Emily and I spent a relaxing weekend in Seattle. I felt guilty not contacting any of my Seattle friends, but this was a chance for the two of us to reconnect – something I value more the farther into parenting we get. We ate at some excellent restaurants, biked around town, played tourist along the waterfront, and even bought some art.

I love taking the Amtrak train. It’s always a super-relaxing way to visit Seattle, even if it is often late due to circumstances outside of their control – like 100-year-old rail bridges that are showing their age.

The waterfront has changed a lot since I last visited Seattle. Goodbye Alaskan Way Viaduct; and hello wider pedestrian sidewalks and bike lanes. A good chunk is still under construction, but it is already a delightful area to walk around.

Since we were being touristy, we took a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel.

We wandered around artisan shops, explored Pike Place, and even bought this adorable piece of raccoon art from Lisa Kurt.

We watched a local community theatre show – Unstoppable: A Queer Dancical, which was entertaining.

We ate at some of the best vegan restaurants that Seattle has to offer. The highlight was Harvest Beat, a fancy 5-course fixed-price restaurant with exquisite food. We actually ate at the previous incarnation of the restaurant 10 years ago when it was called Sutra.

We used the bikes our hotel offered to explore the neighbourhood a bit. Seattle has a few decent separated bike lanes.

We were surprised to find chickens just wandering around. Are front-yard chickens normally a thing in Seattle?

This was the first time we spent more than one night away from our daughter. It’s never easy leaving her behind. She was a little upset and jealous that we were having fun without her, especially about the pineapple-themed hotel (although less jealous when she learned there was no pool). It helped that she got to spend a special weekend with my dad. And he really relished the chance of 1:1 time with his granddaughter. They played games and went for ice cream – quality grandparent time.

I returned from our weekend feeling more relaxed and recharged than I have in a long time. As a parent, weekends are often more tiring than work weeks, so it was nice to have a few days away without any obligations.