erin, etc.

Stopover on our way from Tacoma back home to Reno- a wonderful place to stay with AMAZING breakfast and free internet! Also within walking distance to downtown Ashland. One suggestion however- probably wouldn’t plan on staying Halloween night again unless suitably attired in fabulous costume! We totally felt like the lame, ‘old’ couple who didn’t dress up as we walked downtown to find a place to eat. Most places were booked but we did have some great sushi served by a lovely German clad beer maiden!

it’s so hard to find good restaurant reviews on-line but maybe this will help those in federal way, wa who are hungry! my hubby and i decided to try a new food (well, new for us anyways!) and check out one of the many korean restaurants in the area. we decided on a new one that just opened behind the trader joe’s and next to pjs (?) casino off of pacific highway. i can’t recall the name, it was in korean! anyways, the place is very well decorated, clean, with an amazing view of mt. rainier. the service was fast and friendly and the food was great. they start by serving hot tea (sesame?). once you order, and don’t worry, everything is described very well in english…the yummy little dishes come out. there were six different small dishes with cold tofu, warm spicy sweet potatoes, special korean ‘cole slaw’ and multiple pickled things. my favorite was a dish of little square jellies with soy sauce and onions. there was also a spicy miso type soup with jalapeno peppers. i ordered the rice cake and dumpling (pork) soup and j had beef bulgogi. both were delicious and with good portions. i had extra soup for lunch the next day. the meal finished off with two small containers of sweet drinkable yogurt- yum! the bill with tip was $25.

wow! I leave in the morning for a friends wedding in Yosemite. I thought all we had to worry about was whether it would snow there or not…now the wind is blowing ‘wizard of oz’ style here in Seattle- let’s hope a tree doesn’t fall on my car! I need to make it to the airport and fly out of here tomorrow!

Since the hubby is away this weekend I decided to do some exploring around this part of the Pacific Northwest. I found some really fabulous little neighborhoods just outside of Seattle. Easy parking, great shopping and yummy food Some neighborhoods worth checking out:

Madrona

Madison Valley & Madison Park

Also- decided I needed a little exercise and with the sunshine (finally!) I had a wonderful drive up to Mt. Rainier. The park wasn’t too busy, it being October and all and I was able to explore and do a nice 3 mile hike, check out the glaciers and get a little exercise. The current visitor center is getting the boot and they are building a new, more sustainable one that should open last year. It was amazing to see the storm damage from last year! Again, I’ll try to get pics up but can’t promise anything!

Well, I’m going to try and keep some of the categories on my blog updated with useful information. Since my husband and I travel alot for work I thought it might be good to list a few good resources for each place we’ve been. I’ll try to update this as we find more cool restaurants, shopping, etc…

Federal Way seems like the mini-mall shopping capital suburb of Seattle. It’s a nice little area with good apartments, restaurants and shopping. Great access to the beach areas as well as quick on to I-5 10 minutes to Tacoma, 20 min to Sea-Tac Airport and 35 min to downtown Seattle. All that plus truly outstanding views of Mt. Rainier on the commute to work each day!

-The Ridges and The Shores apartment complex (ok grounds and apartments, we were in a corporate 1 bedroom which was nice. seems reasonable safe but of course we are only here for 2 months so we might not get ‘the real deal’. ok pool and pretty minimal gym. cons- really bad garbage deal- you have to take out your trash to this huge dumpster compactor thing at the end of the drive. I really wouldn’t want to live in the complex next to that since it always seems to be overflowing with all sorts of nastiness and i’m sure little animals like to play in it!)

-Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant (just ok, pretty reasonable prices $7-9 BUT you have to pay extra for rice! At least for takeout anyways)

-Indochine Thai Restaurant (awesome, great ambience and quick service. There are alot of choices and their house specials are great. You can also sit in a garden table, on pillows with legs beneath the table under an awning- private, cozy)

-Supermall in Auburn (Outlet stores including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Nordstrom Rack)

-Westfield Mall (Nordstrom, Apple)

-The Rock Pizza Factory (awesome pizza and beer with really friendly bartenders! the place was packed on a Thurs night but there is a really big wide bar that is totally great for eating)

-Federal Way Public Library (a little busy during ’study time’ after school but you can get a temporary card for 2 months and take out 2 books at a time)

-The Usual…Trader Joes, Panera, Chipotle

more to come later on….