What to get this girl on Valentine's Day? CHOCOLATE! :) My parents decided to surprise me with a HUGE Valentine's day present...a 5 pound bar of chocolate! We still haven't figured out what to do with it*...What would you do with 5 pounds of milk chocolatey goodness?
For Valentine's Day, David and I decided to visit the nearby town of Woodinville, home of the famous Chateau Ste Michelle Winery. It's a beautiful winery that made me feel like I was in Paris for Valentine's Day (ah, maybe some day!). They offered free tours and wine tastings, which is right up our alley. We love wine, and we especially love free! :)
It's not so bad to share my name with a winery :)
The glass window in their foyer. It looked familiar, and then I realized why. :)
Our next stop was right across the street, to the Red Hook Brewery. This was one of the first Washington microbrewies, starting in our year-- 1981! They now distribute all across the country, and have a huge factory! However, back when they began, they started right in Ballard (next to Mars Hill)! Apparently, Ballard drinks a lot of beer, so they decided it would be a good place to start! ;)
We took this picture because it shows the location of their old factory...those of you who have visited us, take a close look and see if you recognize that building. Hint: you've visited this location and tasted it's yummy, chocolatey goodness. That's right, it's the home of
Theo's Chocolate! So, I guess a good factory just keeps pumping out good things! :)
It was a fun tour, and a nice time to try some new brews...David is planning to try his hand at brewing his own beer, so I tried to take lots of notes. ;)
We had such a great day, and after a very busy week, we were so thankful to be able to spend the day together, relaxing and exploring new parts of Washington state...and we were blessed with lots of sunshine, which was a gift and of itself!! :)
*In defense of "not knowing what to do" with chocolate (almost blasphemy, I know), I must confess that I don't really eat much milk chocolate. (I'm more of a 70% or darker kind of girl)...but, that's probably a good thing ...dark chocolate may be full of antioxidants, but 5 pounds might fill up my arteries as well. Thanks for thinking of me Dad, love you! :)
Well today we finally made it up the icon of Seattle: the space needle. It's been almost two years (!) since we moved here, and we had yet to make the trip...mostly because it's ridiculously overpriced. So when we heard about a sale they were having (thank you Twitter!), we jumped at the chance to get a year pass for one-fourth the normal price. And, that includes one free "guest" per pass!! What more reason do you need to book a flight to Seattle?! :)
Mt. Baker
The Cascades
The view of Elliot Bay...and our home sweet home, West Seattle. :)
The glass window in their foyer. It looked familiar, and then I realized why. :)
Our next stop was right across the street, to the Red Hook Brewery. This was one of the first Washington microbrewies, starting in our year-- 1981! They now distribute all across the country, and have a huge factory! However, back when they began, they started right in Ballard (next to Mars Hill)! Apparently, Ballard drinks a lot of beer, so they decided it would be a good place to start! ;)
We took this picture because it shows the location of their old factory...those of you who have visited us, take a close look and see if you recognize that building. Hint: you've visited this location and tasted it's yummy, chocolatey goodness. That's right, it's the home of Theo's Chocolate! So, I guess a good factory just keeps pumping out good things! :)
It was a fun tour, and a nice time to try some new brews...David is planning to try his hand at brewing his own beer, so I tried to take lots of notes. ;)
It's been quite a few years since David and Paul have celebrated together, as Paul has been in California for the past 4(ish) years. Paul recently moved to Seattle, so he is living with us while he gets settled here.
