Seattle part 1

 In August I headed to Seattle, originally it was to go to a Seattle Mariners' game, but in the end, the trip was so much more than that. There was something magical about flying over Mt. Rainier, pinkish blue fromt he sunset and sadly, forest fires. I only had four days, and I tried to cram as much in as possible. I used my first day to try and get oriented, learning how to take the bus outside my motel to downtown and to the waterfront. We'll just say it was an experience. I do like that it was pretty easy to get around and there are a lot of options for getting around the Seattle area buses, trams, trains and ferries. It was unseasonably hot, even in the great Northwest; ridiculous heat.

I booked a harbor tour, about 2 hours or so getting a view of the Seattle port, skyline, etc. It's not a whale watching tour, although it could happen. I did see two little jellyfish before we even left the dock. 

 After the tour and a nice lunch, I headed back to the motel for a little rest before I needed to head back out for the baseball game. I will say I probably had the best crabcakes ever. Restaurant prices are not for the fainthearted. 

I did walk around Pike's Market on Sunday morning, grabbing some breakfast, passing by the original Starbucks which had a crazy line. I mean, I usually pass by Starbucks anywhere when the line is more than 10 people deep. It was cool to see the Pike Place Fish stall, although I got the distinct impression they were bored by the whole idea of throwing the fish. The market is a lot more than fish (maybe you knew that, and I probably should have, but I didn't have any idea how big and sprawling it is), like flowers, chocolates, souvenirs, bakeries. I didn't have as much fish and seafood as I would have liked, that is the one thing that disappointed me. I failed at eating.

it's early on a Sunday, so it hasn't gotten too busy yet

the original Starbucks

I enjoyed walking around the piers, checking out the shops, dreaming of fresh salmon, trying not to melt. Like I said at the beginning, the original purpose of the trip was to see a baseball game, but it turned into so much more. Stay tuned for additional posts on my visit to the Chihuly Museum, the Space Needle, whale watching and Mt. Rainier National Park.