A Grown-up Girls Weekend - Oh My!

Thanks to Noël for giving up her seat on a return flight this summer and getting a $400 ticket voucher!  And since I had to dog-sit Rory for another night, it's only fair that she spend half of her voucher on me, right?  Thus the idea for a weekend trip to visit Gretchen, our sweet friend who moved to Seattle earlier this year!

It was my first weekend away from Katelyn - a big step and a little traumatic for both of us, I think.  But she was in for a fun weekend with Daddy, and I was in for a fun weekend with the girls!

Since this was my first trip to Washington, Noël insisted that I have the window seat.  The view coming into Seattle, she told me, was spectacular.

 Here we are, just about to land.  Hmm...  If this is "spectacular," I'm a little concerned.  Mt. Rainier?  I don't see it!

After a nice lunch with Noël's mom and a quick visit with her family, we were off to Port Orchard, where we checked into this cute little bed and breakfast.  If you're ever staying in Port Orchard, this is the place to stay - Gil and Kathy (the owners) are wonderful people and made us feel at home all weekend.

 Thankfully, the views here were much better than from the plane!

 

 Beautiful, even if the sun was hiding.

 

With fall colors and everything!

 And now to tell you about....the car.

Noël's dad graciously offered us the use of his car for the weekend.

 

 His Smart Car!

 

 For a car so incredibly tiny, it actually has a lot of room inside.  For a person.  Not much room for anything else.

But the best part of driving this teeny car around?

 

The license plate!

Friday night, we had dinner with Gretchen, Steve, and Sawyer.  Here's sawyer with a goody bag from Katelyn's princess party.

After a lovely breakfast at the B&B on Saturday, we were off on the ferry to Seattle!

 

Gretchen and I

 

Seagulls!

 

 Keeping warm inside, and safe from the seagulls!

 

Almost there!

 

 

First stop - Pike Place Market!

 

Yum

 

World famous!  I didn't see any fish-throwing though...

 

Noël, the pig, and me

 

The very first Starbucks store! 

 

Perfect place for our very first pumpkin spice lattes of the season.

 

Next stop - the Space Needle!

 

Here's how Noël spent most of her weekend - holding stuff for me and Gretchen.

 At the top!

 

 The Seattle skyline

 

Gretchen and Noël

 

It's a long way down!

 

Do you see what I see?

 

 Back at the B&B, Sawyer plays piano for us.

 

 

 

 Looking at pictures of her friend, Katelyn.

 

Noël, Sawyer, and Steve

 

 

 Noël dressed up for our trip to the cute little town of Port Gamble.

 

It was a short trip, but what a great weekend!

By the way, I never did see the famed Mt. Rainier.  Noël and Gretchen blamed it on the weather, but I'm not so sure it actually exists.  ;-)