Matthew's Adventure Day in Seattle

I vividly remember that day in 1982 when my mom took me (and just me!) to see the musical “Evita” at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle.  Before the show, we had tea at the Four Seasons Hotel and ended the day with dinner at The Falls Terrace in Olympia.  I felt special and have never forgotten the time when Mom singled me out for a day doing the things that I loved.

I’ve tried to carry on that tradition with my own children.  When Matthew suggested a day in Seattle, I thought this would be a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time my youngest son.

We decided to evoke the spirit of trips I used to take with my friends when I was around his age.  We would load up the car in the morning, hit the road, and take turns deciding “left or right” at intersections, stopping wherever we pleased.  Our Adventure Days led us on many memorable trips.  We met interesting people, explored areas urban and rural, sampled unique foods, and found our eyes opened to other worlds that existed within driving distance of home.

With that in mind, Matthew and I decided to park the car in Bremerton and walk onto the 9:45 a.m. ferry to Seattle with no plan for the day.  A road construction detour got me lost, a chronic problem for me anytime I have to deviate one iota from my usual route.  But even that and a balky parking pay station couldn’t keep us from making the ferry, albeit out of breath and with the gate literally shutting behind us.

The morning was hazy and even with a slight chill in the air, it held the promise of a beautiful day.  Our arrival in Seattle brought out the sun in full force and we were off…

We meandered along the waterfront, taking in the tourist trap souvenir shops with a pause to watch the totem pole being constructed in memory of woodcarver John T. Williams.  Then we crossed under the Alaskan Way Viaduct and started up the Pike Street Hill Climb with my calves screaming in protest.  They were soon drowned out by the screeching of my quadriceps.  My muscles have become more vocal with age, and I need to have a talk with them about that.  It’s quite frankly embarrassing.

The incense-heavy warren of shops that is the Pike Place Market entertained us for the rest of the morning.  We emerged at the top in time for lunch.  Since it was 12:30 p.m. on a gorgeous weekday, everyone else in Seattle had the same idea.

Matthew quickly settled on his standard sandwich from Subway, but I wanted something unusual.  We fought our way up and down the street, browsing the seemingly endless cuisine choices.  Korean, Italian, Russian, Thai, Greek, French, and African all vied for my attention but it was finally a tiny Middle Eastern place called Sabra that won out.  It was a combination of the exotic menu choices, the charming proprietor and her son, the postage stamp of a courtyard away from the bustle of the street with an available table, and the relative lack of a wait for the food.  I had a platter with hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh and pita bread to scoop it all up.  It was flavorful, yet light and refreshing.

Rejuvenated, we doubled back to the waterfront and continued our journey north to the Olympic Sculpture Park and Myrtle Edwards Park.  This was our first chance to explore both of these lovely Seattle parks, and we weren’t disappointed.

We changed our direction to northeast and trudged the couple of blocks up to the iconic Seattle Center.  Visions of a giant glass of ice cold tea kept me going through the now 80-degree afternoon and when we arrived, hunting that down was our first priority.

Next we made a fairly quick visit to the Pacific Science Center.  We have an annual membership so it’s pretty much a given on any visit to Seattle.  Matt relished the opportunity to explore at his own pace.

Soon he was ready to take the Monorail to downtown Seattle and his next choice (surprise, surprise!) was Gameworks.  It was his day so in anticipation of this eventuality, I tucked a book in my backpack before we left that morning.  We played games and read a book respectively for about 1 ½ hours.

His dinner choice was pizza and at first I was stymied.  Then it occurred to me:  Zeek’s Pizza!  We discovered this place months ago after a late night of pyrotechnics for the Professional Bull Riders at Key Arena.

The “rowdy pizzas” (their term) come standard with generous amounts of black pepper and fresh oregano.  They are magnificent.  The pizzas can be ordered “kiddie style” without the pepper and oregano and is exactly how my kids order theirs.  I think the pizza is great either way.

I always opt for the half Chop Salad, which is huge and packed with layers of flavor.  Their house balsamic vinaigrette is fully flavored without an overwhelming vinegar aftertaste.  All the ingredients meld to make the best Chop Salad I’ve had to date.

On the down side, the service was terrible (only on this visit) and the prices are a little on the high side but it’s completely worth it.  The food is that good.  Belatedly, we realized we should have gotten our food to go and enjoyed it on the ferry home.  Next time.

We arrived exhausted for the 9:05 p.m. ferry but not too tired to take in the vibrant sunset as the boat glided back to Bremerton.  We found ourselves planning the next Adventure Day.  A day in Portland sounds lovely, doesn’t it?  Any recommendations?