Some people just look at us like we're crazy. Actually, that may be, but sometimes it's hard to explain the benefits of taking a three-day/two-night vacation away from home . . . even if it is only a few miles and a few minutes away. It takes us almost as much time to prepare for a short vacation as it does a long one, but the travel time is usually a whole lot shorter, the costs a whole lot less, and the benefits are sometimes overwhelming. For Valentine Weekend 2014, we bought tickets for a musical performance on Friday evening in Auburn and another one for Sunday afternoon in Northeast Tacoma/Federal Way. Puyallup is a fun place and we love the Fairfield Inn, conveniently located just south of the Western Washington fairgrounds at the bottom of South Hill and less than a block off of Meridian. We've been there with grandchildren (who love the pool, the always ready cookies in the lobby, and doing art in the lobby eating area) and we've been there alone. For Valentine's Day we chose to be alone . . . together.
If we had stayed home we would have been rushing everywhere as well as working and doing everything except relaxing and enjoying ourselves. For this weekend trip we made every minute count . . . up to a point. Peg always has artwork to create and books to read, while I had a book to read for my book group. The Boys in the Boat, which will be released as a movie later this year, is a great story. Peg slept in and read, I was up early and reading as well. Naps usually find their way into our vacation schedule. As we drove to Puyallup, Peg began reading The Boys outloud, which relaxes the both of us. The book concerns the University of Washington 8-man crew that won a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but really the story is about my parents, and Peg's parents, and anyone else who struggled through the Great Depression. Those years nearly destroyed our nation AND the impact on our society and the world is still being felt. The book is about hard work and achievement.
Although the book is very serious, I can't be serious all the time, so our Valentine celebration began in Auburn at the Spunky Monkey. I think the Funky Monkey would be more like it. The restaurant is up a flight of stairs with no indication of what's underneath. The SM became mildly famous a few months ago. Robert Irvine brought his TV crew to the Pacific Northwest in order to save this failing restaurant. The program usually follows the same general agenda. (Cable TV viewers have a chance to write in a request help for their on-the-ropes restaurants.) Robert arrives with $10,000 along with a a decorator and a remodeling crew. He rekindles passion, teaches restaurant owners a few culinary tips and then re-opens two days later to rave reviews. Peg noted that the large graphics in the dining room were chimps - apes - not monkeys. This annoyed her.
We arrived and were given menus with a two possibilities, a sweetheart dinner for two . . . or a prime rib dinner. Someone's mother or grandmother came by each table and dropped off a little plastic cup with those little heart candies with the Valentine-appropriate sayings. Excellent blues/jazz was being played one room away from us. They have karoke each evening after the musician finishes. I think Irvine probably helped, but perhaps he should have stayed a few more days. I'm not sure what the restaurant is supposed to be. The food is okay, but overpriced. The waitress was nice, but didn't couldn't answer any questions. She was helpful, but afterwards we saw that other people were able to order off a regular menu, presumably a cheaper meny. If we had paid less we might have enjoyed the food and the restaurant more. When Peg needed to find the ladie's room, she was directed to step up on the tiny stage and enter the tiny bathroom hallway, stage left. They say timing is everything. I can just imagine applause, a flush and a grand entrance. The place is unusual and there is a place for that in any town. In Tacoma, it's Bob's Java Jive. Everyone should go there once . . .
After dinner we drove four blocks to the Auburn Avenue Theater. Here we also had a sweetheart package waiting for us. Peg and I have seen Joan Freed's roadshow, Chocolate Confessions twice before when it had a long run in Portland a dozen years ago. Here is part of the write up from Joan's website: "Chocolate Confessions is the deliciously funny one-woman musical comedy about love, life, and chocolate that answers these questions and more. The show has played to rave reviews and sold-out performances in more than 25 cities across the country. Comedienne and songstress Joan Freed takes you through a world of comic confections as she assumes the role of chocolate shop owner Coco Bliss, as well as her mixed assortment of uproarious customers. Over a dozen characters are portrayed as they confide their stories and songs. With Broadway show tunes and pop song parodies, this hilarious musical comedy leaves audiences craving for more!"
Our $80 package bought us a private table for two (looking down on the stage - a great view), beverages for each of us (a cabernet for Peg and a Mike's Hard Limeade for me), and a box of chocolates from Gosanko Chocolates in Auburn. I loved the salted dark chocolate caramel and Peg preferred the dark chocolate truffle. In addition, in the lobby there were mini cream puffs, marshmallows, vanilla wafers, pretzels, and strawberries to dunk in a milk chocolate fondue fountain. The event was part of a Kiwanis food bank fundraiser. The Auburn Avenue Theater has comedy nights an special productions throughout the year.
