friendventuring

I shall continue backfilling from my past adventuring:

Two weeks ago my classmate, Skyler, invited me to have a good ol' time visiting two parks I had yet to see. I passed....hardly! Someone inviting me to do something, I'm there!?! First we went to Golden Gardens and did some snacking as we took in the view of the Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. I had scored a huge bag of apples at Grocery Outlet and discovered a newfound obsession with making apple chips. They are healthy, addicting, and were a great snack to accompany the view.

Syler brought tasty wraps and I brought the extras (including ants on a log, of course) and we picnicked here too. I've done a lot more picnicking as of late because it's more economical, but I'm loving the change! Tell me, what could be better than sharing food, company, and a view?

We walked along the waterfront afterwards. It's so much easier to take a ridiculous picture with a buddy to both hold the camera and laugh. This is a statue of Leif Erikson, surrounded by names of some of the many Scandinavian immigrants here in WA and one half-Indian/half-Germ-Italian crazy. It was like a mini Ellis Island!

Do we look alike?

It was one of the pearls of sunny days in the rare May string of them, so of course, you gotta take some pictures.

Sklyer's hubby sews canvas for boats, so she pointed out which of the docked boats sported his handiwork. Maritime industry is naturally prevalent here. I find it fascinating, but certainly don't have an eye for what's quality yet. Get me on a sail boat, or a skiff, or a kayak, or a paddle board, and I'd think it's the coolest thing ever!

She was also kind enough to point out which restaurants have good food, views, and happy hours along the waterfront. Apparently if you come to visit I'm taking you to Ray's Boat House for happy hour because of the great food and huge water front dining patio.

Next on our park tour was Gas Works park, so we bussed it over there from Ballard. Not of course before snagging some overpriced gourmet popcorn samples. If only I hadn't scruples about taking advantage of shopkeepers. I think I could score some pretty tasty treats walking through Ballard.

Gas Works park is a former gasification plant turned into an industrial themed park with a view of Lake Union. We rested here, reapplying our sunscreen (shocker!), and playing my portable Farkle game that the Honeycutts gifted me. I won best 2 of 3, Skyler won for number of ways to incorrectly pronounce "Farkle" including "Frackel" which has now become synonymous with "oops!" or "dang it!"

   

Fortunately for me Skyler wanted to use up a Groupon for an Ethiopian restaurant and had the evening free, so we continued our escapades. Before taking the bus to Capitol Hill we stopped off in the Freemont Vintage Mall. It was full of shelves with fun, quirky items. Some of them I clearly remember from my childhood and promptly felt a combination of old and cool, ie VHS of Harry and the Hendersons and fan fare with Urkel on it. I'd take you there, as long as allergies aren't a problem. Poor Skyler's eye was red and itchy the rest of the night. Farkle those vintage particulates!

Glass domes and birds made me miss Brooke and Linda

Dinner was found at Queen of Sheba and you could smell the Ethiopian authenticity down the block. We shared some of their vegetarian fare and plenty of injera, a spongy sourdough-type bread, with our hands only! I love it when you leave a restaurant smelling of spices from a different country, oh and get to eat with your hands ;) Don't worry dad, I followed etiquette and only used my right.

 Are you tired yet? I was exhausted! On the way home I could feel the injera slowly expanding in my tummy, allowing that full and satisfied feeling to last a good long time.

I can't help but feel both grateful and daunted by this excellent day. Grateful that I could share it with a new friend and was able to enjoy so many sights and tastes, (really cheaply too). Like I've mentioned before, adventuring with another person makes the experience so much more fun for me. Plus, Skyler is a gem. She's down to earth, has overcome a lot, but maintains a cheerful and slightly goofy personality. It's daunting however to realize there's so much more to learn about her and any other person I meet. Making new friends is sheer delight, but it takes awhile. I've been blessed by knowing many of my friends most of my life and almost all of them for several years. Because of that I haven't given too much thought to the idea of actively making friends in the past, but now it's a top priority. This turning of the tables has made me ever so much more grateful to God for the wonderful and true friends that He's given me! Miss you guys!