New Year's 2008

The End of 2008

Brian and I were able to spend the night out on the town in Seattle on New Year’s Eve 2008. We had a blast. We checked into the Crown Plaza around 5:00. Brian managed to upgrade us to a corner room with views of the Space Needle and Lake Washington. We truly had a perfect view of the Needle and we’d be in a prime location to view the firework display at midnight.

Rather than going out to dinner, Brian and I decided to get the most bang for our buck…so to speak and do a “progressive dinner”. I think we made the best choice.

We started off at Tulio’s for a small antipasti platter and a glass of wine. Romantic cozy little place with an upscale Tuscan feel– perfect to start the evening. After, we headed to the Wild Ginger, a favorite for Seattle locals. There, we noshed on spring rolls and pot stickers while we enjoyed their famous Mango/mint mojitos. We soaked up some people watching and reveled in the buzz around us.

From the Wild Ginger, Brian wanted to take a trip down memory lane and we wound up in Pioneer Square. Immediately sensing we’d outgrown this scene, we took a picture in front of the Merchant Café and ducked into the J&M to use the bathroom. Let’s just say that the “grunge movement” is alive and well in certain parts of Seattle.

After some debate about the location of the Owl and Thistle (I won!), we decided to take a cab because I didn’t wear appropriate cobblestone walking shoes. The cab driver was an idiot, and after a quick detour to Vancouver, BC (or so it seemed) we made our way into the little bar.

Lively Irish music was playing and we snuggled up to watch the singers and the violin player. Brian shared a few childhood memories of whacking a kid with his sling shot in a corn field and throwing a stick in another kid’s tire spoke before leaving Indiana. It was nice to hear the stories and his eyes twinkled with delight – especially relishing the story of the kid on the bike. I think I may have a tiny glimpse of what’s in store with the two boys!

As the crowds started to pack in, we wound up thrown together with a motley crew. One guy at our crowded table had piercings on every imaginable place on his face, and tattoos peeked out from the sleeves on both his arms. We expected that in Seattle. What we didn’t expect, however, was a reasonable and logical response to the asinine environmental regulations that plagued the Seattle area during Winter Blast 2008. The guy with the piercings is a METRO driver and couldn’t believe that the city didn’t want to use salt on the roads. “Wow”! I thought to myself. I thought all mass transit, tattoo and pierced Seattlites were supposed to embrace all the environmental regulations without question. However, the stupid policies of Seattle not only shut down the entire city for a week, put people’s lives in danger and simple folks like my new friend out of work for a week, but the policies also severely curtailed the economy of Seattle and no doubt put a damper on a few kid’s Christmas mornings.

I digress…back to the progressive dinner. We made our way back up towards the hotel and decided that our noshing wasn’t complete. So…we popped into the Palomino – Brian’s old bartending job. I was graced with hearing about where Brian worked and how much fun it was “back in the day.” We enjoyed our favorite Margarita pizza before running back to the hotel five minutes before midnight.

We made it up to our room just in time. We barely had our coats off before the fireworks started. It was great! We had an amazing room, and shared a quiet moment as we said goodbye to 2008.

2008 was a great year for us. We did a lot of traveling, experienced the birth of Charlie and are blessed with a good job, health and a wonderful family and friends.

We look forward to 2009. Even though we know the economy may not be great, we have so many things to look forward to. We heard exciting news of long anticipated pregnancies and births from various friends today, and are hopeful for a healthy and successful year.

Cheers!