Once we had amused ourselves with all of the bee products and information, we jumped in our truck and made our way back to the United States and over to Des Moines, W.A. Des Moines was a fun week because it afforded us several opportunities to check out Seattle and see some urban civilization since leaving Vancouver.
Probably the most exciting part about Des Moines was its close proximity to the buzzing city of Seattle, Washington. After our daily rehearsals with the fun cast of local kids (some of whom have participated in over 12 MCT shows!), Alyssa and I were able to drive into Seattle and enjoy some yummy cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, peruse the name-brand-shop-laden streets, and even catch an improv show at the Market Theatre (housed in the famous Gum Wall Alley – aptly named for the millions of wads of used gum stuck to the surrounding brick walls).
White Chocolate Tuxedo Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory!
The Market Theatre in Gum Wall Alley (yes, all of those speckles are chewed pieces of gum!)
Des Moines was also an especially nice residency since it reminded me so much of how theatre was dealt with in my high school. After our Friday evening performance, the cast of kids couldn’t remind Alyssa and I enough how tradition dictated that the entire cast head over to the local Red Robin for after-theatre munchies and show T-shirt signings. The camaraderie and excitement emanating from our section of the restaurant reminded me of high school shows at Cranbrook when everyone would migrate to Big Boy after Friday performances and spend a few hours drinking malts, sharing laughs, and driving any ‘civilians’ in the restaurant crazy by singing songs from the show and refusing to be anything but buoyantly happy and excited. We truly had a great time experiencing this annual ritual with the kids at Red Robin!
Red Robin was a nice break from my typical Road Warrior dinner of peanut butter and reduced fat wheat thins!
After our final, successful matinee show on Saturday, Alyssa and I packed up our set per usual (+ some new T-shirts we had delivered to replenish our dwindled supply), and decided to spend our free evening out and about. We ended up seeing a production of Sideshow at a local community theatre called ArtsWest. While reading the program, I noticed that the director, Christopher Zinovitch, had actually toured with Missoula Children’s Theatre! Alyssa and I were very excited and made sure that after the production (which was very enjoyable!) we exchanged a few words with him. This just illustrates the Missoula Children’s Theatre alumni are everywhere, doing everything!
Sunday morning we waved ‘goodbye’ to Des Moines, WA, and began our commute to McChord Air Force Base, WA. Before we arrived at the base, we made our last trip to Seattle for a visit to the Seattle Art Museum and a scrumptious Savor Seattle Food Tour. The museum was brilliant and I really enjoyed being among all of the art; a Frederic Edwin Church painting entitled “A Country Home”.
“A Country Home” at the Seattle Art Museum (this photo does not do it justice! I spent sever moments examining the painting up-close and from a distance — I was mesmerized.)
The real jewel of our day in Seattle, however, was the Pike Place Market private food tour. As I sipped an iced vanilla latte in the “original” (relocated) Starbucks in Seattle, we met our foodie tour guide, Nick. Armed with his conspicuous pink umbrella (reminiscent of a real-life Hagrid), he guided us through all of the various stalls housed in the famous market and had us sampling such delicacies as fresh donuts, spring rolls, salmon jerky, pears, cherries, plums, macaroni and cheese, salmon bisque, seafood bisque, pirogues, ravioli, Starbucks passion tea lemonade, oatmeal cookies and crabcakes. The entire tour lasted two hours, and by the end of our excursion, I was quite literally stuffed! Probably my favorite tasting in the market (though it really is hard to pick only one item – everything was so good!) was the salmon jerky. Unlike smoked salmon I’ve had numerous times (lox), this smoked salmon was like a dried jerky that was more flavorful and a more snacking-friendly consistency – yum! The salmon jerky is also obtained from the fishmongers who are famed for flinging thwir fresh catches of the day through the air to wrap them up for waiting customers. The call and response of the whole ordeal is rather fascinating to watch! It was also great to learn about the history of the Pike Place Market, since it is one of the oldest and largest open markets in the U.S. with definite lasting power; the market was opened in 1907 and is still going strong with over 10 million visitors annually. 
The famous Public Market neon sign that marks the entrance to Pike Place Market
Our tour guide, Nick, talking about the ever-flinging fishmongers
Lovin’ my vanilla latte at the “original” (relocated) Starbucks
There were so many gorgeous, fresh flowers for sale at crazy-cheap prices
Nick’s pink umbrella and newly caught poissons!
These donuts were delicious!
The Pike Place Market truck and pig mascot
Crab cakes! Clearly I already devoured mine…all that remained was the napkin…
Great view of Mount Rainier from the outskirts of the market
With our bellies full and our feet a little tired from all of the walking, Alyssa and I eventually pulled up to the visitor’s center of the McChord AFB!
More on McChord AFB and our current residency (Mill City, OR) is heading your way!
