Seattle shenanigans: part four...

I have this thing for college campuses.

Anytime I visit a new city, I always check to see how close the nearest university is.

I love the feel of college towns -- the restaurants, the shopping, the coffee houses -- all bring me back to my years as a student.

There's this unique energy that makes me want to buy a trapper keeper and a pack of colored pencils.

The University of Washington did not disappoint.

We spent about an hour browsing the bookstore -- which turned up some absolute gems.

 The campus itself is beautiful -- surrounded by trees and flowers.

Many of the buildings seem almost gothic-style, and I loved wandering around while people watching at the same time.

 The menfolk quickly lost patience and decided to seek out the stadium.

Apparently walking aimlessly around campus is something only chicks do.

So Cindy and I headed off on our own and happened to find ourselves back on University Avenue, which, coincidentally, is a great place to shop.

I'm telling you -- the thrift stores were to die for.

Using our ice cream tracker skills, we found ourselves some fantastic frozen yogurt -- the perfect way to refuel after a long day of walking.

The guys did indeed track down the stadium, but couldn't get the view they wanted.

They even considered pretending to be patients in the nearby hospital to achieve their goal, but decided we'd probably be mad if they made us wait at the car while they sat in jail.

We bid the university adieu and drove towards Bellevue to see the Seattle LDS Temple.

On the way there, we passed an incredible neighborhood on Lake Washington.

Each home had its own dock, and each dock housed a yacht or two.

Bill Gates lives there.

It was that snazzy.

We arrived at the temple and walked around a bit.

 By this time, Reece's inner toddler was getting restless and it took all my strength to keep him from being too irreverent.

We drove back to Renton, where AJ served his mission.
Before dinner, we stopped by the local Safeway to stock up on hotel treats and ended up spending about an hour there.
Who know the guys would be so opinionated about cereal?

AJ took us to Changs -- a Mongolian barbecue restaurant that captured his heart years ago.

We met up with the Wheatleys who had spent the day with Justin's family.

The only picture I remembered to snap was of the complimentary ice cream/fortune cookie combo.

Because as we all know, I jump at any chance to pay homage to ice cream.

From there, we headed back to our hotel and congregated in one of the rooms.

It almost felt like college again -- staying up late, chatting, munching and partying with friends.

I loved it.

Being a grown up can be pretty awesome.

Especially when Japanese game shows are involved.