Rainless in Seattle

The collage of pictures in the previous entry resulted from Peggie playing with her new camera. Margie commented that one curvy road sign is not enough. The confusing part is that the signs are contradictory. Some suggest 50mph, some 45, some 30, you never know what to expect! Even worse are the directional arrows. One points right, so I go right. Then all of a sudden there is one pointing left! Which one do I follow? One sign means watch for deer, one means elk on the road, one warns of livestock, and worst of all is "rocks." I never know what to watch for. Here I am trying not to run over the flagger or the road equipment, and I have to divide my attention between all kinds of animals and boulders. Thank god they have trained the trees to stay off the road!

So now it is Thursday. We managed to get out of the room in time to get breakfast before they switched to lunch. We never thought of Seatle as a 'walk around' town, but our hotel is well located for just that. We walked down a few blocks to the Space Needle so we could go up to the observation deck while the sun was out. We had to reassure several confused locals that they weren't being followed by aliens. Those creatures on the sidewalk are just shadows. We were pleasantly surprised at the fine temperatures, dryness, and lack of wind 520' above the ground. I took advantage of the opportunity to call both of our children to rub in that we are not only not at work, but the weather is grand and so is the view. (Work starts next week!)

Then we went over to the monorail for a ride over to the Pike Market Place. That's where they throw fish around to entertain the tourists. I found all the street performers to be more entertaining, myself. The market would be a great place to get fresh produce and fish if we lived here and had cooking facilities. Dave, I want you to know that Peggie in short sleeves and sun glasses was a real, as opposed to a staged, picture. I don't know what the numbers were for the temperature today, but it was perfect.

Then we took advantage of the free downtown bus to go to Pioneer Square. We were thirsty so I ordered an iced tea at a coffee shop and they asked me "What kind of tea?" I don't know. In Tucson, iced tea is iced tea. There is no "kind." I finally convinced the barista (who was from Fairbanks) that I didn't know one tea from another, so she made a suggestion and I went with it. It tasted like iced tea.

We went to a restaurant recommended by the hotel desk clerk. They specialize in fresh seafood. The meal was really good, and so were the drinks. We were glad we were walking and using public transportation, not driving. We visited with a saxophonist playing jazz below the Space Needle. He had been inspired by a musician playing at the colliseum in Rome, so now he is traveling the U.S. playing at iconic locations. Sounds like fun to me.