Two Moms Livin' it Up in Seattle

I just got back from spending two days in Seattle.



"Two days in Seattle?" you might say. "Don't you, like, live there already?"



My friend Janelle and I needed to go to a dental conference these last two days to meet some of our continuing education requirements. The conference was downtown at the Seattle Convention Center. We go every year. It's always such a hassle to get down there (for us non-commuters) so early for two days in a row. This year we thought it would be fun to stay the night in a hotel close to the conference, so we split a room that we got a killer deal on from Priceline. (I told you before, I am sold!)



As far as conferences go, this one was fair. Some of the speakers were pretty good, but most were just average. We got to sit through twelve hours of learning what makes up the ultimate doctor-patient exam, how to create a caries (cavity) risk assessment on our patients, as well as several other equally enthralling topics. I am sure you are intrigued and want to hear more....



The fun part was that we were smack in the middle of downtown Seattle. Now, I hardly ever go downtown unless it is for a very specific purpose which entails driving straight there, and then driving straight back. I never just wander around. Because of this, I haven't before experienced the fantastic selection of shops and shopping malls that exist in an easily walkable area of space. The two of us -- hard-working, frazzled moms -- ran around like giddy school-girls anticipating Christmas, completely reveling in the shopping experience without crying and nagging children! We looked in all sorts of places, gushing over adorable displays and rolling our eyes at some of the insane price tags. (Now, who in their right mind would pay $180 for a necktie?!)



And then there was the food. We really enjoyed eating at all sorts of places, like the Cheesecake Factory, and a fancy Mexican restaurant in one of the malls. (I know, that all sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, it was great!)



A bonus to staying at a hotel was that we were able to take the hotel shuttle to and from the Conference Center, so we didn't need to find parking while we were there. The hotel we stayed at was across the street from Safeco Field, so it was a little too far to walk. It was great to be picked up and dropped off wherever we needed to go. One of our shuttle trips was an experience to remember. It was almost 9:00 pm. We were on our way to the hotel for the night, when the driver got a call for a pick-up. He stopped in front of The Met, a really nice restaurant that Eric and I had dinner at several years ago. The food was amazing. They are famous for their steaks. I swear, mine was so tender I could cut it with a fork! The unfortunate part is what you see on the bill after you've eaten. The check for just the two of us was over $100! Great place, but pretty spendy!



Anyway, we stopped to pick up a party of guests from this really nice restaurant. We had a pretty good inkling of what was coming when we saw them stagger across the street towards the van. They were spittin' drunk. Five guys, of varying ages and level of intoxication, tried to chat us up as the van started on our journey back to the hotel. "Where are you from? You staying in the same hotel? What room are you in? Are you pregnant?" It is worth mentioning at this point that Janelle is currently eight months pregnant. Unfortunately, that question was immediately followed up with, "You wanna come party with us?" They then proceeded to ply the driver with questions about what bar they should go to next, since they were apparantly kicked out of the fancy restaurant before they were ready to call it a night. He found one that seemed suitable to them and let them off, but not without the guys trying to persuade us again to join them. We were all relieved when they finally got out.



Janelle, the driver, and I then got to laugh about this crazy group of men on our way back to the hotel. We concluded from listening to their conversation that they were part of some sort of bachelor party. They mentioned how their dad had left early, since they had gotten into an argument. (Gee, I wonder what that one was about....) Well, when we got in the elevator to go up to our room, I noticed Janelle looking strangely at the man that rode in the elevator with us. He went into a room just a few doors down from ours. Once we shut the door she burst out laughing because she thought for sure the man was the father the other guys had referred to! What were the odds of that? We were on the seventh floor, for heaven's sake! It's a big hotel! I double locked the door and hoped we wouldn't hear too much commotion when the boys finally got back! We did hear them at about midnight, but it was hushed up pretty quickly. They were probably all passed out!



Today we didn't have any more crazy adventures, thank goodness. Probably the craziest part was just trying to leave the area around the hotel. It was swamped with people since there was a Mariners game tonight. I was glad to get away from it all. Although trips and adventures can be full of fun and crazy memories, sometimes my favorite part is how I feel to be back home again.