Seattle = dog, Portland = cat*

Seattle, 2013.

Unexpected stop in Spokane due to thick fog in Seattle. Duh.

4 Days, 3 Nights, Airbnb studio apartment in Capital Hill.

Some seafood, some tea, lots of coffee, a bit of beer, tastes of wine.

Played Battleship and Heads-Up.

Walked up and down hills and hiked around parks and piers.

Arguably more homeless than Chicago. One drunkard was looking for a "man to love" him. (record scratch)

Slept about 9 hours/night. 

Saw fish tossed at the market. Took a ferry to Bainbridge Island. Rode the monorail. Took in some open-mic comedy. 

Fire roasted bagels. Russian sauerkraut pastries. Mussels and clams. Rumbles are like scrambles. Fish tacos. Homemade potato chips. Local vegetarian pot pie. 

Drove 2 hours to Ellensburg to meet my great aunt and uncle for the second time and my dad's cousin and her husband for the first time. 

Family is great!

Volunteer Park

Water supply

Chia cow outside of a shop that sells locally sourced prepared food in refundable containers

Remedy Teas

Seattle Coffee Works

Bedlam Coffee

Boat to Bainbridge

Stopped along the Pass to Ellensburg.

Seeing sun for the first time in days.

Meeting family for the first time.

*A review I read that compared the two cities said that Seattle is the "dog-person" city while Portland is the "cat-person" city. I'm so glad we chose the one we did! And we saw a lot of dogs! They are allowed in every shop, mall, public place you can imagine!

I ripped this photo off of my sister - Sorry!

The Mr.'s reaction: I have man-boobs in this picture.*
My reaction: Do you have man-boobs in real life? Family, nightly push-ups are now mandatory!

*I airbrushed your m-boobs a bit. Do they look less booby?

Chicago Dog Beach

Chicago is a dog-friendly city. We have sidewalks everywhere, grassy patches, dog parks in convenient places, tons of groomers/boarders/walking services and....

Dog Beaches!

 Eat. My. Sand. 

 Roo's the lunchmeat in a nipping-sandwich.

Whatdoyaknow? Roobabe can swim. As with all things, she did it with gusto and without fear!

Too bad she gets car-sick on rides over 20 minutes long (she puked on the way home from this excursion), but we're hoping she gets over that soon.

 Lots of fishermen this Sunday. This guy got a big fish. Not so sure I'd want to eat Lake Michigan fish, though.

 "Is it ok if I just pull really hard on the leash the whole time? Ok, thanks." - Roobabe

 Diversey Harbor

 "Roobabe, let's pose for a picture."

"Oh, ok, here's my butt."

 "Let's go!", says Roobabe.

The human folk enjoyed a nice sunny walk with Roobabe and some Chicago style hot dogs from a friendly, underground locale called "Flub a Dub Chub" hot dogs. Then we all had a nap. It was such a good Sunday.

 Album cover art!

 So dirty!

As for my birthday, we went to see this hilarious show on Friday. It was a surprise and we got orchestra seats in row M... which is near the stage! Good job, Mr.!

We ate dinner here on Saturday. We had and recommend the pickle-tots and the coffee cake dessert. I had an orange-y cocktail. It was pretty good but the Mr. wasn't feeling well so we didn't linger. We picked up our Roo at doggy daycare and surprised her with two new toys for her birthday. She had one chewed up in minutes. The other is a nylon bone hybrid and more sustainable.

Lou-a-vuhl and Sul-uh-van

The "hooch houses" near where my grandparents live. 

Dad and Dilly

Granddad's shed of wonders

What's inside those jars and medicine bottles?

Old mop bucket I'm sure someone would pay money for.

Great sense of humor.

Mom, Grandmom, Granddad.

I'm an only child and only grandchild for the weekend!

Action shots of dogs. This is Dilly... winking!

Dilly and the tennis ball.

Dilly and a lovely sunset in the backyard.

Piper.

Lady.

Piper.

Tramp and Dilly.

Tramp.

Tramp.

Tramp and Dilly.

Dad and a friend control-burned the back field. (Do NOT try that at home! My dad and his friend have been trained to do this. )

It was really nice to spend a weekend with my parents, grandparents and a bunch of dogs. I ate a lot of hearty food, did a little spring cleaning with mom, laughed at some stupid things, fell for every subtle joke my granddad threw at me, and enjoys some really fresh air (despite what the last photo depicts). 

Louisville to Sullivan to Chicago was a quick trip, but it covered a lot of bases. It was nice to come back home to my Roo-babe though.