Although we knew most of the jokes in Choclate Confessions, I had forgotten my favorite comment, "Stressed spelled backwards is desserts." We enjoyed ourselves. The audience also appreciated Joan's performance that included acting, singing, dancing, and telling bad jokes. I love bad jokes. I mean, I really enjoy bad jokes. Chocolate Confessions was a nice Valentine's Day gift to ourselves.
We had absolutely no plans on Saturday. I knew Peg as exhausted, so I just let her sleep. I used one of the business center computer to check my emails and develop some ideas that I thought might be useful for some of my marketing clients. Then I returned to the room and read until almost noon.
I decided on barbeque for lunch. Peg and I had visited Dickey's BBQ before and enjoyed it, but the first time through you're not sure how it all works, so I returned to try it out on my own. I like the homey feel of the place as well as the large black and white photos of famous people who like Dickey's.
From the menu I chose their version of onion rings. I loved them. Dickey's has several locations around the Puget Sound region, so I would recommend you stop in a buy the onion rings the next time someone in your home is making a greenbean casserole for a church supper, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Those onion rings baked on top of almost most any casserole will deliver an excellent, crispy, crunchy taste-treat,
I sampled the ham as well with a little bbq sauce on it. You might want to add a couple slices of that to whatevery you're making, too.
Now, let's talk about the brisket. I love brisket, but that first time we ate at Dickey's it was served chopped. I don't like it chopped and unfortunately many restaurants think it should be served that way. Uh, huh. No way. I don't think so. This second time around I gave instructions: I wanted the cunchy stuff and was looking forward to tasting the fat.
I got exactly what I was hoping for. I had slices with dark, smoked, chewy, rubbed exteriors with a layer of fat just beneath. I picked up the strips with a little sauce on them and ate them like jerky. The people at Dickey's are anxious to please, so all you have to do is just tell them what you like and they will deliver it if at all possible.
When I returned to our room, Peg was still asleep. I put a wrapped-up pulled pork sandwich on the desk in case I left again and she woke up hungry. I also brought some granola, yogurt, and a banana, for her just in case. When she climbed out of bed, she gladly ate the Dickey's sandwich.
At the front desk I chose two DVDs for us to watch. North Country was a little too violent, but Argo was just right. Based on a true story, it involves extracting six American diplomatic workers from Tehran during the hostage crisis there in 1979. Posing as the associate producer of Argo, a sci-fi rip-off of Star Wars, Ben Afleck passed off the Americans as his Canadian production crew. They had been in hiding at the Canadian Embassy since the American Embassy had been stormed months before. It was a nail biter and deserved all the accolades it received last year. Excellent film.
Eventually, it was time for dinner. We had no plans, but Peg suggested It's Greek to Me, now Giorgio's, a Greek restaurant on Meridian (the main drag of downtown Puyallup), less than a mile from our hotel room. We had eaten there before when it was It's Greek to Me, which served good Mediteranian food. Giorgio's, however, upped the attention to the food and we were surprised and pleased.
I chose the Mizithra cheese spaghetti dinner. I also ordered the optional additional mushrooms and bacon. It was lovely. I also ordered the traditional oven-browned potatoes. I ate almost all of my potatoes, but only managed a half-dozen forkfulls of the spaghetti. Normally, I would have taken the balance home for a wonderful lunch the next day. Since we were engaged the next day we didn't ask for take-out boxes. It almost broke my heart.
Peg's chicken Marsala was excellent. The pile of musrooms, sauteed in Marsala wine, on top of the chicken made me jealous . . . even after eating several helpings from Peg's plate. I gave her a bite of my potatoes and I grabbed a couple of her traditional green beans (a favorite of mine). Normally, I would have had a taste of the chicken as well, but after a day of sitting around, napping, reading, and sneaking a few chocolate chip cookies from the lobby nearly everytime I walked by, I wasn't outrageously hungry.
I was going to order the moussaka another Greek favorite of mine, but that means we'll have to visit Puyallup and Giorgio's again. Darn, put we'll manage.
The service was outstanding. Angela answered questions and was constantly on the move despite being almost seven months pregnant. Good servers are worth much more than good food. Just like Dickey's, you only need to let them know what you need, or want. A good server wants you to enjoy yourself and return. At a number of restaurants we have our favorite servers. Some are fine dining, but most are not. We like locally-owned places where the owner is involved in the daily activities. It's nice to chat. Good food, good conversation, good service all equate to a great dining experience. A good server doesn't need to be an owner, but they do need to know what's going on and make you feel welcome. Angela did all that.
