West Coast Birthday – Seattle, WA

A few days after arriving home from Richmond, I was off to Seattle. Thursday morning started at 4:00 am in order to make it to the airport for an early flight. A connection in Cincinnati brought Corey and me together for the final leg to Seattle. Both of us had very short connection times but he was scheduled to arrive from Richmond about 10 minutes before I arrived from Baltimore. I hurried to the gate of our connecting flight and was met with a sea of people who were jockeying for position as the boarding process was just starting. No Corey in sight. Time to make a call. The answer came, “My flight is just pulling into the gate.” They were 20 minutes delayed! As I boarded the plane, the airline attendant assured me he would make the connection.

I got to my seat and the gracious young man who would be sharing our row stowed my carry-on. I told him about Corey and even though we continued chatting, my eyes were riveted on the front of the plane. There must be some universal “anxious mom” look, which completely disappeared the moment Corey stepped on board. My seat mate, who had been watching me, remarked, “That’s him now, isn’t it.” The door closed. The plane backed away from the gate. Our Seattle adventure was about to begin.

Even when your kids are no longer kids, the wise mom always knows just what they need and it’s usually two things: hugs and snacks. Always make sure you have plenty of both and you’ll always be a hero to your kid. This trip was no exception. I think half a dozen granola bars disappeared before the plane got off the ground.

Calvin met us at the airport and I completely surprised myself by bursting into tears when I saw him. But to my boys, that is typical mom so I’m glad I didn’t disappoint. They didn’t disappoint either, because the first item on the agenda was food.

Our Seattle visit was a pleasant mix of relaxing, visiting, eating out and enjoying the local arts culture. Calvin and Vicki have done a great job with the apartment. I liked the way all of the furniture just seemed to fit perfectly.

Our first night out was to an Italian restaurant in Bellevue, Maggiano’s, which is a nationwide chain. The meal was Calvin’s treat for my birthday and it was very good. One surprising plus: two of the pasta dinners that were ordered came with a second free dinner to take home and enjoy! I think Vicki got her fill of eggplant parmesan! After dinner it was back home to enjoy a homemade chocolate cream cheese pound cake that Calvin had baked for my birthday. I was impressed and for some reason this cake only got better with each passing day. I was very sorry I had to leave part of it behind when it came time to go home. I think this is one for the recipe blog.

Calvin took Friday off and Vicki had a half-day so we picked her up at noon, had lunch at Microsoft and went to the Microsoft Company Store. The Commons at Microsoft is a conglomerate of shops, restaurants and cafes to please any palate. It’s the largest and most diverse cafeteria I’ve ever seen. The salad bar was my choice so I could have room for a cupcake, dinner and pound cake!

The cupcake. Trophy Cupcakes in Bellevue is worth the 2,800-mile trip alone. I chose Snickerdoodle and it was amazing. Georgetown Cupcake doesn’t come close! Calvin and Vicki fixed London Broil for dinner and I must admit, when you’re the mom, it’s always nice when someone else does the cooking.

Breakfast on Saturday was at a real Seattle landmark. Voted one of the best places in the country to "pig-out", Beth’s Café serves up 6 and 12 egg omelets. Calvin and Corey went for the 6 egg omelets, but I was happy something more traditional. On looks alone, one might consider this place a real dive, but the atmosphere is just one part of what makes this quirky restaurant a crowd-pleaser. It’s obvious most people go for the great food.

When planning this trip, I thought it might be fun to go to the theater. Now when you’re the mom of two boys, most suggestions about things to do are immediately shot down especially if they seem remotely girlie or cultural or civilized. Fortunately, Calvin likes the theater, but just before leaving for the Saturday matinee of The Full Monty at the Village Theater in Issaquah, I discovered that Vicki and Corey were less than enthused about musical theater. The tickets had been purchased so they were ready to put up a good front. The play was bawdy and funny and the actor’s were terrific in every way with the story. Corey and Vicki had to admit they really enjoyed the play and hey, Mom’s idea was actually a good one.

