Bubbey bucks! 🙂