Giorgio's layout, like Spunky Monkey, is far from traditional. You enter from the corner of the building and walk along a little, curved canyon path between the outside wall of the building and the outside wall of the bar. The bar itself is little larger than the alcove between the bathrooms. I thought I heard a friend in the bar and walked a foot inside before I realized that another foot or two and I would have reached the end of the room. Of the three people at the bar, I saw two of them from our table. The outside curved wall of the bar is a mosaic of wine corks, colored glass and stone. Floating above the bar is a large Chihully-parody glass chandelier of empty wine bottles. Very interesting.
We returned to our hotel room. I read my book in bed, while Peg read books in the little living room next to the bedroom. I finally convinced Peg to come to bed after four in the morning. This threw us in a little bind as I patted her awake at 8:10, at 8:20, and again at 8:30. We had reservations for 9:30 at Charlie's Restaurant in downtown Puyallup. Our granddaughter and her co-worker from Bellingham were going to join us and four of our friends. Our granddaughter Bunky and her friend Sara had spent the night at our home. Our friends and I had read a breakfast review of Charlie's featuring prime rib hash and their chicken fried steak two weeks earlier. Peg and I had eated at Charlie's several times, but never at breakfast time.
The prime rib hash was a little salty, but the chicken fried steak was perfect. Everyone had a great time poking fun at each other as we chatted, ate, and laughed. Charlie's does a great job with fried foods. We also enjoyed their salad bar at lunch and dinner.
Over breakfast we made plans for the rest of the week as well as upcoming plays and entered the dates in our journals and Smartphones. I noted that Peg was already starting to wilt. She still wanted to do some shopping, but I could tell that the afternoon's musical performance at CenterStage just wasn't going to happen. Our friend Jan accepted our tickets for the event.
We missed out on nearly three hours of Cole Porter at the CenterStage Theatre. There were four singers and an orchestra. Jan must have talked a couple of other people into joining her. So, I think they only had to purchase one additional ticket so three of them could go using our original two tickets. They enjoyed the music. Jan texted me at intermission saying how much she was enjoying the performance. We love the plays at CenterStage as well as their concerts. They're always interesting.
While Peg checked us out of the hotel, I snapped a couple of photographs of the stream and wetland outside the Fairfield Inn. Even in winter I find that view beautiful.
Peg and I got home about the same time the performance was starting. After Peg unpacked she put in a load of clothes to wash and then took a nap. It took me a little longer, but a nap felt pretty good to me, too. So, in effect we got away for a relaxing weekend and then took a nap to revive ourselves before an evening of Downton Abby and The Walking Dead. Now, that's living.
Some people just look at us like we're crazy. Actually, that may be, but sometimes it's hard to explain the benefits of taking a three-day/two-night vacation away from home . . . even if it is only a few miles and a few minutes away. It takes us almost as much time to prepare for a short vacation as it does a long one, but the travel time is usually a whole lot shorter, the costs a whole lot less, and the benefits are sometimes overwhelming. For Valentine Weekend 2014, we bought tickets for a musical performance on Friday evening in Auburn and another one for Sunday afternoon in Northeast Tacoma/Federal Way. Puyallup is a fun place and we love the 
If we had stayed home we would have been rushing everywhere as well as working and doing everything except relaxing and enjoying ourselves. For this weekend trip we made every minute count . . . up to a point. Peg always has artwork to create and books to read, while I had a book to read for my book group. The Boys in the Boat, which will be released as a movie later this year, is a great story. Peg slept in and read, I was up early and reading as well. Naps usually find their way into our vacation schedule. As we drove to Puyallup, Peg began reading The Boys outloud, which relaxes the both of us. The book concerns the University of Washington 8-man crew that won a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but really the story is about my parents, and Peg's parents, and anyone else who struggled through the Great Depression. Those years nearly destroyed our nation AND the impact on our society and the world is still being felt. The book is about hard work and achievement.
