Birthday Re-cap, Seattle Sunshine, Darius Rucker, Etc.

My sweet hubby officially became an old man yesterday!  Just kidding!  He's not old.  And besides, age is just a number.....right?!!  Despite the fact that he had a really long work day yesterday, beginning while it was still dark outside and not finishing until it was pretty much dark again, he says he had a great birthday!  He's so funny, I just love him.  Bless his heart, he didn't even get a lunch break yesterday.  Originally the plans were for me to pick him up for lunch and we would dine together.  I had thought of taking him to his favorite.....Mexican.....and this time I hoped I could find a place where my sweetie could get some cheese dip.  Such an easy guy to please.....he really is.  Anyway, his work calls for flexibility and I am 100% supportive of that.  So we altered plans and instead he got some downtown Seattle seafood restaurant recommendations.  He decided on Elliott's Oyster House for birthday dinner.  On the water and serving great seafood, we enjoyed a birthday date night together.

 

 
If you haven't been to Seattle before, let me be the first to tell that it's a big darn city! When we drove by a few days ago we had no idea just how extreme the elevation was!  That is until we were wheeling the Charger around last night downtown.  The steepness of the hills as well as the mountains surrounding gave me a feel of a San Francisco & Denver mix.  Huge city for sure!  Still much more to explore!

Yesterday was a perfect day for Josh's birthday  because it was beautiful and sunny!  Seriously, it was not rainy whatsoever......our only non-rain day so far!  We welcomed the Seattle sunshine and enjoyed a little vitamin D!  :)

This picture shows the Dreamlifter opened up to either load or unload cargo.  There are only a few of them and they transport parts for the 787 plane.  We see the Dreamlifters frequently in Charleston as well, but this was my first time to see one open.  Josh has been inside one before, but this is as close as I can get!

This was yesterday morning at 7AM -- notice it is still pitch black!  At this point I had already taken Josh to work and had been back for a little while when it hit me how dark it was!

 Despite the dark morning, yesterday was so beautiful!

 I had the opportunity to see (and hear!) many planes taking off and landing!

 We can see these snow-capped mountains from our room's window!

 This is random, but I thought it was quite funny!  I was in TJMaxx a couple of days ago and this was a display hanging in the men's section.  Hmmmm......not sure why that was there, but glad to see some Wildcat representation in the Pacific Northwest! :)

And even more random......last Friday in Charleston I was out running errands.  I was picking some things up at a store in the mall and I saw a man and his young son walking and singing to whatever song was playing in the store.  Seriously, they were only five feet from me.  From the moment I first looked at this man, I knew without a doubt that it was Darius Rucker.

 Photo

Every ounce of my being wanted to run up to him and tell him how much I like his music, get his autograph, enjoy some Charleston and country music chit-chat, and snap a pic of us together with my camera phone before we parted ways.  But I showed some major self-control.  You see, Charleston is his hometown.....I already knew that.  Which means if he's in Charleston, he's probably enjoying some time off......time off with family and away from the "celebrity stuff."  So even though I pretty much knew I may never have an opportunity to see him so up close and personal again, I just couldn't bring myself to become "that girl."  A crazy star-struck fan.  After all, celebrities are people too.....we all put our pants on the same way, right?!

So without saying a word or causing a scene, I watched Darius and his cute little boy walk together out of the store.  And I showed restraint until the very last couple of seconds before they pulled away.  That's when I did pull out my camera phone to get this low-quality, totally paparazzi style shot.  That's right.  This picture-taking guru turned down a chance at a real celebrity photo for the sake of this musician and the time he was enjoying with his son.  It was sweet watching them hang out together.

Although next time, I'll probably not be so self-controlled.  I'm at least asking for a real picture next time.  Next time.  I keep telling myself there will be a next time.  We're practically neighbors after all! :)