Sunday brought rain and wind and the Sunday Seattle Times. An article on two exhibits at the Bellevue Arts Museum caught my eye and I thought: interesting, close by, inside. Perfect outing for a wet and chilly afternoon. Corey opted to sit this one out because of projects he was working on for school. Unfortunately, he missed two great exhibits, glass artist Ginny Ruffner and Clay Throwdown!, which showcased over 30 clay artists and was one of the most fascinating collections of artworks I’ve ever seen. The viewer was drawn into the stories behind the pieces and some of projects were quite interactive. A vote for a People’s Choice award was in progress and it was very hard to choose a favorite, as there were so many deserving artists, but Vicki and I both cast a ballot for Nathan Craven, who we later discovered won the award.

Our final day in Seattle ended with dinner at Salty’s on Alki Beach for a taste of Seattle seafood. Calvin and Vicki dropped Corey and me off at the airport for the red-eye flight home. Of course, there were more tears—a necessity for a proper goodbye, at least according to this mom.

A standout moment from this trip was the acknowledgment from Calvin that he now understands why I was always chasing after the boys to keep our house picked up. Living with two boys, especially during their high school and college years, is like living in a constant cyclone of clothes, shoes, laptop computers, tech gadgets, books, backpacks and anything that can be classified loosely as “stuff” which lands where it falls as if were subjected to a 200+ mph wind. Guests can certainly add a bit of disruption to the household, but when one of them is your college-aged brother whose only option was to crash on the sofa, the living room quickly adopted a less than tidy look reminiscent of our family room during semester break. Now that Calvin has his own place to pick up and keep tidy, he said he can really appreciate the work that goes into maintaining a pleasant place to live. All I could do was smile.

East Coast Birthday - Richmond, VA

My birthday is in October and while we usually celebrate birthdays with a special dinner out, I was able to celebrate this particular birthday on both sides of the country, and of course, great food was definitely involved.

East Coast birthday took place in Richmond. My first trip to Richmond was to visit VCU with Corey. Since he is now in his junior year, I’ve been back a number of times to enjoy my son's company and see what the city has to offer. Richmond is quite an eclectic mix on the scale of economy. A short distance in the city can take you from the mansions on Monument Avenue to the shabby facades that line the streets of Jackson Ward. Upscale, trendy shopping and restaurant districts are balanced by the hard edges of boarded up buildings and crumbling storefronts. On a cultural level, Richmond provides many outlets for the history enthusiast and anyone who has an interest in the arts. VCU is the highest rated public arts university in the country and the arts community in Richmond is strong and influential. Plus, I can honestly say that every restaurant we’ve visited from cool college hangouts to fine dining has been great.

A month or so ago, my father expressed an interest in visiting Corey at school over a weekend. We set a plan in motion. Kenny and Tammy drove up from North Carolina with Dad and I drove down from Frederick on Friday, October 15, which happened to be my birthday weekend. Homewood Suites by Hilton became base camp. Dinner Friday was at Extreme Pizza on West Broad, one of Corey’s favorite pizza joints. Corey’s roommate Brian joined us. The restaurant was new to my family, but after hearing so many good comments from us, it was my brother’s pick for this particular evening. Fortunately, they loved it! The Poultry Geist is one of our favorite selections, with The Boar'der as a close second.

Saturday brought sunshine and pleasant temps so while Dad relaxed and watched football, Corey showed Kenny and Tammy his apartment and the Monroe Park campus. My family is oyster crazy, and since it's hard to find good fried oysters in North Carolina, an oyster dinner was the quest for Saturday night. With prior planning we found Water Grill, a restaurant in Carytown that ended up having terrific fried oysters. Fried green tomatoes and buffalo oysters started a meal that will remain memorable. This restaurant is definitely a keeper.

Sunday morning found us at Baker’s Crust in Short Pump for breakfast. This restaurant features homemade breads and pastries. I can highly recommend their fruit and nut bread paired with a Mediterranean omelette and hash browns. Goodbyes were said and we headed home.

It is probably obvious that my family likes to eat. We like to try new places and especially local fare. We enjoyed the weekend and my brother remarked that it was fun to see Corey in his element. This was not really a birthday celebration but a celebration of family that just happened to fall on my birthday.

Coming Next: West Coast Birthday