As work are very generous we had $250 to spend on some travel related activity before the end of the year and so with time running out we decided to book a night in a hotel in Seattle. We thought it would make a change as you don’t always take notice of the places nearby plus it would allow us to go up the Space Needle at night.
What we hadn’t planned on when we booked it was that the day we chose to go vacationing in Seattle was Black Friday, the day they were lighting the Seattle Christmas tree, the Macy’s parade and the turning on of the Space Needle Christmas lights. And as if that wasn’t enough we also had Occupy Seattle protests and rallies going on – blooming work shy hippies!
Black Friday is the equivalent of the Boxing Day sales but bigger. Most of them seemed to start at about midnight and people spend Thanksgiving day camping outside stores ready to bag a bargain. Early reports from Los Angeles included details of a woman who had used pepper spray on fellow shoppers as she was trying to bag herself a bargain! Apparently she didn’t managed to get the bargain but she did manage to escape into the crowds!
We arrived at the Hotel Monaco just after 11 and after checking in and confirming that we would have a goldfish delivered to the room for our stay, we went into Seattle to do our share our Black Friday shopping. Apparently, the average American spends over $700 each on Black Friday – fortunately the queues were so large that we didn’t get close to troubling this figure although I did get a very nice scarf from Nordstrom!
After Gap and Old Navy the boys were starving, or using this as an excuse to stop shopping, so we went for lunch at the Mexican restaurant in the shopping center. While having a very tasty lunch I forgot exactly were I was and accidentally let out a small-ish burp. Tracy dissolved into hysterics and Harry just sat over the table shaking his head in disgust at his father! Fortunately I don’t think any surrounding people heard – they were probably too busy wondering why Tracy was laughing so much.
After lunch and a quick visit to Macy’s we went back to the hotel to enjoy the suite and because Harry and Toby were desperate to spend some time with the goldfish! The fish had been christened Stanley (by Toby) and they spent most of the time watching it and asking if it was doing a poo!
At just before 5 we left the hotel and set off back into town to catch the mono-rail to the Space Needle. Getting to the mono-rail was far from straightforward as the streets were packed with people waiting for the tree lighting ceremony (about 40,000). We eventually made it and arrived to a much quieter Space Needle. We had the usual picture taken at the bottom of the elevator but this time Toby insisted on having a fish included. I’m not sure, 1) what the fish was doing there, and 2) why Toby wanted it in the picture but he was most insistent it was and I think it definitely brings a certain something to the picture!
Up the top of the Needle we were lucky that it was a mild and clear evening so we got a pretty good view of the surrounding area. After leaving the Needle we went over to the fountain and watched silly people getting wet trying to get to the middle and then watched people ice skating over near the Science Center.
After catching the mono-rail back to the center, we then saw the beautiful Macy’s Star and then got caught up in more hippy protest nonsense where they were marching through the streets of Seattle and then having sit downs in the middle of the road.Honestly, what is wrong with these people!? Shame that woman from LA wasn’t about with her pepper spray!
Next stop was the hotel bar where we indulged in some happy hour beer and wine plus some root beers for the boys. Toby then decided that he was tired so we all went upstairs to bed although by the time we got up to the room Toby had got second wind and the two of them lay in bed watching Shrek 2. I think they were probably the last of us to fall asleep.
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The following morning, after breakfast and checking out, we drove down to the Seattle Aquarium. We checked out the octopus, Toby decided he would touch a starfish this time and then we went to see the Toby fish, seals, otters and the fish of the Puget Sound. We then walked along the front going from one shop full of tat to another! The boys spent most of the time telling us that they didn’t want to go to the Crab Pot for lunch. I’m not sure why they are so traumatized by that restaurant but they are!
When we left the Aquarium we set off home via a brief stop at the Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. After both boys had had a wee by the side of the lake we had a short walk, a play in the playground and then set off home. They boys were desperately missing playing with balloons – the last thing they wanted was another day out!
httpv://youtu.be/WCQ56hwQW5k
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I wonder what next years $250 will be spent on?