SHUT THE F**** UP!!!

So, I normally would write a blog that outlines what I've been up to for the past month or so from blog to blog. Hell, I have an entire blog that I almost have done that I'll eventually post. But now, no, not today.

I am for the most part an individual that doesn't let what my co-workers do bother me. But for some reason; today is not that day. I literally am on the verge of going Falling Down on someone. What is my complaint? How loud people are at work sometimes. Chewing food, talking on cell phones or just basic jack-assery while at work and completely ignoring the fact that they are driving their co-workers closer to a mental breakdown.

So, I've compiled a list of things that should be banned from work:

Eating of the following foods:
- Carrots
- Cornuts
- Popcorn
- Dry cereal
- Ice (yes, people chew ice)
- Apples
- Celery
- Chips
- Anything in a plastic bag that you have to rustle the damn bag to find the food you have in there
- Any left over that smells like someone died when you re-heat it

Why do I have a problem with these foods? Because you are assaulting my senses when you eat them and cause me to want to take a 3 iron to your jaw to get you to stop composing Beethoven's 5th Symphony via chewing of ice.

I know it's bad when I have to turn my headphones that are on full blast and they still don't drown out the audio attack you have launched upon my cubicle. The best part is when someone tells you that your headphones are too loud and it is affecting them.

Really? I got a great idea; you learn to limit the noise causing me inching closer to insanity and maybe I'll go ahead and turn those head speakers down a few notches. As much as I love loud music; I'd like to preserve my ears by not assaulting them with great music and just work in moderate silence.

I may be a little hyper sensitive to this today for some reason or another. But regardless, I know I'm not alone on the noise issue. So, what office life things drive you nuts? Drop them in the comments as I think we're all anxious to hear what drives you nuts (Melissa; fully expecting a list).

Now back to jamming out to Sublime/Michael Jackson while I work.

Landscaping in the 84105

My how the year is flying by. I looked at my phone and saw June 1st and realized that the year is nearly half over. So many things have happened in such a short period of time that it is slightly overwhelming to look back and think of the ups and downs.

Lord knows there have been there fare share of them. I'm writing this blog from my porch and I look at my recently revamped yard and think of the reasons behind the plants, behind the lights and look at the changes with a sense of bitter-sweet accomplishment. Closing in on three years in my house I always struggled looking at it as home. It's weird to say that; but it just didn't have that home feeling to it. Even today, it isn't where I want it to be. But when you face the stark reality that you may be in this house for at least a few years you look to make it feel as much as home as you can.

Thus, home improvements that were pushed off, projects that didn't seem to have importance seem to jump up to the top of the list. My initial plan was to be in this house 2 years and use it as a learning experience for buying my next house with a moderate amount of profit pulled from this house to parlay into the next house.

As we all know; the market had different plans. So, patience is now my forced virtue as there is enough of a loss in the equity of my home to stay pat for the near future. But not all is lost; I finally took time to listen to my parents wise sage advice on my yard and start to pay attention to the landscaping of my yard.

I was a complete novice as to what to do. I didn't know the difference between an annual and a perennial or even the first thing of taking care of plants. Thought snails were harmless little creatures and now are looked at with great disdain as they are the culprits of several plants being a proverbial buffet for the enemy.

So, as I write this blog from my porch with a new found sense of appreciation for the hours of hard work my parents pour into their yard as i look out at my yard and think that slowly but surely I may get to a point where my dad can compliment my front yard without a backhanded compliment at the end of the sentence.

What did I do differently this year? Well, the addition of some annuals, transplanted perennials from my parents, pots; new wood chips, porch chairs, freshly edged lawn and of course new lighting. For those who have been to my house; my house was rather difficult to find aside of the U of U flag or Obama sign. Now, with new lighting it certainly kicks up the front yard a bit. The picture is a little grainy and I'll put another one up when I have it; but this gives you a good idea as to what it looks like at night.

So, as we move into June, the house is in good order. The next project is the lighting for the backyard. As many of you know it is a black abyss at night and I look forward to hitting that darkness with about 2000w of light.

