The Phantom of the Opera

Friday night we spent the evening in Seattle. We ventured on our own, sans the bus, into the city. The interstates here are just plain crazy. There are people driving like maniacs everywhere! And like it is some game, entering and exiting the interstate happens basically simultaneously!

Once we got downtown, we found our restaurant, Morton's. We decided to do valet parking, because it was only $7, and to park in the garage on your own is just as much, sometimes more. Well, I thought it would be simple, but being on the passenger side, this is not simple and is, in fact, dangerous. We had to park the car a few spaces down from the restaurant because it seemed everyone had the idea to park valet, so the valet guy did not come to meet us. I thought, maybe i can just jump out real quick and run around to the sidewalk. Just as I got up the courage, a car whipped around the car behind us and sped by my door. Dan suggested I just climb over the center console and get out on his side. I told him, "Don't be ridiculous!" Seconds later when another car whizzed by my door, I quickly began climbing across the seats in my skirt in front of everyone on the street. I am sure people were just appalled by my behavior. When the valet guy saw us he apologized and explained that the lady in front of the restaurant was taking up so much space because she was the queen and thought that she owned the street. We laughed and my stunt in the car was quickly forgotten.

Morton's is a like a fancy steakhouse. It reminded me of the Silver Slipper except that we were not in our own little room. The menu is presented with visuals, the lobster they brought to our table was still alive and moving around! I had a quick flashback to our meal at the casino on the coast! Dinner was excellent. We both had the filet and mine came with a crab cake and Dan's came with big shrimps. Dan actually is starting to enjoy shrimp! Shrimp today, fish on Dog Island tomorrow. We also tried 2 desserts, the chocolate cake and the key lime pie, both were wonderful!

After dinner, we walked 3 blocks in the rain to the Paramount Theatre. I felt like we were having the true Seattle experience walking downtown in the rain. We laughed like natives at the people carrying umbrellas! The theatre was beautiful! The outside of the building was lit up with flashing bulbs and the lobby walls and ceilings were ornately decorated. The play was wonderful! We both had never seen it, and the traveling company was awesome! The man who played Raul was an FSU grad. Go noles!

Plans to get to Alaska are well underway. We have booked our flights and our rental car, we think we know where we will be living, our contracts are signed, our drug tests are done, the storage for our car is set up, we have begun packing, and we have have added some silly winter gear to our wardrobes. Hopefully we are not forgetting anything! We still need to get Bradley an airline approved crate and a certificate of health. I am also thinking that he is going to need a sedative of some sort!

As for fashion in Anchorage, I am just not sure what to expect. How do these people wear all this crazy clothes? I am ashamed to say that I now own a pair of Uggs. Yes, they are knock-offs, but they are every bit as silly as the real ones. I also purchased some tights and oversized sweaters. Who have I become? I also got some great snow boots that are a purple plaid, I can not wait to play in the snow with them! Dan seems to think that I don't need these things because I will be spending my time indoors. He may be right, in Seattle it has been in the 40s-50s and I am serious when I say that I am freezing!