I went to Seattle this week to see Brian and Amber along with half the population of the United States. Evidently only kids in the middle of the country are back in school; the rest are at the airport. We tried going to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Fogon's, for dinner, but it was closed for an employee party. They had a sign on the door sending people to La Josie's a block away, so we decided to check it out. While it was also a Mexican restaurant (notice the Day of the Dead decor), their menu tended toward a happy hour theme with appetizers, small plates, and drinks (the tequila menu was longer than the food offerings).
Seattle has a really thriving downtown, but I always see some quirky things when I go there. While I was waiting for the streetcar to take me up to the restaurant on Capitol Hill, someone dropped a bag of pistachio nuts. This black bird immediately jumped on the bag and started pecking at it until he punched a hole. It didn't bother him that I was sitting only 2 feet away.
This great big guy was walking his little Chihuahua across the street. I almost fell over laughing when he called the dog, Moose. Quite a name for such a tiny dog.
The next day I took the bus to Redmond, and Brian and I spent the day playing board games. It's not often that I beat Brian in a game, but this time I won twice. Truthfully, I think he was fudging the rules a bit in his mother's favor. We met Amber for lunch at Kitanda, my favorite acai place. I forgot to take a photo, because I was too busy savoring my Ziba bowl (acai, peanut butter, granola, banana, and coconut). Eating acai is like eating ice cream for lunch.
I took this photo out the bus window on the way back downtown. I was trying to capture the bikers riding across Lake Washington. They've built a separate bike lane along the entire length of Hwy 520, so theoretically I could ride a bike from downtown Seattle to Redmond, which many younger commuters do. I think I'll stick with riding the bus.
The Seattle waterfront has really changed. Last year they were building this walkway to connect the Ferry Terminal with 1st Street, so people didn't have to cross Alaskan Way (which is quite a busy street, plus they don't have to climb that steep hill into downtown).
This year, they've almost finished construction of the Overlook Walk and 20-acre Waterfront Park. This walkway is supposed to curve around and connect you to Pike Place Market. It's also being touted as a good selfie spot. That seems like an extreme amount of money to spend for selfies, but tourism is definitely big business in Seattle. All this renovation is good for me, because Pioneer Square (the area where I always stay) is getting a major face-lift.
I stayed an extra day in Seattle so that I could take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I've always wanted to do that, but never had the time. They have a very interesting system for transporting cars back and forth on the ferry. You have to make a reservation in advance if you're going to drive a car (I was walking on as a pedestrian so just bought my ticket at the gate). The cars line up in 10 rows waiting for the ferry to come in - it looks like they're all jammed up, but it's actually very organized.
After the ferry docks, the cars drive in 2 lanes at a time. Some cars go up a level, and some go down. It's amazing how many cars they can pack in there.
After the ferry docks on the other side, the bikers get off first; then the motorcycles; and finally, the cars. The pedestrians walk off from a higher platform.
My first stop in Bainbridge was the Pegasus Coffee House for breakfast. I had the smoked salmon and capers on a bagel. Yum!
Then I walked along the waterfront looking for a good sketch spot. I passed this sculpture garden where all the statues were made out of stones. I'm not sure how the stones were "glued" together.
I found a bench next to the marina. I think everyone in Bainbridge owns some kind of boat. This is the "smaller" section; the big yachts are to the left.
On the ride back to Seattle, I managed to capture this view of downtown catching both the Ferris wheel and the Space Needle. As you can see from the blue sky, it was an absolutely gorgeous day.
