I should’ve watched Sleepless in Seattle again before visiting – it’s been too long! But I certainly wasn’t there to find Tom Hanks, so I guess I didn’t miss out on much by not seeing it again. I did remember the general Seattle highlights, and many friends reiterated them, so I was set. It was a case of limited time, more than anything else…
I met Matt for lunch, since he works right near Pike’s Place (known for throwing fish, which I was happy to witness – even saw an acapella group sing to the fish guys). We ate at a great little place overlooking the water, then walked a bit through the cool market where they sell everything, before he went back to work and sent me up to the top of the Space Needle to get some photos from above. In summary: Seattle’s nice, but I didn’t love it. I took the monorail back to my car from the Space Needle, got my Starbuck’s hot caramel apple cider (in my new favorite travel mug – a pretty one by Aladdin, a gift from Matt – he also gave me a cool tea infuser one so I can buy tea for the trip too!) and got back on the road…
I pretty much drove straight the four hours to Hermiston, Oregon to Jason and Amy’s house. It was a great night! Seeing family is always nice – and Jason is basically family, since I’ve known him practically forever, he’s the brother of my best friend and Godfather of my Goddaughters. And it was wonderful to finally meet Amy, his wife – they were married while I was in London. (Happy First Anniversary guys – meant to say that while I was there!) They took me to this fabulous old west saloon – an ‘epic steakhouse’ – in Pendleton, Oregon called Hamley’s. It has the best ambiance and good food too! (Always a bonus for a restaurant.) Loved all the relics on display and had to laugh at the ‘mature’ bathroom!
And it was a first: Jason had actually written notes to make sure he told me the best places to go and things to see! He had some great suggestions – I hoped I’d be able to fit many of them in. After dinner Jason and Amy gave me a mini-tour of the area, including Jason’s Vet office and the apartment complex they lived in when they met (awwwww). I took pictures for Tina, but left those out of this slideshow. To top the night off, I was thrilled to sleep in their guest room which is actually painted like the American Flag. I felt right at home…
Amy's America 
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