Seattle: Expo, Food, Shopping

700+ round trip miles later and I am home feeling mostly recovered from an awesome weekend in Seattle, Washington! There was so much, I don't even know where to start. So I'll start at 5am Friday morning when my alarm went off. Biker Boy and I left his house nice and early in the morning so we could be at the Seattle R'n'R expo as soon as it opened. He was a lifesaver and drove - and thank goodness he did. We pretty decided together that next time we go up there we'll just slip me something before the drive so that I don't panic even in the passenger's seat!

We arrived with no difficulties, and were at the expo 30 minutes before it opened. A man guarding the door was nice and let us in to go potty - so we got a little sneak preview at what was to come, and on my gosh was it awesome! Here's a photo I snapped on the way out:

This wasn't even half of it!

Once the doors open the line moved quickly. Getting my bib, shirt and goody bag was a breeze. Biker Boy and I are so alike and we had a mission: Save the official merch for the end and hit the vendors for the free stuff while there are plenty of things left! Holy cow - to summarize, the empty totes we got at the first booth were completely full by the end. I sampled some cool products and loaded up on Mission Skincare (sunscreen, muscle rub and anti-chaffing lotion). The highlight for me was probably getting a free KT Tape taping at the Sports Authority booth. BB knew what to do .... he loaded up on photos documenting the process. I probably wore the wrong outfit for this. I about died laughing when the guy stood behind me, grabbed my hips and pulled me close to him. I think some fellow runners got a free show!

The Rock'n'Roll people should love me. I love to shop. I went home with the "official" jacket and a pin (but after the race bought the other pin, a tech shirt and a visor). I might add at this point I declared that Seattle IS my Boston. I had an "official" jacket that looks pretty freaking sweet, and I'd be shuttled to the start area in another town and then run to the finish in Seattle. Um, hello? I can't run Boston, so I'll just enjoy this similarity and "run" with it! After shopping we dropped off our huge stash in the car and began our leisurely walk to the Hard Rock Cafe. Um, what the hell Seattle? Are you just one freaking huge uphill walk? No matter where we went it was always UP!

Okay, I really like eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. For me it is more about the atmosphere than the food. I mean who are we kidding, I always get grilled cheese except for the one time in January 2008 in Phoenix when they told me they can't make it (even though they did in November 2007), so I got nachos. Anyway, I love the atmosphere, the vibe, the drinks, the fries. This Hard Rock was disappointing. I mean we were in Seattle. Don't we all think Seattle = Grunge = 90's?? It looked cool by the bar on the way in, but the rest was pretty blah. Plus it took forever to get our food. I mean FOREVER! I decided to mix it up this time (hold yourselves, don't fall out of your chair) and I got a side order of Twisted Mac & Cheese and a side of fries. I know, shocker! As is tradition when eating your pre-race meal, I snapped a photo of my food. Enjoy!

I thought the mac & cheese was pretty yummy! The side order didn't have chicken on it, so that was the appeal for me. And look at the portion. That's a side? It was filling and probably the right amount, even without the fries. But I love myself a good French fry, and Hard Rock's rank high on my list!  Biker Boy had a fish sandwich of some sort, and while all sandwiches came with fries, his seemed to be the only one that just came with a house salad. I was nice, I let him have ONE fry. *I offered more, he passed, thank goodness. He also enjoyed a gigantic beer, and this being his first visit to any Hard Rock Cafe, he got the souvenir glass. I couldn't leave without hitting the gift shop. It was Pride weekend in Seattle (and tons of other huge cities) so naturally being the fruit fly that I am, I had to buy the special edition Pride pin, as well as a 40th anniversary pin. I seriously love to shop.

Up next we went down to the waterfront and Pike Place Market. I think most people know this as the place they throw the fish - and throwing fish is what was happening when we got there!

The market was very busy and very smelly. Fish, flowers, produce, body odor. It was interesting to say the least! There was a long stretch of vendor after vendor. I wasn't really wanting to shop, just look. Of course being the girl from the small town, I tried to keep moving and had a death grip on my purse.

I saw this in a window and just had to get a picture. I want to share it with all of you now! Come on, it's funny!

We also saw the original Starbucks location. Starbucks is EVERYWHERE. I kid you not, I saw a Starbucks tent on the freaking race course!

I finally had to suggest we work our way back toward the expo and the car. The day was not even close to being over for us! What a lovely view we had on our walk back, too!