I started off a bit late in the morning. I had to work until 10:30 on Friday night, so I let myself sleep in a bit before heading off to Seattle.
Getting there: It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to drive to Bainbridge Island from Port Ludlow. Once there, I parked my car in a nearby lot, bought a caramel apple cider, and stuck $10 in the little box for my parking spot. I caught the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry at about 11:30 and made my way over to Seattle.
Once we docked in Seattle, I walked across a large pedestrian bridge to 2nd Avenue, hooked a left and started walking. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, just sure that I wanted to wander and explore. A few blocks later I could see SAM, the mascot for the Seattle Art Museum, and decided that I'd like to go in.
But--the museum is closed! It's undergoing some rennovations, so I couldn't go in. By the time I figured this out, I was at the back of the building, on 3rd Avenue. Across the street was Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony. I decided to hop over there to see if there was anything good playing in the afternoon.
Lara Swimmer, Photographer (borrowed from the home page of the Seattle Symphony)
So I hopped, and found myself in front of a lovely little place on the corner called the Garden of Remembrance. I love these kinds of things, so I walked up some steps into it and took a few pictures:
It is basically a memorial wall with a water feature in front, and it is quite lovely. It is done in black marble, reminiscent of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.
As I wandered through this, I saw a sandwhich board sign advertising the Seattle Veteran's Museum. I love war museums, so I eagerly stepped inside. Two men were chatting at the counter and they warmly welcomed me to their small but very interesting little museum.
I ended up spending at least 45 minutes (I lost track of time) at this tiny, one-room museum, chatting with the guy working it and another man, who volunteers his time helping out. It is a small venture run by a group of vets who feel that Seattle ought to have a war museum. I quite agree. All materials have been donated, and they work very hard to keep the place running. Benaroya Hall charges them reduced rent, but otherwise, the city of Seattle does very little to help them along. They charge a modest ($3) fee for entrance to help meet the costs of running it, and the guy on duty yesterday walked me through the entire exhibit, telling me the background behind the artifacts and stories about the people who donated them.
As I mentioned above, I lost track of the time I spent there, chatting with these two vets and trading war stories (of course, I was using my Dad's stories!). I promised to talk the place up to anyone and everyone, so here I am. I hope they will find support and funding one of these days--no matter what you think of war, especially the current situation in the Middle East, every major city ought to have a war/veteran's museum. We have to learn from our history.
When I left, with a few postcards clutched in my hands and $5 of my money left in the donations can, I was feeling really pleased with life. I called Dad on his cell phone, as he and Mom had been planning on coming to Seattle for a bit, too. They were in Cost Plus (import store), so I started hoofing it towards them to see if we could meet up for a bit.
I hiked about 6-8 blocks to Cost Plus, and arrived just in time to meet Mom and Dad coming out. We walked over to the nearby Pike Place Market to wander around. Mom wanted to run her Cost Plus purchase to the car, so Dad and I waited and I took pictures.
On our way into the market, I took a hasty picture of what I've recently learned is the world's first Starbucks.
We wandered through the market for a little while, stopping so Mom could buy some fresh vegetables. I used these pauses to take pictures.
Taken from the market--a ferry on Elliott Bay
A little bit of hometown pride...Go Seahawks!!
The best for last--in the market there is a famous fish sellers where the guys throw fish. When a customer orders something, one of the guys will come out from behind the counter and select some fish, then call out to his cohorts behind the counter. One will get ready to catch. Then they toss the fish and catch while the crowd cheers. It's quite fun (and the guys are quite cute)
Selecting a fish
There's a blurry flying fish in there somewhere
After wandering through the market, we decided to head to Kell's, and Irish pub, for lunch.
We had a lovely lunch at Kell's. Their shepherd's pie is wonderful. Then Mom and Dad headed back to their car to go home, and I left to wander around Seattle some more.
I started by wandering into a large antique store and poking around looking for Snoopy stuff. I found an old lunch box in great condition, but they wanted $60 for it. More than I wanted to spend. Still, I love hunting in antique shops--you never know what you'll find--and I enjoyed doing so yesterday.
After this, I set off towards the "posh" part of downtown Seattle. I found Macy's and decided to go in and perhaps splurge on a little something. I found a fabulous hat, marked down to $16, so I decided I must have it. Took it to the register and it rang up at $5.60! As I said to the lady, "I'm not going to argue with you about that price."
I bought a tub of Estee Lauder eye cream (my true splurge) and recieved a free gift with it. I wandered Macy's for a little while and marvelled at how wonderful true department stores are.
The Macy's in Kitsap Mall (where Mervyn's is) certainly has nice products, but it is a suburban version of a department store. When you walk into Macy's in a fabulous city like Seattle, it is everything department stores should be--huge, elegant, and with large display windows overlooking the streets outside. I was struck by this yesterday, and enjoyed shopping there much more than I would in old Silverdale.
By now it was starting to get dark, so I started slowly making my way back in the direction of the waterfront and the ferry. I got there about 10 minutes before the next ferry was to leave and got in line to buy a ticket. As I paid I realized that a woman standing next to me was having a tantrum about something. The lady in the booth, even as she took my money, was pointing to a sign and saying, "There are signs all over!"
Even I know that once you pay for your ferry passage, you're supposed to stay in the waiting area. You have to buy your coffee/magazine/whatever before you buy your ticket. The woman next to me was having a fit because she couldn't leave the waiting area to buy a coffee.
The lady in the booth calmly explained, "Maam, you can buy coffee on the ferry."
"But they don't have latte on the ferry!!"
I almost laughed in this woman's face. She must have been in her late 30s or early 40s and she sounded so petulant and childish. The signs clearly state that once you have your ticket, you must wait in the waiting area, but apparently she didn't feel this should apply when you need a latte.
I collected my receipt and walked by Little Miss Poopy Pants into the waiting area, laughing at her.
This is Washington State--birthplace of Starbucks and home of coffee shops on every corner. I have seen places where there are three coffee huts in a row! Once you get across Elliott Bay to Bainbridge Island, there are at least 2 coffee places within hopping distance of the boat.
At Bainbridge Island I collected Rosie the Protege and got on my way. I stopped in Silverdale on the way home to stop by the bookstore and Mervyn's. I arrived home at 8:00, tired but very, very satisfied. Seattle is a lovely city.
Pics of the fabulous new hat to come later, when I've showered and can model it properly!
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