Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory

This last Saturday we saw Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory.  Just kidding, but we did go to a chocolate factory for the full tour! We were in Seattle for a good friends big 4-0 birthday so Kim decided to make a whole day out of it.  Our first stop, Theo's Chocolate in the Fremont area of Seattle.  We parked nearby on the street at a 2 hour only parking space (This information is important for later in the story).  Theo's was really neat, they lead us through a 1 hour tour of the factory with lots of tasting!  One thing that really surprised me was to learn that the cocoa beans are surrounded with a fruit.  This fruit, similar to mango or guava, was all that was eaten, discarding the bean for many decades.  At some point they learned that they could ferment the bean with the fruit still on it making the bean easier to access and it made the flavors better.  Theo's is a bean to bar chocolate factory which means they source their own cocoa beans and take it all the way to the finished product. Overall, we had a really fun time.
What a great date. Tours and events in groups would be perfect for first dates! No matter how long you have been together I hope you realize how important it is to date, and be intentional.  After our tour we wandered around the Fremont area, and saw the troll.  We got a pint of beer at Fremont brewery and got an awesome burrito at a local cafe.  When we got back to our car, we noticed that the kind folks at the City of Seattle decided that I had been parked longer than 2 hours and to give me a $44 ticket.  $44, are you kidding me!? We sped out of there and headed to a near-by park.  Volunteer Park has a water tower that has a great view of downtown and the Space Needle. At the top of the tower we sat down and read through the first chapter of Romans.  This was a great day of fun and relaxation.

Cost: $20 2 tickets to Theo's
         $12 2 Pints at Fremont Brewery
         $6  Shared burrito at Solstice Cafe
         $44 Parking ticket