This is a fairly bland blog that I usually shy away from. But, as I have found; many of my blogs serve more as a point of reference for me over the years as to what is going on inside the good ol' noodle. So, I should get back to those errands that I was supposed to do (really don't want to go to Lowes again).

Also, I am sure that I'll make a valliant attempt to blog a little sooner than I have in past months. Blogging from my porch is much more inspiring than sitting on my couch or my cubicle. So, with that in mind; hope you are all enjoying a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon with a tasty beverage, some fresh air and with some great company. With that said...I'm out.

And the Greg Perry Award goes to...

I will admit that I did promise to produce my “Greg Perry’s Seattle Awards of Excellence” nearly a month ago. Well, here are my Greg Perry Awards:

Best Coffee: Victrola Coffee – Capital Hill
The atmosphere was much more laid back here and many more areas to isolate yourself if needs be and work. But also many areas where you can converse and not impede on others. Not to mention their espresso was top notch if not even better than Zoka.

Best Place to Take your dog: Edmonds Dog Park
Granted, this is the only dog park I went to in Seattle. However, based upon what I saw; there is probably few that are this scenic and certainly is the best one I’ve been too.

Best Place to Watch an NBA Game: Nowhere
Apparently, when the Sonics left; so did every bar that carried NBA League Pass. I shouldn’t say no one carried NBA League Pass; Fox Sports Grill in downtown Seattle does. So, if you need to catch an NBA game; this is where to do it.
Best Thai Food: Thai Toms – UW District
Do I really even have to explain this one? If you love Thai food and are in Seattle; go to Thai Toms and bring cash. Best Pad Thai I’ve ever had.

Best Mexican mocha: El Diablo Coffee Co/Dilettante
I can’t choose between the two of these. El Diablo had the best vibe to just chill and hang out. Dilettante I never went to their store but always get one in the airport before I leave.

Best Chocolate: Chocolati – Green Lake
Not only do you get a great view of the lake; their chocolates are amazing. I haven’t really made a habit of getting chocolates in Salt Lake and seriously am reconsidering this. Also, the chocolate in the mocha is just as good

Best way to kill an afternoon: Walking around Green Lake
I did this twice and have to say that this is just a nice place to walk or even rollerblade around. Catch the people roller skate dancing over by the basketball courts. They’re awesome

Best Burger: Red Mill Burger – Green Lake
Much like these other categories; I didn’t have to try many of them to figure out which was the best. An amazing burger and I strongly suggest the blue cheese burger with grilled onions/mushrooms added.

Best Late Night Snack: Dicks – Anywhere
Sir Mix a Lot put it best; Dicks is the place where the SWASS hang out. Get a Dicks Deluxe, fries and a chocolate shake. I love that their large drink is a 20 oz drink. Their prices have always been cheap and don’t think they’ve gone up since I went their in high school.

Best View for a Coffee Shop: Whidby Coffee in Mukilteo
Hands down the best view I've ever had in a coffee shop before. You look out over the Possession Sound and have fantastic views on a nice cloud-free day.

Best Place to Catch a Sunset: Mukilteo State Park
Hit up Diamond Knot Brewery for their Imperial IPA and tasty pizza. Then head next door for ice cream and a nice walk along the park. Jump up on the train tracks and go for a nice walk. One of my favorite sunsets I’ve seen was here.

Best Place to Develop Your Inner Yuppie: Fremont District
This is probably one of the most unique districts in all of Seattle. You have a Troll under a bridge; a huge statue of Lenin at the center and a large number of eclectic antique shops all in one area. Head to the Fremont Market on Sunday and choose the wood fire pizza over the tacos (trust me on this. I know my tacos). Hit up a number of bars in the area and a great coffee house in Fremont Coffee.

