Happy Birthday, Brian!

Every year, I take a trip to Seattle around Brian's birthday in August. Brian and Amber usually meet me downtown for dinner. This time, we tried out an Italian place, Ristorante Machiavelli, because our favorite Mexican restaurant was closed for a private party. The pasta was OK, but Italian margaritas are not nearly as good as Mexican ones. Notice Amber's loud shirt in the photo. She just got back from a gaming convention in Las Vegas and that was one of her souvenirs. 

The second day, I took the bus out to Redmond and spent the day with them playing board games. Brian must be slipping in his "old age," because this is the first time I've ever beaten him, but both he and Amber beat me in the second game. For lunch, we walked over to downtown Redmond to an Acai place (pronounced "ah-sah-EE"). According to their menu, it's supposed to be packed with healthy antioxidants, omegas, fiber, and amino acids. To me, it's like eating ice cream for lunch. Yum!

They are doing a ton of construction right now in Seattle. They're building a new train line that will run from downtown out to Redmond. It's supposed to be finished in 2025. I don't mind taking the express bus, but the train will be faster because it won't have to deal with traffic congestion. 

The Seattle waterfront is also a torn-up mess. I couldn't figure out what this white bridge was supposed to be. It looks a lot like the supports for the monorail that runs to the Space Needle. 

But when I did a little Googling, I found out that it's going to be a major pedestrian walkway connecting Pike Place Market to the waterfront. Right now you have to walk down a creepy old set of very steep concrete steps that run behind the alley. This is an architect's rendering of what it is supposed to look like. The only thing is that this picture doesn't show nearly enough tourists. When I stopped in Pike Place Market to have lunch, I could barely walk through the place.