Winne in Town Day I: Eating and Shopping Galore

With a detailed play by play schedule in hand, tour guide Mson didn't really have to do much other than be the chauffeur :).

The first stop in the weekend S.town experiences adventure is Salty's - a place I haven't been in a while and have been dying to take any tourist friends liking seafood and could wake up early. The place didn't disappoint! The oysters was fresh (they were kumimotos today), the crab was good, the crepes yummy, and the roast beef delicious. Goes without saying that a couple rounds later (...25+ oysters later), the brunch was well worth what I paid for :P.

After that, we went to the Boeing Factory for a tour. It's funy that I remember the last time I was here, I walked into a pole because I was so tired. This time I didn't run into the pole :). The tour was pretty much the same as last time though... I await when the next new concept plane comes out... then the tour I guess will have to be revamped.

After that, we went to the outlet (yes, I was here just a month ago). I still ended up buying stuff. Hahahha. I found new soccer cleets that not only fit me well, but also matched my shin guard sleeves :). So without hesitation (and seeing it's on sale), I snatched those right away. As I was checking out, I also saw a ball that matched... so I picked that up too. Wuhahaha

To end the day, we ate at Ray's boathouse, then headed back home.

Vancouver Weekend: Zakutshi, K, PNE + Pottery

Labor Day Weekend Fun!  It has only been a couple months ago when I went up to Vancouver for a day trip.  The drive there was a bit traffic-ky, but when it came to Nexus, things were great.  One of the best $50 I have ever spend I would have to say.  The convenience of being able to not have to time my trips up to Vancouver is amazing.

Saturday after dim sum, I met up with my Vancouver tour guide in the evening and ate at Zakutshi. As always, she never disappoints. Really delicious, good amount of booze in tummy, and the bill is always not too $$$. Continuing on, went to her place to pre-drink and then walk over to this Karoake place next to her place. Not as crazy as before, but still pretty funnnn.

PNE was the next on the list this weekend. One of its final days. We walked around quite a bit, had some pretty decent ribs. Tried to win a stuffed dragon... but failed after numerous attempts. I wished sometimes I worked at Wonderland for a summer, so I could learn how to win those big animals. I wonder if those jobs accept resumes from older people.. hrmm....

For the final day, we went near UBC area for some famous chicken and rice, then over to pottery. Pottery I have to say was pretty fun. I painted a tea pot! (as can be seen in the picture). 

To complete the experience, finally got a chance to go to Tojo's for an omakase experience. The service is pretty excellent. The food was decent as well. I thought I had taken pictures of each dish, but I guess I was wrong :( ... It's a toss up though if I would go again if I was in Vancouver though...there's so much good food (and cheap) all over Vancouver for me to eat!

Neko in Town: I-Hop and Chihuly Garden

Convinced (or rathe coerced) into waking up early, today we woke up to eat breakfast at IHop, then proceeded to Chihuly Garden. I have to say, there are quite some amazing things you can do with glass. Making chandeliers from glass is pretty neat, or using glass to ornament the ceiling (like they do in Bellagio)

Neko in Town: Outlet Day

So this week a bunch of CS folks are swinging by the East Coast for a wedding.  And as such, Neko is in town!

On the top of her list was going to the outlet.  So that's the place we go!   As always, her having done her research on shopping, it turns out that if you have a CAA card, you get this VIP booklet that entitles you to a bunch of discounts at the Tulalip shopping mall.

It was fun as always hanging out w/ Neko.  Because we always end up buying things!  I bought a ton of stuff and so did she... haha.  And she got to see my 'little friend' in person (probably the first friend to see her).

5 Year Anniversary

Another year at my place.  Though it's worth almost nothing now :(.  Lesson learnt.

Booze Run

Because of the new liquor law in WA, there were a few liquor stores trying to clear out their inventory.  So I get news from coworkers that there is this one near our place where booze was up to 50% off  (cash only).  So this demanded a visit.

Arriving there... looks like most of the stuff is gone.  Most shelves were empty and there were not a whole lot selection left.

Interestingly enough, even with a 50% discount, this was still just barely better than duty free cuz of the ridiculous 20% tax on alcohol here.  Ai.. guess duty free or online is still the best bet.

Having said that, I did land 3 bottles tho for $71 :)

Octo Sushi bust... :(

So today we went to Octo Sushi.  The food was alright most of the time, and the Uni and Salmon roe on Oyster (half shell) was something that I always thought was pretty unique and that they did pretty well. 

But today, looks like their quality plummeted.  The signature dish tasted horrible - the Uni was not a mush and not fresh, the oyster was alll wrong.  The food that came out wasn't exactly tasty either...

Heck, even the Tako was horrible.  First time in Seattle that I avoided eating the Tako (AYCE buffets included) because I was afraid of getting sick after eating it.

Octo Sushi - demoted from Mson's list of Japanese restaurants...

Soccer Tournament... the first in years

Was excited about today.  A double header and my body in relatively positive form (ankles and rib area pretty much healed). 

So arrived at the first one late (since I didn't read the email properly).  But I did play... got close to scoring a goal throughout the game... so after being subbed back in towards the end (with our team winning already), went for a ball that if I got it, would mean a breakaway.

A reckless challenge (on my part)... and bam!... the guy on the other team went flailing... but as he came down, he caught the tendon/muscle below my right knee.  I couldn't even stand up for a bit after this collision :(. 

Didn't end up playing the second game... since I couldn't even put weight on it.  Aiiii... getting old sucks!

(x-ray reveals the bones are in tact.. but this will probably take a few weeks to get better)

New Tourist Destination Discovered!

The place - Taylor Shellfish farms.  One word: Yummmmm-my!

This place is in Capitol Hill, and have some decent deals (espeically for happy hour).  The oysters is pretty decent, and definitely worthy of being penciled in as once of the tourist destinations on my list in the future!

Afterwards, went to Spinasse and had a goat dish - which was really really delicious.  Good day indeed!

Volunteering again... Working at a school

Best summarized here :)
http://seattleworks-beerviewmirrors.blogspot.com/2012/07/highland-park-elementary-school.html