Best Place to Catch Happy Hour: Lowell’s
Again, I didn’t get to too many happy hours. But the view on a sunny day alone made this my number one choice. Plus getting a micro beer and open-faced hot dog w/ sauerkraut, grilled onions, chili and cheese for $3.50 also helped.
Best Food that you’d never know unless someone from Seattle told you: Grouchy Chef
This guy is a strange cat by all definitions of the saying. But, say what you will; for $10 you leave full and on amazing food. Tony and Ryan are dead on when they say how good this place is and strongly strongly suggest you go. Just don’t talk back or ask for substitutions.
Best Realtor in Seattle: Greg Perry
Hands down this man is the gold standard in realty in Seattle. You can’t argue with a man who’s billboard is of a man in a gold suit and a website that is powerful like www.gregperry.com.
Best Bikini Barista: Java Juggs
The girl didn't seem like she put her make-up on with a shotgun. In fact, don't think she was wearing make-up along with a swimsuit. But, the coffee and experience was better than Girltown Espresso.

Best Place to Crash While in Seattle: Casa de Pagoaga
From the Tom Sellick Plate on the wall to the adorable wupsters; this place has treated me well in the years I’ve gone up to see the Pagoaga’s. Thanks a million for all of your hospitality over the years and letting me crash there. I will be there this summer at some point and we’ll see some baseball even if it isn’t the Red Sox (this really bums me out).

So there you have it; my Greg Perry Awards of Excellence for Seattle. I’ll have to do the same for Salt Lake for my peeps not in Salt Lake. For those who read this first; enjoy my next blog.

Welcome Back to the same old place you laughed about

Well, everything that begins must come to and end. Thus my stay in the northwest draws to a close. However, where one trip ends; my blog about said trip begins. It's 9:44pm here where I have started and let's see how long it takes to get to the end.

Day 1: The Beginning
Pretty basic; I landed in Seattle and hung out with the Pagoaga's pre flight. Now the key part of this story is they stayed up all night to sleep on the flight. I had to work the next day so did my best to stay up but required some sleep. About an hour or so.

Day 2: The coffee madness begins

On the way home from dropping the Pag's off at the airport I snapped one of the bluest skies I've ever seen before on my phone. I stopped on the way at a coffee shop that used to be a Bikini Coffee shop. For those who don't know; Seattle has them and the public doesn't like them. I gave the lady crap that Seattle was social prude's for getting all in arms about bikini coffee given Utah can have Bikini Cuts. I was just joking with her and she didn't find it at all funny.

Also, Melissa; these stickers exist outside of Utah as well unfortunately. I ended up at the Whidbey Coffee in Mukilteo. The coffee was okay but their sandwich was tasty. The best part of this coffee shop is it probably has the best view looking outside of any of the coffee shops.

With so much free time; I did bring up my Xbox, some games and my hard drive with all my movies and three seasons of Entourage. So that filled many of the nights along with chatting with friends.

Day 3: Bainbridge Island

As you can see by the pictures it was a rainy day. However, it was not horrible. In fact, I really didn't have a horrible weather day while I was up here. I ended up at a few coffee shops on this day. Pegasus Coffee which was the highest rated one on the island. However, horrible WiFi, couldn't get a regular croissant and the coffee was okay. Not to mention no plugs for computers. Not the best place to be working remotely from.

I left there for higher ground and search for a better mocha and place to work. Fortunately there was Andante Coffee. The atmosphere was much better for working and seemed more up my ally. Their mochas tasted like Sugar Daddy's which happened to be one of my favorite candies growing up. Not the traditional mocha; but they make their own chocolate.

Bainbridge Island is much how I imagine the town from Dante's Peak to be. I was fully expecting Pierce Brosnan to be running around the town telling me to watch out for volcanic activity (funny thing is this is a picture of the soundtrack which some how needed two discs to express the full magnitude of the theatrical score of Dante's Peak; WTF?).

The town is one that you can just find yourself walking through and hanging out. But watch out for Lizzie Sivitz; she'll debate your ass to the ground.

One of the highlights of Bainbridge Island is you have to take a ferry to get there. Long story short; you're on a boat man, you're going fast and you should wear a nautical themed cashmiere afghan. They are just something you have to do if you're in Seattle. With that in mind; here is our first touristy picture.










