Dan and I visited Seattle over spring break. One of the main attractions, in case you didn't catch my sci-fi nerd post, was the new Battlestar Galactica exhibit at the EMP/SFM.
"Are you going to dress up like the characters when you go to the museum?" a second grade teacher asked after I had explained my spring break plans to the entire lunch crowd in the faculty room.
"No, but only because my husband's too shy. If he weren't so reserved, we probably would have had a Star Wars wedding. I would have drawn the line at walking down the aisle in double buns and a metal bikini."
We left early on a Saturday morning, even though we only planned to drive a couple of hours to Baker City, Oregon that day.
"Becky, I already locked that door," Dan called to me from the driver's seat after I had made him stop the car so that I could double check all of the locks.
"Your neuroses are cute," Dan said when I finally let him back out of the garage. "I just have to keep reminding myself of that."
And we were off.
DAY 1
Baker City, Oregon
We visited the Oregon Trail Museum I had found in our AAA tour book while we waited for the hotel check-in time.
We stayed at the Geiser Grand Hotel, a historic turn-of-the-century hotel. It is rumored to be haunted, a fact that Dan failed to mention until after checking us in. That night, the hotel was conducting a special Ghost Hunters evening from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. The "expedition" cost $50 a person which lessened the appeal for my husband (fortunately).
I told Dan that we were going to attempt an offline vacation, meaning limited cell phone use, no Facebook, no e-mails, no computer games, etc. I allowed Dan to bring a laptop so that we could watch movies or T.V. shows on Hulu and so that we could look up driving directions or make dinner reservations.
By the time I checked my phone messages that night, my dad had already texted me a few times and left a voice mail message.
Then I caught Dan on Facebook.
"I'm not communicating with anyone," he said, "just looking."
"You never communicate with anyone. How's this any different?"
That was the extent of our offline vacation attempt.
Day 2
Leavenworth, Washington
That morning, we ate at a local diner in Baker City where the customers, servers, and cooks all seemed to know each other. One proud grandfather carried a bright-eyed, smiling baby, sprawled out tummy first, from table to table.
"Say 'hi,'" the grandfather instructed the baby as he approached each table.
Eventually, the older gentleman and baby made their way over to our table and paused for a moment, trying to decide what to do; we were obviously the only non-locals in the restaurant.
"Say 'hi' to them too!"
After a brief stop and cider tasting in Cashmere, we arrived in Leavenworth, a Washington ski town created in the image of a Bavarian Village.
"It's hard for the locals to go to the Leavenworth," the cider mill clerk in Cashmere had said. "But you've got to go there if you're a tourist."
We stayed at the Icicle Village Inn and Resort that night and ate at Andreas Keller, a Bavarian-inspired restaurant with live accordion music.
"Why am I always so hungry, especially after just sitting in the car for hours?" I asked my husband as I wolfed down a platter of Käsespätzle.
"You just talk so much that you burn off a ton of energy," was his reply.
Day 3
Seattle, Washington
The next morning, we spent some time in Leavenworth strolling through the shops, but pretty soon, we got Seattle-antsy and hit the road for the Emerald City.
As we approached the city, we realized we hadn't quite timed our drive around rush-hour traffic. Dan glanced longingly at the carpool lane.
"We need to pick up a hitchhiker," he suggested.
I didn't look up from my book but simply shook my head and mouthed "no."
That evening, after dining at Place Pigalle, we spent some time browsing in the Westlake Center across from our hotel. Dan stopped abruptly in front of one of the store displays.
"I should wear that," he pointed to a blue t-shirt that read, "Relax, I'm hilarious."
Day 4
Seattle, Washington
After breakfast at Lowell's Cafe (our favorite Seattle breakfast spot), Dan and I toured the historic underground at Pioneer Square. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Capitol Hill District and at Volunteer Park. Dan convinced me to climb an uber-number of steps to the top of an old water tower, and I, in turn, convinced him to spend the rest of our time in a greenhouse at the edge of the park. I love plants and flowers and vegetable gardens, and Dan - well - Dan loves me.
We saw Billy Elliot at the Paramount that night.
"Are you going to the theater tonight?" our server at Il Fornaio asked, apparently reading our minds.
When we said yes, he did a little tap dance in front of the table - "But that's all you get from me," he said and walked away.
Day 5
Seattle, Washington
I woke up the next morning, melancholy because I knew we would have to leave the next day.
"We haven't even done what we came here to do," Dan said.
I stood outside the bathroom door still dressed in my pajamas, toothbrush hanging out of my mouth.
"Battlestar Galactica!" I exclaimed in a throaty stage whisper.
"So get ready, and we can actually go."
We made it to the Seattle Center without much mishap. Dan did try to turn the wrong way down a one-way street. ("I would have figured it out eventually." "Yeah, with all the cars racing toward you.")
At the BSG exhibit, I overheard one of the employees (who must have also been a fan) trying to explain the differences between humans and Cylons to a couple of middle-aged women who had never seen the show.
"And the actor who played Gaius Baltar is on a new Syfy channel show called Eureka. And he made a comment in one of the episodes about seeing a woman in a slinky red dress. That was so funny. It was, of course, a reference to Battlestar Galactica . . ."
"That's nice," said the women politely.
The pathetic thing was that Dan and I knew the exact Eureka episode and BSG inside joke to which the nerdy, sci-fi fan/employee was referring.
After adequate time admiring the displays of costumes (yes, the slinky red dress was there), Vipers, Centurions, and Raiders, we spent the rest of the day hanging out in bookstores and record shops until dinner at Chandlers Crab House on Lake Union.
Day 6
The Road Home
On our way out of Seattle, I played the ________ or ________ game, neglecting my duties of navigating Dan's way out of town.
"Seattle or New York?" "Silver Platters or Easy Street Records?" "Billy Elliot or American Idiot?" "Capitol Hill or Greenwich Village?"
"Wait! You need to take I-90 East!" I yelled, interrupting the fun travel activity I had just created.
"I thought we stayed on I-5 longer," Dan said as he swerved across the forked interstate road.
"Your butt's I-5."
Dan sighed, "I have such an intelligent wife."
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