Big Oysters

It was July 4th 2005, my husband Tony and I were sitting in a cute cafe in the heart of Seattle Washington. Our view was facing Pike place market with the ocean bay. It was so amazingly crowded, just full of people everywhere! I walked through the funny setup of the old building of that market. With narrow hallways full of booths and shops going up and down, it really felt like a whole other world. I was happy to find a place to sit down and relax with a cold beer. Tony and I were celebrating our 2nd anniversary. One of the main problems having an anniversary next to a holiday is that traveling and hotel prices were at their high peaks in price. My husband will not stay in anything under 4 stars. This made me tease him about it. (Now I have come to realize I am the very same way! I can't go back to a cheap hotel room no matter how much I could save.) A vacation is a time of pampering and spoiling yourself, so if you are busy unclogging the broken toilet then it's not a fun vacation after all. 
We walked all over downtown Seattle, resting at each coffee shop corner. When we finally sat down at the lunch cafe I had consumed 3 cups of coffee, 1 large ice tea and a few bottles of water due to the summer heat. When Tony order the  oysters I was thrilled! I love all fresh sea food. Since we could see the ocean bay it was only natural to crave that type of food. I was always getting clams and mussels when on vacation, So oysters were just as yummy! When the platter arrived with sizes all different, even an oyster the size of my hand. I sprayed lemon juice all over then tossed them back still licking my lips with the sea salt edge of the shell in my mouth. "Oooooh these are so yummy!" I said as Tony choked on his own oyster suddenly he was done. "Nope. I can't do it." He looked away drinking down his beer quickly. I laughed at his pale face. "That is good news for me! I will eat yours too!" Tony said later it was like trying swallow a raw chicken breast suddenly he knew he couldn't do it. But I was happy to eat away! I couldn't believe the variety of oysters out there. We were use to the very small size or they were setup in a shooter shot. For the rest of the trip we stayed away from any oysters for Tony's sake:-)