The first picture just seemed like it screamed pretentious Seattle coffee company. "It's not just Tully's; it's Seattle". This is a view from the ferry of the Seattle skyline. And like I said, a touristy shot of me and the skyline.

Day 3 and 4: Weekend Adventures

The weather cleared up quite a bit from the day before. One thing I learned from Cat and Ryan is that if the suns out; you better be outside as you don't know when it will be back. Seemed like a great day to take Bailey to the dog park in Edmonds for some outdoor fun. Their dog park is amazing as you can see. Didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day too.















So following the dog park, some episodes of Entourage and a walk with both dogs it was time to have some (surprise surprise) coffee. Grabbed a cup from Whidbey and looked out at the sound. I did some exploring to find out there was a park just down the street. A beach that went into the water. Given it was close to sunset; figured I'd throw on some headphones and walk the beach. There are some pictures that I will be the first to admit; I took as my ode to The Red Pen herself (she'll know which style I'm talking about). I had to take a ton of pictures as I am a huge fan of sunsets (thus the sun tattoo).





















As you can see, it was a gorgeous day to be outside. This was all Sunday. Saturday I tried to go watch the Jazz vs. Suns game only to find that it wasn't playig at any of the bars. Go figure. Ended up driving for a half hour to get to watch the game in downtown Seattle to see the Jazz barely hold on to the win.

Day 5: The University of Washington District (UW to the locals)

The UW District is a pretty chill place to hang out. I started the day off at the Trabant Coffee & Chai. This was a coffee win; great coffee, great WiFi, power outlets and really relaxing atmosphere. I just plugged away counting down the moments to when I'd head to Thai Toms for lunch.




















Pictured above; my working space at Trabant and my mocha. Then you have food from Thai Toms. If you like Thai food and like Pad Thai; I strongly suggest you go here if you're in Seattle and they only take cash. Next you have Zoka Coffee which is still my #1 Coffee shop in Seattle for actual coffee. Also, their patrons are smart asses; but again I am taking a picture in a coffee shop.

Day 6: Peet's Revenge

On Day 6 I landed in Queen Anne (Cat's favorite district). This place has amazing (very expensive) homes too. In my attempt to hurry and get logged in for a conference call; I landed on a place called Peet's. Looked local from the outside and quickly learned it was not. Rather, the farthest you can get from local; it's owned by Starbucks and was started in Berkley. The coffee was bad, the place was noisey and no plug ins. This was a working remotely fail location.

I needed some local flair and stat. Fortunatley the most colorful coffee shop I've ever been to was in my near future; The El Diablo Coffee Co. From the outside it doesn't look like much. But inside is an amazing shop. Hands down the best Mexican Mocha around. Not enough places use Mexican chocolate and I can only hope it is the next craze like dark chocolate and Snuggies. Not to mention they sell beer there as well which was a double bonus. Because after dealing with some clients you need some barley and hopps. Also, this had the most colorful artwork. Think Day of the Dead meets coffee shop. Also very informative signs on the bathroom door.

Now, I needed some sustinance. Given the Mexican Mocha; a burrito sounded right up my alley. But where? Thanks to Pablo Escobar; Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito's was in my sights as well. Certainly, this doesn't beat the burritos at home; but it still is a quality burrito.

Plus I couldn't beat the lunch special of a huge burrito and a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbion for $5.50. That would just be ridiculous.

Following that I needed one more coffee to round out my work day. So, we moved to my third office of the day. Caffe Vita helped close out my work day and had quite the atmosphere. I'd have more pictures but I began to feel a little weird being that guy taking a picture in a coffee shop and trying to blend in.

The coffee was pretty damn good and I really felt out of place in this coffee shop. Maybe it was because I kept trying to get a picture in this place.

