Bratefest 2019 - Seattle!
I think this is Bratefest #5 - when as many Brate’s as possible get together to watch our nephew, son or cousin Cam play football. It started when he was at Harvard and has continued on now that he is in the NFL playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We get together for other reasons too - like weddings, funerals and just general shenanigans, since we enjoy being together but live from one end of the US to literally the other. I myself love going to Tampa for a game. Preferably in winter! But this year when the schedule came out and and the Bucs were heading to Seattle my brother David who lives there suggested we all come out there for the game. While I love the Pacific Northwest and think it’s so beautiful I also know that November could be cold and rainy, but being the good sport that I am I said why not! Well lucky for us the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Sunny and in the 50’s the entire time - perfect fall football weather.
I arrived a few days before the main group so had some extra time to enjoy with my brother and his wife. Dave actually lives in Bremerton which is across Puget Sound from Seattle, and home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and a US Naval Base. It’s kind of the best of all worlds - a pretty smallish town on the water but an easy and beautiful ferry ride to Seattle. You can get there by car but it takes a lot longer, so for me the ferry is the way to go!
Ferry ride on a beautiful day with my brother Dave! Hello Emerald City!
We took the ferry over to see the Seattle Aquarium which is very close to where the ferries dock.
Definitely worth a visit. We ran out of time before we got to see everything but what we saw was great. Including a couple of huge octopus and some adorable sea otters.
Lots of anemones and sea urchins to touch. Dave made me do it!😱
One thing you need to eat in Seattle is chowder! Lots of great places to have it - Ivar’s is everywhere but we opted for somewhere a little more upscale - Anthony’s!
Anthony’s clam chowder was great - but the sour dough bread is what really makes it special.
The family all arrived and we met up at the famous Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. A great spot to meet up is at the brass pig right in front of the fish market. You can’t miss it!
Cousins! Jack, Angela and Keeley. Oh and my big brother Phil!
Lots of fish at the market but many other great things - flowers, produce, handicrafts, bakery items etc. So fun to browse.
The original Starbucks is right across from the market. The line is always huge and on this day was at least a block long. There’s another Starbucks a block away so if you’re just wanting coffee don’t wait in line at that one . But it does have merchandise with the original logo on it so if that’s your thing go for it!
Cam joined us along with a few friends of his so we started looking for a place for lunch. Where can we go with 15 people? The stars aligned and we found a great place called Serious Pie that is pretty famous in Seattle because the owner Tom Douglas has quite a following. They were so nice in accommodating our big group and set us up right in the kitchen! We ordered a selection of salads, pizza’s and desserts and just passed them around. The food was great but this group didn’t wait for me to take pictures!
A fun group!
After we ate we walked around some more and didn’t want to miss the famous gum wall. Well at this point it’s turned into a gum alley! I just happened to have a pack of gum with me so got everyone to chew a stick and make a deposit.
Officially called Post Alley. Look for our Br8! Touching NOT encouraged!
Game Day! Time to head to Century Link Stadium to watch the Sea Hawks play the Buccaneers. Another gorgeous day! The stadium is really cool. It’s right next to where the Mariners play, and at one end of the stadium you can see Puget Sound. It was a great game. The Sea Hawks won in overtime, but the Bucs played really well.
Standing room only at every game.
Post game family area for visiting players is basically in the basement. Much better area when you’re the home team but you take what you can get when you’re the visitor.
On our last day all together we went for a little hike at Illahee State Park. Beautiful fall colors and a pretty view of Puget Sound.
It was like another trip to the Aquarium. We saw at least 50 jelly fish swimming in the water and tons of snails, anemones and crabs around the pilings.
Family dinner at Horse and Cow in Bremerton. Lots of navy memorabilia that they have been collecting for 65 years. Don’t ring the bell!
A perfect fall day in Seattle!
Fantastic sunsets every single night over the mountains.
Until next time Seattle!
Bratefest 2019 is a wrap! Thanks for coming along😊