Seattle

Seattle, what a wonderful city! You of course by now have deduced that my flight to Seattle wasn't the most pleasant but, it was worth it! We stepped off the plane in Seattle, to a brisk September evening. I actually had to put on a coat, something that a Southerner never has to do in the month of September! I must say, it was a fabulous feeling. The twinge of fall in the air, the crisp breeze on my face, pure perfection!
We picked up our car, and drove straight into downtown Seattle. I was a bit worried that we would not catch the 8:15 ferry to Bainbridge Island, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Seattle is quaint city that lacks the loads of cars jammed in the streets that a city like New York or Chicago is filled with. We drove easily onto the ferry where we met my dearest sister-in-law Alli. 
The Washington air has worked wonders for her! She had rosy cheeks and a big smile on her face. Oh how wonderful it was to see her! Over the past few years, she and I have had many wonderful bonding experience. She was a trooper and helped me paint our new house, nearly top to bottom with no complaint! How I miss her!
Our ferry ride was chilly, but beautiful. We stood near the back of the ferry and watched the Seattle skyline slowly shrink as we crossed the ice cold water to Bainbridge Island. The 30 minute ride was filled with hugs, laughter, and lots of warm smiles-making the six hour flight a mere memory. We arrived in Bainbridge and drove through the beautiful town to our home for the next few days. Our dear friends, the owners of Fletcher Bay Winery, generously offered their loft apartment and guest house for our weekend stay. 
We woke up early on Friday morning and Alli took us on a hike down to her favorite beach. Though this was not your typical beach with sand and seashells, it was a green, vibrant hike down to a wonderfully private and oh so quiet beach that offers a magnificent view (as you can see from the pictures. We spent the remainder of Friday exploring Bainbridge Island. We had coffee at a local bakery, window shopped, visited a park for views of the beautiful and enormous Mt. Rainier and had lunch at the local "hot spot", 122 Winslow. I had a bowl of mouth wateringly perfect clam chowder. According to one of their cooks, they make a fresh batch of chowder every day and speaking from experience, I'll tell you it was fantastic. 
A brief side note, for those of you just joining me on my blog, I am a bit of a foodie. I LOVE food of all types, I love traveling, I adore shopping and I find cooking to be the most relaxing activity. For those of you who have been reading, I'll also offer this, soups, chowders, and stews are some of my favorite types of food. So, you can imagine how superb this bowl of chowder was! 
We wandered around Bainbridge and as we wandered we learned more and more about this fantastic island. The locals are very environmentally aware. They aim to be green, and their town perfectly reflects this with its clean streets, and beautiful gardens. Simply put, this chic little island reminded me of Nantucket, with a hippie flair. It is more relaxed, and a lot less "up-ity" than the fabulous Nantucket and I absolutely adored it! We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Bainbridge. We ended the evening back at 122 Winslow for drinks. It was packed with locals. We were able to meet several of Alli's friends and try Winslows fabulous mini-corn dogs with "fire cracker" sauce. Don't worry, I'll be experimenting and trying to recreate this recipe! They were fabulous. All in all, day one was a success. Now, I have blogged away this afternoon, and so I must take a break. I'll be back soon with something new, exciting, and just frivolous. I've got so much more to tell!