Day 7: I'm in Capital Hill...errr...Wallingford/Fremont

So, I plugged the coordinates into my phone wrong and thought I was in Capital Hill and turns out I was in a completely different area. I ended up at the Fuel Coffee more in Fremont. They were under some renovation and thus the bare walls. The coffee was okay; not great but they were really friendly. I did like how some people got judgemental and shot dirty looks if you answered your phone quietly.

They had great WiFi but the best part of this place was that it was across the street from Bottleworks. Why is this important? Because they have a beer that I've wanted to get my hands on for years. Had it once at a beer party which inspired Beermas about 3-4 years ago. It's called La Folie by New Belgium. It is expensive to say the least for a 750mL bottle and I'm praying the two bottles I'm bringing home are returned safely.

Following that, you need lunch right? Well, after dropping a pretty penny on beer; cheap and tasty food was needed. Lucky for me I just happened to be right by a Dick's Drive In (it is after all where the SWASS hangout).

From here I needed a location STAT to work from. Knowing Paul's deep affinity for the Lenin Statue; I selected Fremont Coffee to close the work day out with. What I loved about this place was how it was out of a converted house that it was turned into a coffee shop. The bedrooms with coffee tables and lamps. Each room in a different color and amazing art on the walls. The only distraction was there was a lot of traffic for the art; but I could see why. The coffee was above average for Seattle but they did have that sense of arrogance to them.











Also, one of the key selling points of Fremont Coffee is their $1.50 24oz PBR cans.

Day 8: The Actual Capital Hill

I initially started the day in a coffee shop in Edmonds by the dog park called Walnut Street Coffee. Their coffee wasn't spectacular but I loved the colors and vibe I got from this place. The place was packed with regulars who just kill their morning chit chatting about current events. Bring their grandkids and hang out. Also, their ham & cheese croissant wasn't too shabby either.

I needed to move on though; mostly due to parking and partly due to my desire to find more coffee shops. I wanted to visit the real Capital Hill and ended up at a place called Victrola Coffee. This shop's mocha gave Zoka a serious run for their money if not actually took the top spot for coffee. This area is definitely a beautiful area and the houses are amazing.

This coffee shop had great service, great atmosphere and an amazing setup for working remotely. The only downside is they blocked a certain access that is used for our servers because gamers use it and bogs down their network. But the coffee was worth it.

As I was leaving to head back north; I realized I needed some food to tie me over for the drive home. Nothing like some fish n' chips and some beers right? That is where the Canterbury Ale & Eats comes in. It's greasy deep fried food and it seems fitting you grab it from a local ale house. I can't eat fish and chips that often; but this was definitely a great experience. Even bad fish n' chips is better than in Salt Lake. For my health; probably better that way too.

Day 9: OD'ing on Caffeine

I decided to take on the challenge of working in the heart of downtown Seattle. Work from the original Starbucks and home of capitalistic coffee. This seemed crazy at first given parking downtown. But there is a parking lot that is $8 for 12 hours of parking if you get there before 9:30am during the weekdays.

So, I ventured to Mikey Mike's mothership and the shop was cool. But not a sit down place, but I had to get a cup of coffee from here. I moved on to a Starbucks a block away but refused to pay for WiFi and plus; it's Starbucks. We have 1400 in Salt Lake and isn't any different there than it is here.

I ended up at the Seattle Coffee Works a block away from Pikes Market. This shop was ground zero for pretentious coffee. Hell, they did tours about coffee. The coffee was amazing and the little hole in the room I found to locate was rather nice. The staff seemed a little pretentious; but also it's probably cause they are close to Pike Market and deal with a lot of dumb tourists (I may be a tourist; but I'm not a dumb tourist). Not like the guys in the last picture taking a tour of a coffee shop. What dorks ::said in best mocking of myself voice::

For lunch I had the luxury of enjoying the company of someone in person. Up until this point; hanging out with Tony for sushi on Day 6 was about the extent of my human interaction in person aside of ordering from a barista. I met up with Erin; one of Cat's friends who lives up here who took me to a place given to us from the hand of God himself; Beechers Handmade Cheese.

