Zoo then Mall

Wake up! It's time to go to the zoo!

Stick bugs are great: they combine the fun of both sticks and bugs.

There's a good indoor kid's area that's just about worth the price of the membership alone.

Who's the animal now?

Bellevue Square Mall often has these photo booth things set up that are delightfully bad at doing their job. I never pass up the opportunity.

The giant video wall thing that responds to movement, on the other hand, is peak.

There was a long line outside my ramen spot Kizuki for some reason today. Oh well.

All the Seattle Drinks

We had some serious beverage adventures today but first Zoe needed to enter the matrix on our Meta Quest 2.

We're pretty big Bobae fans, which is saying something because we are drowning in boba joints.

Boba is best enjoyed whilst watching the sun set over Lake Washington.

We did some mini golf at the Kirkland Flatstick.

There's a sort of temporary popup sort of Kizuki location near us that we checked out. I wish I could eat their ramen everyday.

Some sake happened. Lydia didn't really drink that much to begin with so it's not that crazy that she wasn't partaking, but I was definitely nervous that Zoe might notice that something was up due to the Troll.

I count myself as a life long Star Wars nerd so I was excited when Disney announced this Galactic Starcruiser hotel/experience thing. It's crazy expensive so I think I'll just keep an eye on it a while to see if the price calms down. I've been joking with Hank that we should both just ditch our families and go together.

Inside Passage is a fun bar experience inside of another bar called Rumba. I've actually tried to go here previously as a walk in but it's quite difficult.

"The Story of Inside Passage

To travel from Seattle to Alaska by sea, captains choose the sailing route between the outer islands and the mainland as a swift path to avoid storms and choppy seas. Sailors refer to this coastal route as the Inside Passage.

But storms and choppy seas are not what a seafarer needs to fear when traveling this route. For what spawns nightmares in the minds of a ship's crew, lis far below the surface of this famous Pacific Northwest waterway.

Stories long recounted in the holds of creaking ships, describe a monstrous collector that dwells in the Passage's depths. Is it the kraken, well known in sailor lore? Or perhaps a beast from a lost age when water covered the earth?

To the locals she is known as Kiki, a creature that embodies the power of myth itself, and grows with every tale that is told. She lies in the watery depths of the Inside Passage and loves to collect things... crates, barrels of rum or even an unlucky sailor.

Items of delight are always floating above for her to collect; and with her long tentacles she needs only to reach up and take whatever she desires. These treasures are gathered to construct and decorate her den beneath the sea.

Welcome to Kiki's home, the very heart of the Inside Passage."

So true to the underwater collector monster theme, many of the fun cocktails are in random containers.

Kiki's tentacles dominate the ceiling of the small bar.

"'62 panorama punch … 21

‘62 PANORAMA PUNCH 20 Copperworks Gin, aged rhum agricole, Creole Shrubb, mandarin, almond milk, cranberry, lime, bay leaf. Presented in an actual 1962 Seattle World’s Fair glass, with mandarin and almond milk sorbet.

The Bubbleator is in the repair shop, so let this fruit and spice creation transport you to the World of Tomorrow."

"IP UNLEADED ........................ 16

Pathfinder Herb & Root, Wilderton Earthen, coconut cream, black currant, ginger, lime, soda"

"THE AMAZOMBIE 2.0 … 22

Novo Fogo Silver, Chameleon and Tanager Cachaca, acai, passion fruit, allspice, lime, absinthe.

Free same day shipping for Inside Passage guests."

"THE four boys … 22

Jamaican and Bajan rums, mango, rice milk, Ube, lime, ginger.

Named for the four Filipino bartenders that created all of Don the Beachcomber’s original “Rhum Rhapsodies”. Let off some steam and enjoy!"

Crowded Booboo Mall

I like malls. There's always a lot of people to watch and culture to experience. I wish they were open 24 hours... maybe we should blend them all with casinos like they do in Vegas. Anyway the malls around here are solid, and generally not dying like they are back where I come from.

One of my favorite malls around happens to be the closest: Bellevue Square. These guys are riding so high that they throw daily outdoor Christmas parades. We stopped by just for giggles but the place was overflowing with parade watchers.

One of Lydia's students was trying to convince her that in Chinese they call it "Booboo Mall" before another Chinese kid told her that wasn't true. Well I can tell you one person who now regularly calls it that: me.

One of my favorite parts of living in the Seattle area is how delicious and widespread Asian food is here. We had some delicious ramen and sake at Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya. A decent ramen shop wouldn't last a week in a St. Louis mall.