This post is a little late in coming, but I didn't want to write about the wonderful trip I was able to take with my mom and aunt until I had some pictures to go along with it!
At the end of June, my mom and aunt travelled to Seattle with me. I had to attend an AP Literature course and my mom and aunt agreed to keep me company when I was not in class. Now, it must be understood that Jan Silvers (the mom) and Juli Hall (the aunt) are two of the most fun people to travel and adventure with. It is not uncommon for my dad, uncle, or Dave to call when the three of us are together and only hear peals of laughter. The conversations usually go something like this:
"Danielle? It's Dave."
Only response laughter and then mumbled comment in the background.
"What was that? I can't quite hear..."
More laughter.
"Yeah, I'm having a good time too. All by myself. Say, what's so funny?"
Laughter, giggles, laughter.
"Well, sounds like you're busy. I'll call later."
Laughter then silence.
Needless to say, you could put us in a symposium about the history of dirt and we would have a good time. So it was no big surprise when I asked Mom and Juli to spend the week with me in Seattle, I wanted to laugh and play and have fun when I was finished with a class I was sure was going to be long and somewhat boring (I was right about that one). I told Dave I wasn't asking him to go because he had to work, but I think we both knew the truth.
Laugh, play, and have fun we did. We went a day before my conference started so that we could have an entire day to explore Seattle together. We flew in early and ate breakfast at a wonderful place in Queen Anne, called The 5 Spot. The restaurant changes their menu and theme every few months. This time the theme was Hawaii-Five and the menu include papaya pancakes with coconut candied bacon. Delicious.
We then made our way to the Experience Music Project museum that can be found near the Space Needle. The museum was incredible! It had a recording and demo lab where you could make your own CD, an instrument learning lab, a guitar exhibit, and the history of music from the Northwest. It was fun to travel back in time to high school and "re listen" to bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
After the museum, we decided we should check into the hotel IA had booked for me. Once we finally found the place, we were told that they had overbooked their rooms and had to put us at one of their sister hotels. This normally would not have been that big of an issue, but the conference I was attending was sending a shuttle to pick us up at only selected hotels. My hotel initially told me that transportation to the conference was my problem, but after much discussion (thank you Aunt Juli) and some key phone calls the hotel finally agreed to pay for a taxi to take me back and forth. They also upgraded my room so that Mom and Aunt Juli could stay with me and the first night was on the house. This experience is another reason Aunt Juli makes such a great travel companion, she can get things done!
The rest of the week we spent shopping, eating out, and laughing. We got lost countless times, even taking an unexpected trip to Mercer Island, and found shortcuts only to forget them the next day. I would spend the days in class while Aunt Juli and my mom would explore Seattle and the surrounding towns, making sure that they let me know when they were getting a pedicure, found a great lunch spot, or were still in bed. They discovered the Bellview Mall and took the Underground Tour of Seattle. When I was out of class, we would find the restaurant of the night (usually recommended to us by our waiter of the previous night), window shop, laugh, and talk.
I had a great time and am so glad that I was able to spend the week with my mom and aunt before I leave. I'm hoping that I can convince them to take another trip with me to Peru next summer! Come on ladies, what do you say? Mother/Daughter Tour South American Edition?
PS. The Ecuadorian Countdown is now at 5 days! Holy Moly--I better start packing!