I haven't had many homemade mac & cheese's and certainly not with cheese from a high end cheese store; but this was amazing. Plus, their Flagship cheese is amazing as well and I'll try to bring some back. Combine that with some good conversation for lunch and an apple cider (yes, I'm crazy like that at times) and it was quite the lunch. Although, I will soon find out I should have gotten the large to counter act my coffee.

Friday was a crazy day; I really had some important deadlines that I had to have done by no later than EOD and having reliable internet connections was critical to this. Unfortunately for me, the next shop, Caffe Umbria on my list didn't have a reliable internet connection. And by not reliable I mean non existent. I was in Pioneer Square at a shop I've been with Cat/Ryan before and it is good coffee. However, no internet was bad. Really bad. I wish I knew that before I ordered my coffee so I ended up pounding a 20oz mocha and moving to the next location.

Now, if you want to sit, talk, have coffee and a pastry; this is your shop to do it. gorgeous on the inside and during the summer is wonderful to sit out in the square. But when you need WiFi; you need WiFi.

I found a shop just up the street on an off street called Cherry Street Coffee. This store had a nice unique charm to it. Now, I'll be the first to admit that my review of this coffee is entirely based upon me finding the threshhold of my caffine-to-food ratio.

I sat down; logged into work and plugged away. I was seriously naucious from the caffine mixed with low amounts of food and high amounts of stress for the afternoon. Regardless, the deadlines were met and we moved forward. The coffee was okay, but again it has a bias, but the atmosphere was great. Also, I like Pioneer Square; but don't get why people are so in love with this place. It's okay and I certainly like other areas better (see Queen Anne, Fremont, etc).

Now, also being at Pike Market means you have to take some touristy pictures. Below should give you a good feel for my inner tourist that was just dying to come out.










Well, after working my tail off and having a rough week (as rough as it can get from a coffee shop) I was more than due for a tasty beverage. As I walked through Pikes Market to get to the parking lot; I thought I'd stop at Lowell's for happy hour.

Now, since it was closing on sunset; not only did I get a beer, chili dog w/ saurkraut and grilled onions for $3.50 (yes, you read right; all of that for $3.50 and it was just the food I needed for the caffine); but I got some amazing pictures of the sound.























Weekend #2: Rain in Seattle? Not this weekend

I asked for the rain to wait until at least Wednesday until it came back to Seattle. I have to say it is a reasonable city who listened and gave me some fantastic weather to close this trip. Saturday I took Bailey to the dog park in Edmonds again and I think she was more than tuckered out this time. How do I know this? She slept the whole way home.

Of course we got some more candid shots of her on the beach and there wasn't any "Where did Bailey go? Oh I may have lost her" moments either.



Following that, I took Bailey and Maggie for a walk; put them back up and headed south for a bit. I have this thing where I really like to look at cathedrals. I am not a fan of organized religion but find peace and solace when sitting inside a cathedral when it is nearly empty. Saint Josephs is a beautiful cathedral and as usual I took more pictures than I needed. But I'm fine with that.



Following the cathedral I went to head home but traffic was horrible on the I-5 due to construction so I headed to Green Lake. But before walking around the park; food as in definite order. There was a place Ryan and I tried to go to with no avail as they're closed on Mondays; The Red Mill Burger.




















Anytime I can order a burger medium rare it is a good thing. Throw on blue cheese and we're going to have a good time. This was a great burger and strongly suggest it if you want a tasty burger in Seattle. To put it in perspective; Red Mill is to Seattle and burgers as The Pie is to Salt Lake and pizza. They just dominate.

From there, you need to walk off some of that burger to make it through. Well, before I did that I decided to take a quick stop to a chocolate/coffee shop called Chocolati and is directly across from Green Lake. I don't get chocolates in Salt Lake but this store will certainly get me to consider it. Their dark chocolate was very impressive and their mocha was just as impressive given they use their own chocolate. If you crave sweets; then this is the place for you.

