For years DawnO and I have each planned a date night for the other once a month. Every couple of years or so, we step it up and plan something a bit more extravagant. I was long overdue to plan something so I consulted our ever-growing bucket list for some inspiration. DawnO is a big fan of the Moth podcast and has wanted to attend one of their storytelling events. After doing some research, I had decided on Seattle as there was an upcoming Moth event that just happened to fall on my birthday weekend! Tickets were purchased, reservations were made, and bags were packed. DawnO knew about everything except one thing. When we arrived to our dinner before the Moth, we were joined by RockyB and B-Rod, who spent the next couple of days with us!
The next day we made our way to Pike Place Market and then met up with our friends at pier 55 to embark on a harbour cruise.
Next up was a visit to the Space Needle, but first we passed through the alley where the gum wall is located.
Afterwards we strolled through the nearby Chiluly Garden exhibit which had an impressive display of glassworks.
The next day DawnO and I headed to the fancy Starbucks Reserve to see if I could cash in my free birthday drink. Now if you have ever felt intimidated ordering your coffee in a regular Starbucks, I can completely understand. It’s like you need to learn a new language just to get some steaming bean water. I had heard that the Starbucks Reserve had exclusive blends and drinks, and that the building itself was quite venti (that’s “large” to the layman). However I had been preparing for years for this. I knew exactly how to order in Starbuckian, how to have my app ready to scan and where to stand and scroll through my phone while I waited for my extra-hot latte.
As it turns out, we had walked into a Starbucks that had evolved from the grocery store Starbucks that I knew. They were so exclusive that my usual drink wasn’t even an option. Venti? What a tall-minded fool I was. They served their drinks in ceramic mugs. Small, medium and large, I believe they called them. Free Birthday drink? Get out of here with your coupons you simpleton! In fact, take this beeper, find a table and we’ll buzz you when your drinks are ready, Ron. At least some things haven’t changed.
As for the coffee, it was actually quite delicious.
Once we finished our drinks we made our way to the Seattle Aquarium to see the local sea creatures and then finished off our site seeing tour at the MoPop museum.
For my birthday supper we met up with BRod (RockyB had to leave us a day early) at a great Thai restaurant near our place. I can’t believe it took me so long to plan this date weekend and I’ll be sure to plan the next one soon!
RockyB has also blogged about their experience with us here:
Great planning and great surprise!