Seattle

Seattle is one of the cities that has long been on my bucket list.  For the past few days, we explored this port city.  One added bonus is that our daughters, Kimberly and Ashley, have joined us here.  We all converged on Seattle on Friday.  Kimberly flew out from the east coast and Ashley drove up from Portland.  We have enjoyed both Seattle and being together as a family.

On Saturday we took the Link into downtown Seattle.  Our first stop was Pike Place Market, one of the oldest public markets in the United States.  This waterfront market opened in 1907.  It is located on Elliott Bay. There were a lot of people there and lots of produce, fresh seafood, flowers, craftsmen, and restaurants there. Not only is the market itself a fascinating place to visit but one can watch tankers, cruise ships, ferries, and other watercraft come and go from that area. It was a good introduction to the city.

After a quick stop at the bubble gum wall, we went up to the 73^rd floor of the Columbia Center building.

There is an observation deck there where there is a 360 degree view of the city.  It was clear day so we could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, the Cascades, the Olympic mountains, several lakes, the bay, and the Puget Sound.  It was amazing to be able to look down on Seattle’s Space Needle and to look down into CenturyLink field where the Seattle Seahawks play football.

We finished off our first day in Seattle by having dinner at Ivar’s seafood restaurant.  They have several locations and we chose the one on Lake Washington.  We enjoyed a great meal overlooking the water and watched the sunset there.