Jake is now a world traveller, of sorts. We just had our first ever road trip and stay over in a hotel, which was the trip down to Seattle. In a nutshell, the trip was stressful and hard work but Mom and Dad still had a good time. Jake came out unscathed, so I think we could call that a good time too.The trip started with a stop at Starbucks (appropriate Seattle start) on the way to the ferry for some caffeine fuel and a Top Pot donut, which are infamous "Hand Forged" donuts from Seattle. Ironically, these donuts are one of the treats that I look forward to from a trip to Seattle and this stop was the first time that we had seen these donuts available outside of Washington State....so we need to find another treat. These donuts are good, but the Maria-found handmade donuts from Port Alberni are still the best.
Time on the ferry went by quickly, with songs, rocking Jake in his carrier car seat and walking him around and around in the baby frontpack letting him look at stuff.
The border crossing was longish (40 minutes) but we spent the time with Mom in the back seat nursing or changing Jake, and with Mom and Dad eating their packed lunch. Jake had his own identification (birth certificate) and I assume is now in the US customs database as "Cutest Baby Ever crossed border on April 21".The impetus for the trip (aside from getting out of the nest and doing something different) was to attend a lecture by a knitter and author, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot. We made it to Third Place Books with time to spare, in fact enough time for dinner and early enough to grab excellent seats for the lecture. About 200 or so people were there, so it was nice to be close to the stage. Mom loves knitting, and it was a neat feeling to be amongst so many knitters who have a love for the same hobby, and to see a knitting hero who has a great sense of humour about the craft.
Jake, Mom and Dad stood in line to meet the Yarn Harlot and to have her sign her latest book, Things I've Learned from Knitting. 
She did comment on Jake's cuteness, who after spending 3 hours (bless his little heart) in this bookstore had had enough, and was asleep on Dad's arm. Proven by the photo taken by the Yarn Harlot and posted on her blog appropriately named Yarn Harlot.
We were off to finish our journey with the quick (at that time of night) drive to downtown.After a long day of driving, it sure was nice to relax in the hotel room, kick back in your t-shirt and diaper. Yeah man, feels good!
She did comment on Jake's cuteness, who after spending 3 hours (bless his little heart) in this bookstore had had enough, and was asleep on Dad's arm. Proven by the photo taken by the Yarn Harlot and posted on her blog appropriately named Yarn Harlot.
We were off to finish our journey with the quick (at that time of night) drive to downtown.After a long day of driving, it sure was nice to relax in the hotel room, kick back in your t-shirt and diaper. Yeah man, feels good!
Holy Doodle there's the Noodle. Still rich. We spent our day in Seattle walking, walking, walking. Mainly with Jake carried by Dad in the baby frontpack.
We explored Queen Anne neighbourhood which gave us magnificent views, and some spectacular old heritage homes.
The walk in this neighbourhood was straight up a very steep and long hill, with a stop at Top Pot (yes another couple of donuts) and some shopping at boutiques at the top. Oddly enough one of those boutiques was a yarn store. Go figure.
We headed downtown to our favorite spot, Le Pichet, which is a Parisian-style cafe. Divine decadence. Mom and Dad shared some Lillet, a favorite drink of theirs introduced to them on previous visits to the Le Pichet. Mom's new favorite thing about Seattle is the chocolat chaud served here. It is French-style, which means melted chocolate and cream served with real whipped cream on the side. So good, you eat it with a spoon like the dessert it is.
Of course Seattle visit requires a quick trip to Pike Place Market, and Jake's first pose with the bronze pig. Kind of a tribute to the Old Sow and Piglet shtick that Mom and Jake have going on. Looked at some fish for sale and went to the geek store (aka the comic book and collectibles store).
Its a lot of hard work travelling with a 3 month old. It is difficult to manage diaper changes and feedings when in public, and its nerve wracking to deal with crying episodes. So after a day in Seattle, the most welcome option for dinner was takeout burgers from Dick's (a Seattle hamburger chain) and chilling in the hotel room.
Here's a tip for travelling parents with an infant, put the crib in the bathroom. That way baby gets a good sleep early and isn't bothered by the lights on or tv noise, and parents get a good sleep without the baby snoring. We brought a nightlight to put on the bathroom and brought Little Dude's blankets from home so that it was as close to his own crib as possible. It worked well.
Here's a tip for travelling parents with an infant, put the crib in the bathroom. That way baby gets a good sleep early and isn't bothered by the lights on or tv noise, and parents get a good sleep without the baby snoring. We brought a nightlight to put on the bathroom and brought Little Dude's blankets from home so that it was as close to his own crib as possible. It worked well.We decided we had done enough, Mom and Dad were tired and had a good time...so why push it. So the next day we headed back home. As we were driving out of Seattle by 8:30 a.m. we realized that our lives were measurably different from before....instead of being completely on the road by 8:30 seen as an early start, it was for us actually a late start since we were up for diapers and feeding around 5:30 a.m. Well we do get earlier starts.
The trip was hard work and stressful. It was also great fun and wonderful. We are glad that we did, but even more glad to get back to the nest and to just hanging out again. The only real snag was coming home to find that we had shut Lucy T. Cat in Jake's bedroom. Seriously. Lucy forgave us. Eventually.
