I usually go to Portland at least once a year and every time I go I complain about how I really want to go to Seattle. This year my pal Claire was down to make it happen but because of conflicts our trip kept getting shorter and shorter and we ended up leaving directly from a weekend long lady party. The plan was to absolutely not stop in Olympia, where we went to school, and just drive right there. But, by the time we were rolling (slowly) past we were really thirsty and wanted to stop at the Artesian well…then I wanted to go by all my old houses…then we had to go for a scenic drive, visit Evergreen, and stop at the westside co-op. I loved every second. Those Oly-Raw Naimo bars are so delicious, I wonder if they ship…

We got to Seattle and then went directly to the Georgetown Liqueur Company because I have been dying to try the Picard sandwich pretty much since I heard about it. Seattle is truly a land for nerds. We were so hungry by the time we got there that I insisted on getting nachos too.

They were gigantic and I could immediately tell I wasn’t in Austin anymore by the absence of sprouts and ridiculous portion size. And I got to read The Stranger which made me seriously contemplate relocating. The waiter was such an asshole that it was kind of adorable. My friend asked him which of the specialty cocktails he would recommend and he looked at her with disdain and said “I don’t drink alcohol”. Working in a bar is such the perfect job for him! My sandwich came out soon, it was described as “Lentil-sage Field Roast, roasted red onions, fresh mozzarella, Tofutti cream cheese and roasted garlic spread, toasted on ciabatta. Served with vegan au jus dipping sauce.”

That’s real au jus! It beat all of my expectations and was easily the best sandwich I’ve had in…years. I just adore a toasty melty sandwich, and with a dipping sauce? And named after the greatest Captain in the history of Starfleet? It is tough to beat. I think I am going to have to do a post of my all time favorite sandwiches.

We checked into our really nice hostel and hightailed it down to the waterfront to watch the sunset.

Seattle has a giant Ferris wheel now so we went for a ride we had to share our spot with two teens on a date. I am so glad I am not a teenager any more.The next morning, after some delicious coffee, we went to the EMP museum which is also the location of the sci-fi museum.

The main museum was holding a Nirvana exhibit and I felt really weird about it and had to leave pretty quick. I was like what it would be like to visit a museum in the future. All the docents were wearing matching Nirvana shirts and saying things like “Kurt used to love breaking his guitars” to families of tourists as they looked at his sketches, receipts, and mix tapes under glass.

I fled the exhibit and went to the temporary horror film exhibit which I enjoyed so much more, the highlight being Buffy’s Mr. Pointy. Now there is something that should be under glass. After being disappointed by the sci-fi museum’s gift shop (hello not every nerd is a hetero male lusting after Princess Leia dressed as a slave girl) I was pretty excited to see Captain Kirk’s chair (but not get to sit in it) and see Uhura’s uniform. After that, we drove up to Mighty-O doughnuts where I got to experiance the total bliss that is an all vegan doughnut shop. We tried them almost every one of them, I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed the blueberry! But the french toast was our favorite…and the peanut butter chocolate. They were very different then Voodoo and Red Rabbit, they were the cake-y kind and the perfect breakfast.

It was around this time in the trip that I started to really realize that my friend was definitely not meant to be a navigator and I was not meant to eat so much junk food. We had a near disastrous time driving around the U district trying to find the “Sound Garden” which Claire had heard was amazing. We drove all through Sand Point but just got really terrible directions from park goers who I think were too happy enjoying the sunshine to be able to instruct anyone on anything.

After finally getting stopped by security, having a background check done, walking through a whole office park, and looking forever we got to the sound garden and just were in denial that that was it…until I saw the sign.

the sound was kind of a low moan that you could easily miss. Probably it would be better if you were stumbled across it…

After that we drove over the same bridge 4 or five times and got down to Capital Hill to meet a friend. We were so late that it was already dinner time and I really wanted to try Plum Bistro. The place was kind of modern/industrial with a big wide open garage door window. It blows my mind that in northwest you don’t need screens. I can almost remember what that was like.The menu for the night sounded amazing. I couldn’t decide between Grilled Olive Pesto Tofu, scalloped King Trumpets (also with olives), and the Hazelnut crusted tempeh. I figured I better keep it local and go for the tempeh dish, which also had tofu and seitan, and mushrooms, talk about a hearty dish. We also got the cajun mac and cheese and the yam fries.

After stopping to see Claire’s friend were off on our way again.

And then we stopped in Olympia again. We needed more water!