The Pacific Northwest and Major Bodybuilding Beefcake Pt.2

As the judging progressed, I paid close attention to the look of the competitors. Not their physiques so much as their faces. I can only assume that the "supplements" they use make them look like they look. Some of the women appeared so gaunt and angular, I had to do double-takes for some, just to be sure they were women. Here is the difference between the natural shows; women are sure to look like women in the natural world.

Hubby's class was huge, but he did well. We left after the judging and journeyed to the outskirts of Bellevue to take in the sights. First, we headed over to the Factoria outlet stores which weren't all that exciting. Then, across the street to a local cantina for lunch. It was wonderful! Their strawberry margarita was as big as my plate and my afternoon was quite mellow after that. A discount store was next and their weren't a lot of discounts to be had, although hubby found a nice bottle of cologne for not too expensive.

The snow and rain began to fall (again) so, it was back to town for us. We rested a bit before the show then set out to the events center again. The displays were in full swing and hundreds of people were walking around the booths. Hubby decided he needed to buy more stuff and hung out with me in the audience until show time.

I was pleased with how organized everything was. The host kept the pace and contestants were held to their 60 second routines. I wasn't happy with all the breaks, though. We heard the same announcements about twenty times (this or that show being held in this or that state). I was getting a bit bored about mid-way through. People need to remember to bring their personalities to those performances. Some of them were so dull. I can count on one hand how many actually got some excitement out of people. Maybe it's just that the show is made up of so many out-of-towners that the crowds just don't know who the athletes are.

By the end, I was happy to see hubby and then get out of there. We tried to find a restaurant that was open, but Bellevue is apparently a sleepy town and only the Jack in the Box and the Denny's had bright lights. We ended up at the pre-planned, after party restaurant which turned out to be very good. Hubby and I shared a 25oz. Sangria that made us all warm and toasty. We didn't get back to the hotel till close to 1:00pm (another late night for me).

Up at 5:00am, we finished packing up and headed back to Seattle to return the car (a brand-new Dodge, Caliber) and catch our flights. I was looking forward to getting back and seeing my girls, but also sad that I didn't have more time to spend with hubby alone. We pretty much decided during this trip that separate flights would be something to avoid in the future. It's certainly nice to meet new people on flights (and I did on the flight there - Jo) but it's nice to have the time for bonding with loved ones, too.

The next show? End of May. This one is natural and I'm looking forward to it.