What's 16 years in the grand scheme of things, anyway?

I am totally that aging millennial who can't do math and thinks 2004 was 10 years ago, but the truth is, my 20th high school reunion was this year. I graduated college 16 years ago, and it's been since then that I've seen my old college roommate, Lauren, in person. 

Lauren and I drifted apart after college but reconnected because social media actually has some uses beyond filling me with existential dread. Last summer, she went on an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle and wanted to make it a point to come back and spend time here, because even the drive from SeaTac to the port is awe-inspiring. After going back and forth on dates, she planned her trip for Labor Day weekend.

Warning: lots of selfies ahead!

It was indescribably special to get to share my chosen home with someone I never thought I'd get to see again. It's amazing how easy it was to pick right back up where we left off, as if no time had passed. When it comes to bonds created during formative years, sixteen years and thousands of miles barely mean anything!

(Don't worry, many more college pictures can be found at the end of this post.)

Lauren's flight got in super late on a Thursday and she made it to my place in the wee hours of Friday morning. I had to work Friday, so Lauren entertained herself by going to Pike Place and getting herself to a tattoo appointment in Queen Anne, but not before we spent something like two hours catching up when I should have been working.

In the afternoon, I met her at the Tin Lizzy Lounge. From there, we ventured to Fremont and had dinner at Triangle Spirits (the gf burger and salad were fantastic, and the cocktail wasn't too shabby, either). Our real adventures began the next day.

Saturday

I appreciate a guest who's happy to let me sleep in! Lauren and I went to brunch at Julia's of Wallingford, then swung by the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum, which I hadn't seen before. The garden was small but really quite pretty, and I was glad to finally have an excuse to see it. 

From there, we went to the Woodland Park Rose Gardens, another place I've only ever run by but never fully explored. The whole place smelled divine! Lauren works for Red Mountain Park in Birmingham, so her interest in the outdoors and cool plants makes Seattle a perfect fit for her.

From the rose gardens, we stopped home to get Matt and Zoe and then headed out for Pratt Balcony.

Matt and I did this hike on a staycation back in October of last year. I recalled it as being fairly easy with a phenomenal view. Turns out, I misremembered how easy the trail was—it's not bad, but super rocky and a bit of a climb for sure—but the payoff was everything I remembered.

We picked up Thai on the way home and watched The Barbie Movie with some wine. Believe it or not, I hadn't seen it yet! I enjoyed it, but I also understand the more critical reviews. I think I would have liked it a lot more if they hadn't gone overboard on promotion. (And I'm generally just not the biggest fan of Margot Robbie.)

Sunday

Lauren took a cab to Chihuly (have I mentioned I also love a guest who enjoys sightseeing on her own sometimes?) and I picked up her around noon. We spent a few hours at the Ballard Market, where we got free Seattle Pops and I got a cookie the size of my head, then I dropped her at a brewery she wanted to try so I could run home and walk Zoe. 

Afterward, we went to Alki Beach for dinner at Duke's and to catch the sunset. Dinner was fantastic, and as soon as the dessert came out, we both whipped out our phones to get a picture. Duke's is pricy, but it's a good spot for a special meal. 

We ended the night watching Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 version, of course.)

Monday

Monday was another hiking day. Lauren had wanted to do a day-trip to the San Juans, but I forgot you need to reserve a spot on the ferry and they were booked up. So instead, we headed to Bainbridge. We wandered the shops before heading to the Gazzam Lake trail.

The weather was much cooler, so we were the only ones out there. We had the beach to ourselves and spent a few hours relaxing before heading back. We even got to see one of the new trolls popping up around the Seattle area, Pia the Peacekeeper. Usually these trolls are busy, but we were lucky to get pictures really easily. 

When it was time to head back, we actually ended up taking the Edmonds ferry back to avoid the long wait. 

Lauren was craving pizza, so we tried a neighborhood staple (Olympia Pizza & Spaghetti House) and it was surprisingly good! This is a local joint with a few other locations and I understand the hype now. The gluten free crust was delicious.

We finished the trip with a view from Gasworks Park because...how could we not?

I have to end this post with a major shoutout to Matt, who acted as our own personal paparazzo and made sure we got lots of cute pictures.

Memory Lane

I don't think I can express how wonderful it is to have Lauren back in my life. Reconnection feels so good. I know she'll make it back out this way again.

Finally, I just feel like this blog post wouldn't be complete without a couple pics from our heyday, so... enjoy!

Ali