In the Northwest
So, it seems Hyatt has somehow targeted me for promotions. I received an offer to stay in Seattle, a two night stay for the price of one, in one of their two new properties. It was a great offer and I scheduled a vacation to snowboard and visit family. After landing into Sea-Tac Airport on United Airlines. I found one thing interesting at Sea-Tac,thus airport is very family oriented. Usually, in women's restrooms you'll find vending dispensers for feminine products or over the counter medicine. In this airport, you won't find either but you will find diapers! :) I was able to priceline a rental car from National and picked out a Hyundai Santa Fe. National allows you to pick a car in a category rather than assigning you one and I can see why people like it. A very smooth ride, I'm impressed with the improvements Hyundai has in its car line up. Not too gas guzzly for a SUV (achieved an average of 22 mph over 700 miles), I found the car very comfortable with enough add-ons like USB ports and integrated bluetooth in the steering wheel to make the long drive pleasant.
Since there were two Hyatts, I opted for the Hyatt at Olive 8. A boutique european-style hotel, it has a modern and swanky feel. After walking around Pike Market snacking on doughnuts and chowder, grabbed dinner at Serious Pie. Started off with a mushroom pizza and side of ham hock appetizer then finishing the meal with cannolis. A little out of sync but it worked.
The next day, took off for Crystal Mountain for some snowboarding action. The snow conditions were good but I think that Utah is a better option/location outside of California resorts. I rented some demo boards from the shop. Tried out the Rossignol Diva MagTek which has magne-traction. It helped cut through icier conditions on the mountain. In the afternoon, I switched to the Bataleon Distortia which has a triple board base. I really enjoyed the feel of the board since it had a natural rocking feel when carving down the mountain. That night, grabbed dinner with a cousin at Salty's on Alkie Beach. I greatly enjoyed my steelhead entree and grand marnier cheesecake.
The next day drove down to Portland to visit more cousins. I also ordered a new snowboard taking advantage of the no sales tax in the state. Checked into Hampton Inn Clackamas. Off the beaten path and a homey environment, I appreciated the welcome cookies and happy smile from the front desk. After checking in, went to Yuki Sushi and Sake Bar for dinner. Enjoyed an array of sushi rolls despite the slow service. Afterwards, walked to Mio Gelato at 1517 Northeast Brazee Street, Portland, OR 97212 for some after dinner dessert.
Went to Mt. Hood with my cousins the next day. Found out that a lot of resorts have night skiing in the area and stayed until 6 pm. I wasn't interested but it would have been best to have arrived in the afternoon and left at closing time of 7:30 pm. The snow condition improved in the early evening combined with the snow showers. The cooler temperatures improved the snow quality quite a bit. As I was trying out new gear, the snow conditions were good enough for my purposes. Afterwards, grabbed dinner at Jin Wah at 8001 SE Powell Blvd,Ste D, Portland, OR 97206. Typical Chinese restaurant, it hit the spot after the long cold day of snowboarding. Checked into the Hampton Inn Portland East to prepare for travels home the next day. A little dated and located near Portland airport, I was happy to get a room with a study. The extra space gave me room to re-pack all the snowboard gear before heading back home the next day.
There was some time before the flight to go back to downtown Seattle after dropping off the rental at the airport. Opted to head back to downtown taking the light rail, SoundTransit, and headed back to Pike Market for some last minute food shopping. Easy and convenient for a $5 daily pass, loaded up on some last fresh produce, mainly Jazz apples and naval oranges. I don't know what it is about Washington apples from Seattle but it is the only place where I've been able to eat fresh apples. Maybe they don't put the food wax on them or something, I don't get that scratchy feeling in my throat when I eat the tree fruits from around here. Since it was a Monday, I locked on a deal from Yelp and had chowder from Pike Place Chowder. If you are going to use the promotion from Yelp, place separate orders if you're in a group. The $1 off is per order rather than per item.
Since there were two Hyatts, I opted for the Hyatt at Olive 8. A boutique european-style hotel, it has a modern and swanky feel. After walking around Pike Market snacking on doughnuts and chowder, grabbed dinner at Serious Pie. Started off with a mushroom pizza and side of ham hock appetizer then finishing the meal with cannolis. A little out of sync but it worked.
The next day, took off for Crystal Mountain for some snowboarding action. The snow conditions were good but I think that Utah is a better option/location outside of California resorts. I rented some demo boards from the shop. Tried out the Rossignol Diva MagTek which has magne-traction. It helped cut through icier conditions on the mountain. In the afternoon, I switched to the Bataleon Distortia which has a triple board base. I really enjoyed the feel of the board since it had a natural rocking feel when carving down the mountain. That night, grabbed dinner with a cousin at Salty's on Alkie Beach. I greatly enjoyed my steelhead entree and grand marnier cheesecake.
The next day drove down to Portland to visit more cousins. I also ordered a new snowboard taking advantage of the no sales tax in the state. Checked into Hampton Inn Clackamas. Off the beaten path and a homey environment, I appreciated the welcome cookies and happy smile from the front desk. After checking in, went to Yuki Sushi and Sake Bar for dinner. Enjoyed an array of sushi rolls despite the slow service. Afterwards, walked to Mio Gelato at 1517 Northeast Brazee Street, Portland, OR 97212 for some after dinner dessert.
Went to Mt. Hood with my cousins the next day. Found out that a lot of resorts have night skiing in the area and stayed until 6 pm. I wasn't interested but it would have been best to have arrived in the afternoon and left at closing time of 7:30 pm. The snow condition improved in the early evening combined with the snow showers. The cooler temperatures improved the snow quality quite a bit. As I was trying out new gear, the snow conditions were good enough for my purposes. Afterwards, grabbed dinner at Jin Wah at 8001 SE Powell Blvd,Ste D, Portland, OR 97206. Typical Chinese restaurant, it hit the spot after the long cold day of snowboarding. Checked into the Hampton Inn Portland East to prepare for travels home the next day. A little dated and located near Portland airport, I was happy to get a room with a study. The extra space gave me room to re-pack all the snowboard gear before heading back home the next day.
There was some time before the flight to go back to downtown Seattle after dropping off the rental at the airport. Opted to head back to downtown taking the light rail, SoundTransit, and headed back to Pike Market for some last minute food shopping. Easy and convenient for a $5 daily pass, loaded up on some last fresh produce, mainly Jazz apples and naval oranges. I don't know what it is about Washington apples from Seattle but it is the only place where I've been able to eat fresh apples. Maybe they don't put the food wax on them or something, I don't get that scratchy feeling in my throat when I eat the tree fruits from around here. Since it was a Monday, I locked on a deal from Yelp and had chowder from Pike Place Chowder. If you are going to use the promotion from Yelp, place separate orders if you're in a group. The $1 off is per order rather than per item.
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