Dives n' Dessert

Jason has this thing for dive bars. It's not that we actually go to them frequently, but he mentions them enough that you might think that is our niche. Generally speaking, I don't like places that leave you feeling greasy and grimey. Yuck!  Regardless, I knew that Jason would fit a dive bar into our 52-week challenge at some point(s), and last Friday evening was the first.

We were already in Seattle for the Moisture Festival (Varietè/Comedy) at Hale's Palladium, so Jason took me out after that.  First, we headed down to Belltown to this incredibly classy pinball themed dive bar called Shorty's.  It has been quite awhile since either of us had played a pinball machine, and it took me a few minutes to get in the groove.  We ended up on an Indiana Jones machine for a few minutes, and had some moderately terrible games.  Okay, so we aren't very good at pinball, but it was fun anyways!

Our dollar bills started to run low so we didn't spend too much time at Shorty's.  We got back in our car and headed over to Ballard.  Jason and I are suckers for dessert.  So when he discovered Hot Cakes, he knew we had to go there.

It was delicious.  We ended up sharing two dishes - a hot cake (basically molten lave cake) with peanut butter goodness inside, and a warm chocolate chip cookie.  Both with vanilla ice cream.  While we were enjoying our scrumptious desserts, we discussed a few things relating to Church and theology.  It was fun so share our thoughts and ideas.  I find that conversations that end up having more 'meat' leave me feeling more intimate and fulfilled in our relationship.  Sometimes it is a challenge to have these authentic and organic conversations (especially when you think you already know these things about your spouse), but they are always worth it!

Approximate Cost:

Shorty's (drink and pinball) - $25

Hot Cakes - $15

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