Although the book is very serious, I can't be serious all the time, so our Valentine celebration began in Auburn at the 
We arrived and were given menus with a two possibilities, a sweetheart dinner for two . . . or a prime rib dinner. Someone's mother or grandmother came by each table and dropped off a little plastic cup with those little heart candies with the Valentine-appropriate sayings. Excellent blues/jazz was being played one room away from us. They have karoke each evening after the musician finishes. I think Irvine probably helped, but perhaps he should have stayed a few more days. I'm not sure what the restaurant is supposed to be. The food is okay, but overpriced. The waitress was nice, but didn't couldn't answer any questions. She was helpful, but afterwards we saw that other people were able to order off a regular menu, presumably a cheaper meny. If we had paid less we might have enjoyed the food and the restaurant more. When Peg needed to find the ladie's room, she was directed to step up on the tiny stage and enter the tiny bathroom hallway, stage left. They say timing is everything. I can just imagine applause, a flush and a grand entrance. The place is unusual and there is a place for that in any town. In Tacoma, it's Bob's Java Jive. Everyone should go there once . . .
After dinner we drove four blocks to the 
Our $80 package bought us a private table for two (looking down on the stage - a great view), beverages for each of us (a cabernet for Peg and a Mike's Hard Limeade for me), and a box of chocolates from 
We had absolutely no plans on Saturday. I knew Peg as exhausted, so I just let her sleep. I used one of the business center computer to check my emails and develop some ideas that I thought might be useful for some of my marketing clients. Then I returned to the room and read until almost noon.
From the menu I chose their version of onion rings. I loved them. Dickey's has several locations around the Puget Sound region, so I would recommend you stop in a buy the onion rings the next time someone in your home is making a greenbean casserole for a church supper, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Those onion rings baked on top of almost most any casserole will deliver an excellent, crispy, crunchy taste-treat,
Now, let's talk about the brisket. I love brisket, but that first time we ate at Dickey's it was served chopped. I don't like it chopped and unfortunately many restaurants think it should be served that way. Uh, huh. No way. I don't think so. This second time around I gave instructions: I wanted the cunchy stuff and was looking forward to tasting the fat.
When I returned to our room, Peg was still asleep. I put a wrapped-up pulled pork sandwich on the desk in case I left again and she woke up hungry. I also brought some granola, yogurt, and a banana, for her just in case. When she climbed out of bed, she gladly ate the Dickey's sandwich.
Eventually, it was time for dinner. We had no plans, but Peg suggested It's Greek to Me, now Giorgio's, a Greek restaurant on Meridian (the main drag of downtown Puyallup), less than a mile from our hotel room. We had eaten there before when it was It's Greek to Me, which served good Mediteranian food. Giorgio's, however, upped the attention to the food and we were surprised and pleased.
Peg's chicken Marsala was excellent. The pile of musrooms, sauteed in Marsala wine, on top of the chicken made me jealous . . . even after eating several helpings from Peg's plate. I gave her a bite of my potatoes and I grabbed a couple of her traditional green beans (a favorite of mine). Normally, I would have had a taste of the chicken as well, but after a day of sitting around, napping, reading, and sneaking a few chocolate chip cookies from the lobby nearly everytime I walked by, I wasn't outrageously hungry.
The service was outstanding. Angela answered questions and was constantly on the move despite being almost seven months pregnant. Good servers are worth much more than good food. Just like Dickey's, you only need to let them know what you need, or want. A good server wants you to enjoy yourself and return. At a number of restaurants we have our favorite servers. Some are fine dining, but most are not. We like locally-owned places where the owner is involved in the daily activities. It's nice to chat. Good food, good conversation, good service all equate to a great dining experience. A good server doesn't need to be an owner, but they do need to know what's going on and make you feel welcome. Angela did all that.
Giorgio's layout, like Spunky Monkey, is far from traditional. You enter from the corner of the building and walk along a little, curved canyon path between the outside wall of the building and the outside wall of the bar. The bar itself is little larger than the alcove between the bathrooms. I thought I heard a friend in the bar and walked a foot inside before I realized that another foot or two and I would have reached the end of the room. Of the three people at the bar, I saw two of them from our table. The outside curved wall of the bar is a mosaic of wine corks, colored glass and stone. Floating above the bar is a large Chihully-parody glass chandelier of empty wine bottles. Very interesting.
We returned to our hotel room. I read my book in bed, while Peg read books in the little living room next to the bedroom. I finally convinced Peg to come to bed after four in the morning. This threw us in a little bind as I patted her awake at 8:10, at 8:20, and again at 8:30. We had reservations for 9:30 at 
The prime rib hash was a little salty, but the chicken fried steak was perfect. Everyone had a great time poking fun at each other as we chatted, ate, and laughed. Charlie's does a great job with fried foods. We also enjoyed their salad bar at lunch and dinner.
We missed out on nearly three hours of Cole Porter at the