We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning to head to Seattle. Kraig was meeting with his boss/peers for a tour through Starbucks Headquarters followed by visits to some of the local stores and lunch together. All this before they went to a certain small event hosted by the CEO. For reals.
Side-story: can you even believe that we were about to pack our car and drive to Portland, just 7 days before our "move date", without a firm job placement?! Me neither. I mean, WHAT WERE WE THINKING?! All I remember is a certain peace about the situation and certainty that it was all going to work out because, after all, we were doing EXACTLY what we felt like we were supposed to do. Anyway, we had some cockamamie plan about Kraig filling in at a few places part-time (what!? part-time?!) for about a month while he scouted out a permanent placement. Uh. Earth to K & J, there is a baby dependent upon K's salary for survival. Egads. Anyway, just a few days before our move date we received a call from a most excited and wonderful Marissa- manager at a store in NW Portland who wanted to bring Kraig on full-time. Hallelujah. He called back and of course took the transfer.
All that to say that call from Marissa set into motion the perfect storm of events that led Kraig to where he is today (if you haven't heard me say it enough, we are so proud of his success here). That is all.
Back to the real reason for this post. Seattle. Enter: Starbucks Headquarters.
And the svelte, super personable, very jovial CEO, Howard Schultz.
He bikes. Oh, and he drives a Porsche as all good CEOs do, right?
Kraig was very surprised and pleased to find that he had a special reserved front-row seat. Shazam!
Kraig obviously had such an amazing morning/afternoon. He got to chat with Howard and meet some of the other big players. What an awesome opportunity for him!
And our (me, Owen, Sophie) morning? Well it was not nearly as exciting!
We dropped Kraig off at HQ and didn't see him for another..... 8 hours.
Me + toddler + puppy who really needs to potty had to check in to the hotel, park in the garage, and somehow manage to get out of garage/up to our hotel room without an elevator on the ground floor. Lord, have mercy.
(I know, some of my readers might be wondering "what's the big deal?" Apparently you have never attempted this feat. Cut me some slack.)
My good friend Wanda was there to pick us up right as I got Owen and myself changed and cleaned up a bit. We went to lunch at a most amazing vegetarian restaurant (Cafe Flora) and I enjoyed my brunch so much that I told Kraig we MUST return for dinner. (And we did.) Yum.
We stayed with Wanda for the afternoon before heading back for a nap. And what a nap it was! We awoke just as Kraig was arriving back, and we suited up for dinner.
All in all, not a bad first day in the big city. I'm pretty proud of myself for handling the two little ones all day by myself, though it was such a nightmare.
Friday, though. Sweet friday. We had an amazing time just gallivanting around the market. I love that area- so many little shops and cafes. I dislike the crowds but hey, it was a gorgeous spring day so I can't blame them!
I found a gem of a cafe called Michou Fresca. It was a la carte style and they had SO many options it was unbelievable. Even the veg options were outstanding. We took our food to the park behind the market and enjoyed the light breeze and view of the Olympic mountains.
A trip to the market isn't complete without a stop at the 1st and Pike Starbucks (skip the "original" store... go to this one instead).
After we rehydrated....
we packed up and headed back to Portland. Can't beat this mountain view on the way home! (Mt. Rainier)
Obviously, someone was ready for a (second) nap.
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