Mee Sum Pastry

Happenings 2019

/ dkaltenb / Leave a comment

What were some of my favorite things in 2019?  Did you travel within four hours reach of the Seattle area?  Check out the 19 highlights…

  1. California dreamin (by airplane) – Sonoma, Napa, St Helena, Sacramento, San Francisco, …and Russian River Brewery
  2. Snowmageddon in February in the Puget Sound area
  3. The Konmari Method – Does your ‘stuff’ spark joy?
  4. Poverty Bay Wine Festival in Des Moines, WA – an annual anniversary
  5. Seeing the snow geese in the La Conner, Conway, Mount Vernon area in early-mid March
  6. Eats –  a few new eats in 2019 consisted of the Five Star Cellars wine dinner at the Magestic Hotel in Anacortes, Black Raven Brewery in Redmond, and Resonate Brewery in Bellevue. The Mongolia Wagyu Beef at Baron’s in Bellevue was tasty as well.
  7. Port Townsend – windy Spring day to tour the town, Saturday market, Point Hudson
  8. Seattle Pride Parade fun
  9. Deception Pass and Hellams Vineyard wine/dinner boat cruise via San Juan Cruises
  10. Walk the Cedar River Trail
  11. Pike Place Market – Mee Sum Pastry’s Pork Hom Bow; Sunset Supper in August
  12. Gary Clark Jr at Chateau St Michelle’s Summer Concert Series and Evil Dead the Musical
  13. Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich – so tasty!
  14. Cheering on the Seattle Seahawks, playing fantasy football (4th place in both leagues) and pickem – Go Hawks!
  15. Metallica S&M2 (the performance after the fact) – so fabulous!
  16. Salish Lodge and Snoqualmie Falls –  breakfast, pics of the falls, shopping….one of my favorite places. Includes shopping in the smaller boutiques in Snoqualmie and North Bend
  17. Seattle Sounders win the MLS Cup vs Toronto – Way to Go!
  18. Leavenworth town and tree lighting
  19. Strangelove at Showbox at the Market – love, love, love!

What are you looking forward to in 2020?  I am looking forward to the movie Top Gun/Maverick – oh yeah!

Flower Festival and a Seattle Sampling

/ dkaltenb / Leave a comment

What makes for a fun outing to prepare for a Mother’s Day feast?  Head to downtown Seattle to Pike Place Market’s annual Flower Festival ~ that’s what!  Whether you make it for a few hours or all day, grab a bite and support the locals.  Flowers. Halibut. Broccolini. Shiitake Mushrooms. Pork Hom Bow. Chocolate. Sunshine. Check it off your list of May events.  Done.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tillicum Village…a traditional Northwest experience

/ dkaltenb / Leave a comment

On a surprise sunny day on Memorial Day weekend, an essential Northwest tradition was experienced by spending the afternoon at Pike Place Market, the Seattle waterfront, and Tillicum Village.

At Pike Place Market, we hit a few of our favorites…DeLaurenti, had a BBQ pork hom bow at Mee Sum Pastry, walked through the market and stopped by La Buona Tavola, where a jar of fig preserve with balsamic vinegar was purchased  www.trufflecafe.com.  La Buona Tavola specializes in truffled products, Italian specialties and wines from Italy and Washington State.  See May 2010 post for more Pike Place Market fun.  The water glistened as we walked along the waterfront.  Stops were made at the Ye Old Curiosity shop and Exclusively Washington (Pier 54 next to Ivar’s)  www.exclusivelywashington.net.

Tillicum Village is a fun trip for visitors and locals alike.  You will be welcomed aboard an Argosy Cruises boat with a narrated look at Puget Sound area Native American history, with a focus on Alki Beach and the Blake Island area.  Did you know that Blake Island is only reachable by boat?  Argosy Cruises have two runs a day to Tillicum Village (with three on Saturdays during the height of summer).  Check out http://www.tillicumvillage.com/  for a schedule and more information.  The cruise is approx. 45 minutes and seating is available indoors and out with a bar for beverage service on each level.  Upon arriving at Tillicum Village, you are greeted by a gentleman in Native garb and offered steamed clams as an appetizer (in mugs).  They encourage the dropping of the shells on the already shell made pathway (stomp away!).  I love the smell of a campfire!  View a whole salmon being cooked on a cedar stake above an open fire.  Then it is off to enjoy a buffet dinner…with berry cobbler to finish the meal off (see link for menu specifics).  The dinner concludes with a show of storytelling and dance of Coast Salish tribes.  The storytelling itself is done by Roger Fernandes, also known by his native name Kawasa, a member of the Lower Elwha Band of the S’Klallam Indians from the Port Angeles, Washington area.  Note:  the storytelling is presented via video and the dance, by three live performers.  After the show, you are given 30+ minutes to tour the gift shop and to wander the grounds/beach of Blake Island.  A very nice trip overall!