The Bite

This past Sunday we braved the crowds and hung out at The Bite of Seattle. We haven't been for a few years and figured it was time to go again.

We've had a bit of a rocky history with The Bite:

• Our first year we browsed all the different restaurants and ended up eating Subway at the Seattle Center food court.
• The second year we went we walked through all the food booths and again opted for the safety of Subway.
• Year three we toughened up and tried some Philly cheese steak sandwiches, and then later wished we'd eaten Subway.

Super lame, right?! This year we were determined to shake things up and get our tasting on. We met up with some friends, paid outrageous sums for parking, did some people watching, had our pictures taken with the Foster Farms chicken...you know, all the good stuff.

The weather was a little off. It was bright and sunny outside but pretty cold. I don't know how those people could stand being in the fountain. I was freezing just watching them!

Here's the famous Seattle lunch truck, Maximus Minimus. But with neither of us being partakers of pork I just clicked a pic of their cool truck to share. Foster Farms has these big chicken balloon floating around and I thought they were funny looking.

Oh, what did we eat!? Well we both had a scoop from the Ben and Jerry's mobile and then...you guessed it - Subway! Our friend did sample some Piroshky so we figure that gave us a little cred, right? No.

There is just something about eating food that's being prepared in a fryer under a tarp that doesn't sit well with me. Actually us. We're so prissy.

Maybe next year we'll try the Shishkaberry's??

They look pretty safe. ☺

México

Mexico was busy port for us. On the boat we'd met a group of ladies that lived by us (small world!) and had chartered a tour to Tulum, a larger set of Mayan ruins. They were so kind enough as to invite us to join them. We debated as to whether or not they could be crazy kidnappers or something and came to the conclusion that yes, they were indeed crazy, but not kidnappers, so we decided to tag along.

Our trip to Tulum started out by arriving in Cozumel, ferrying from Puerta Maya to Playa del Carmen where we boarded our van to Tulum. The van ride was supposed to be an hour long, but we had a super speedy driver who got us there in 45 minutes...we were glad because we weren't expecting to have a lot of time at the ruins, so his heavy foot got us a few extra minutes...and him a good tip!

It was a little weird that we had to stop and pick up his girlfriend (who we were fairly certain was underage), and even weirder that Rob had to ride between the two, but it was an interesting ride nonetheless.

Tulum was really exciting! It was a lot different than what I had imagined. It was located right on the water and the place was packed! Lots of the tourists were hanging out at the beach and swimming, but since we weren't aware that the ruins were so close to the beach we weren't dressed appropriately. We actually thought getting to the ruins was going to involve some hiking so we were all dorked out in hiking gear.

We really enjoyed the ruins and would have liked to have more time to spend there. It was so hot out, but we sprinted through the place to make sure we got to see it all before heading back. Seeing these ruins made us regret not seeing the ruins in Belize. There are some more Mayan ruins further West of Tulum called Chichen Itza, but our stay in port wouldn't accommodate a visit there. Next time we're in Mexico, maybe?? ☺

Here's an aerial shot of the site that I found online...just to give you an idea of the layout. Pretty spread out. Amazing.

Back at Playa del Carmen there were a bunch of military guys with big ol' guns all around the ferry loading. I thought it was weird, but had to document it. I am way too big of a wuss to take a full on shot, so camera in hand I folded my arms, guesstimated what angle my camera was at and took a shot. Luckily I have mad camera skills and captured a great picture. Rob thinks I am a nerd for doing this. And maybe just a little stupid. My words, not his...but I could see it in his eyes. ☺

We did have some time to shop and beach hop in Cozumel before the ship left. We came across this store that had a bunch dog t-shirts. We aren't ridiculous enough to actually buy one for Jackson, but we are ridiculous enough to take pictures of them (and to later have wished we would have bought one).

That was Mexico, and our last port of the cruise. I still have loads of pictures to post from our actual time on the ship, plus our time in Miami before the cruise, along with our few days in the Keys after the cruise. Yes, this vacation is going to drag out forever, blog-wise.

Spa trumps Kennel

Next weekend we are going to have to board our pup for the first time, so I've started to search out a place to plop him for a couple days.

Now at first, I didn't think much of it, but after looking into it, I don't want to put him just anywhere.

I used to see those pet hotel and pet spa places and roll my eyes at the thought of the yuppies that think their pets need hotels and spas.

Well, what do ya know...turns out, we are those kind of people.

Ridiculous, I know. I blame Rob.

Sunday = TV Day

With the warm, beautiful sunny weather outside, Rob and I thought that the best way to spend our Sunday was inside, parked in front of our separate televisions catching up on our new favorite series'.

Mine: True Blood. Yes, more vampires. Sounds weird, but really...it's a great show. HBO always has the best series. I am reading the books too, and for once the show is better than the book!

Rob's: House. He was introduced to it by my brother on our trip down to Utah and he has since DVR'd ever possible episode. He was elated to find out that Sunday was a House marathon. He is considering giving up law and applying to med school. Kidding, I hope.

We were social enough to meet up in front of just one television for a brief dinner, then we were back to our assigned televisions to finish up the day (and in my case, the entire series!). Next Sunday we promise to go outside, at least once.

Word to the wise

When you find yourself in your pajamas and needing to run out to your snow enveloped car, heels may seem the best option to keep your warm feet from sinking into the snowy ground (which they certainly do), but they don't do much in the traction department. That is how you end up sliding around and eventually landing on your keister...along with being wet and cold. Opt for putting on your boyfriends boots instead. Your bum will thank you. Not that I would ever do anything like this...I'm just saying.

Who is the crazy one here?

I just stopped by the bank on my lunch hour. One of the sales employees was trying to convince me to switch to another account that they were running a special on. I was not biting. At the end of her schpill (sp?) she said 'You'd have to be crazy not to switch over!' Me, crazy? Mind you, she was wearing a reindeer antler headband that had blinking yellow lights with bells on the ends. And I am the crazy one?!? I mean, this isn't some preschool center where you wear this kind of attire to amuse the kids...this is a financial institution! Did her coworkers/boss not see the problem with this?!? I had the hardest time keeping a straight face as she talked to me. I about died when she got up to walk to another desk and jingled all the way. Perhaps I am more Scrooge-like than I thought??

Mix these two together and add some jingle bells and there you have it!

As I searched online for a picture to share with you all, I couldn't find anything that resembled hers. I SO wanted to snap a picture of her with my phone, but I would like to argue that I have more class than that. I think the real reason is that if I were caught I would be embarrassed and forced never to visit that establishment again. That would be a pain! Hence, no picture. Thinking back, I still think that I should have taken one!