Road trip: Seattle

Turns out you can still take in a few sights when you have a toddler in tow while visiting a new city. Monsieur Henry and I were in Seattle for about 24 hours and got to the top of the Space Needle, checked out some local baby shops - Tottini and Dragon's Toy Box, I highly recommend both - and strolled through Pike Place Market, where Henry was introduced to the Pike Place Market pig and other such greats as fresh powdered donuts and dried Rainier cherries. 

The night was a bit rough, Henry woke up crying around 2 a.m. and again at 4 a.m., at which time I turned on the t.v. and scrolled through cable channels while nursing him back to sleep. But he was a fantastic back seat passenger on the car ride north and nearly perfect as we made our way back home. 

For this trip, we chose to stay at the Inn at El Gaucho. Normally, I would have picked a less extravagant place, like bunking with friends, which really isn't less extravagant so much as it's free, but the deal they were running - $99 for the room with a $50 restaurant voucher - was not something to be missed. So, yeah, I ordered steak for dinner and Henry and I enjoyed our room service thoroughly. The inn does not have all the amenities that larger hotels offer and you do have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the front desk but I was extremely happy with the size of the room and how comfortable and homey it felt. As an added bonus, there was a complimentary bottled water and freshly baked cookie waiting when we entered the room. And we were gifted a cd of jazzy El Gaucho music. Awesome. The location was great, right smack dab on First Avenue. Shops all around, Pike Place Market just a couple of blocks down the street, and within comfortable walking distance to the Seattle Space Needle. Comfortable even while walking with a toddler in your arms for the majority of the journey.

Of course there were pictures...