Starbucks #1

I am happy!

Let’s see, today we had breakfast courtesy of Jim and Megan (thank you!) before leaving Samammish and heading for downtown Seattle.  They directed us towards Pike Place market which was SICK.  Amongst other things, we saw the original Starbucks location.  There were all kinds of fresh fish shacks and more importantly, delicious breakfast spots.  We chose Le Panier for it’s window of buttery treats.  Tyler took the chocolate croissant and I went for the chocolate almond ball of goodness.   Along with a soup bowl of coffee, we were bouncing off the walls and ready to go.

Space ship on a stick

Next stop was the space needle from the World’s Fair back in 1957 (?).  This took us on a walking tour of the city and left us wanting to come back.  Seattle is like a large Ann Arbor or Portsmouth.  Lots of cool stores, super diverse eateries and an overall laid back feel.  Highly recommended.

Hard to do during food meltdown

From here, we hit the road for Crater Lake.  The father unit, Fred/Richie/Poop, etc., traveled here 100 years ago with John and Tony Edwards for what sounded like an epic tour of the country.  Though we didn’t have a bungee corded lawn chair in the car as they did, we were determined to check out this holy land that is Crater Lake.

Turned out to be a bit further than expected so we spent the night in Eugene.  I’ve worked with the Planned Parenthood located there so we stopped by to put a face to the name, show off my farmer’s tan and very professional flip flop + shorts get up.  Jane, the VP there, is super cool and showed

You are mine, you belong to me!

us their brand new eco-fabulous building.  She then recommended a place with great milk shakes an hour and a half south, towards Crater Lake.  But I was already in food melt down so we made the snap decision to stop by a place called Giant Burger we’d found on TV Food Maps and only a couple miles away.

As we approached the fine restaurant, we couldn’t help but notice the abundance of strip clubs, pawn shops and check cashing spots.  Then we saw the establishment and almost thought twice.  But the monster in my belly opened the car door before Tyler stopped and forced us though the front door.

Eat meeee, eat meeeee!

Once we saw the menu, all doubt was cast aside. 100% grass fed local beef, handmade milk shakes with local ice cream and insane combinations of fries and sides.

• We started with their loaded fries – Old Bay, garlic, bleu cheese and bacon.  Terrible.
• Tyler ordered the Cowboy Bob with bacon, cheddar, BBQ and an onion ring plus a peanut butter cup shake.  Gross.
• I received, with gratitude, the Baja Bliss with avocado, bacon, green chiles, pepper jack, grilled onions and CREAM CHEESE with a strawberry cheesecake shake.  Horrendous.

Creeper

Then we finished our all time blowout with Iron Man 3 and bed.  Giant Burger should be visited by all burger lovers on the West Coast.  Totally out of control.