Following that, I decided to take a little walk through Green Lake. I lost track of how far I went while talking to Paul and didn't know how far I went. So, keep on truckin' right? Turns out I wasn't even half way and after 3 miles around I was close to my car again. The best part is it went by so fast and it is a great lake to walk around if you have time; or in my case, don't have time but do it anyways. As you can see, I took a lot of pictures of this lake as the sun was setting.

Later on, I met up with Tony and his friends and we went out to a handful of bars in Everett. We polished of the Patron like it was going out of style and then moved on to Irish food; best shepards pie I've had in a while. But certainly not the best bangers n' mash. We all made it home in one piece which is what matters. But waking up the next day wasn't I would classify as bright and early.

Moving on to Sunday; it was another gorgeous day. However, I was what you may classify as lazy on this day. I ended up taking the dogs for a walk and going to the Fremont Market. I had some tacos that were supposedly the talk of the town; but fell short of my tacos at home.

But I did get a great smoothie though at Custom Smoothie. Got the Mango Tango and it was a smoothie win. Following the market; I just walked around Fremont for a bit and just took in the gorgeous day. Got pictures of things when it was sunny compared to gray when I was in Fremont earlier (i.e. the Lenin picture referenced above was from this day). Went and saw the Troll again, hung out with Lenin, went to some antique shops.

Following that I headed to Green Lake. This time with a book in hand, a pear, an apple and a Powerade (no coffee). And surprise surprise; more pictures from Green Lake. Why is this important? Because no walking around the lake; just enjoying the area.



So, here are a few more pictures of Green Lake; I promise...they are the last ones from Green Lake:










Day 12: Back where it all started

As I brought this trip to the northwest to a close; I figured I'd go to where my coffee journey began; Whidbey Coffee. Great day, a great view and a great way to close out my trip up here. Today was rather uneventful other than a busy packed day of work. I did pick up some of the Beecher cheese at the store last night and I will tell you what; that was some amazing cheese. It's like a creamy English cheddar. Freaking awesome cheese. The half pound was gone before it knew what hit it.

Took the dogs for a walk and here are some pictures from today.












I also got the chance to go to the Grouchy Chef. I would love to share pictures with you; but respect the fact that he asks you to not take pictures. I have to say for $10; pan fried trout over shitake mushroom rice; salad with feta, strawberries and balamic vinegar and some sort of creamy sauce over the trout and a drink is pretty damn impressive. He does make the Soup Nazi look like a piece of cake though. But well worth it.






Wrapping up the end notes:

I almost forgot about one of the more interesting aspects of this trip. So, as mentioned very early on; Seattle has bikini coffee drive through stands thoughout Seattle. They are pretty ghetto and I had never been to one. Let's provide a review of the two I went to:

Girltown Espresso: We'll just say that it looked like someone put the make up on with a shotgun rather than applied it normally. The girl is regardless; the people in the line is what makes it so special. Watching guys pull further from the curb; saying sleezy lines. When I ordered I felt so awkward and slimey for being there that I had to look forward and just make eye contact when necessary.

Java Juggs: yes; you read the name right. We'll just say this girl wasn't in a bikini. She had what appeared to be electrical tape as pasties. Um, yeah; I can't make this up and no I wasn't about to take or ask for a picture of this one.

The coffee was just like every other drive through stand; mediocre at best. But, I will tell you that it is a unique experience and an awkward one at that to get your coffee. I know you may have made your judgements; but I can assure you it was the most uncomfortable coffee ordering experience I've ever had. The best was at the second one; the girl almost spilled coffee on herself cause I made a joke (I do that when I'm nervous) and she said "Um, that would have been bad". Thus why these stands are just walking Workers Comp. stands.

Also, I went to add links to their sites and let's just say I'll pass. Google search if you want.

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All in all it was a good trip. I had plenty of time to think and also explorer Seattle like I had never done before. I hope you enjoyed the recap and I'm sure I left some things out. Hell, I took nearly a 1,000 pictures while up here. Well, the closing time to write this blog is at 2:18am so 4 1/2 hours to write. Wow; long time and probably will take you that long to read it. And at this hour; I'm not going to proof it either.