My Mom was scheduled to attend two business meetings in Seattle last week so I decided to join her. Leaving Chicago's 90 degree summer day and arriving in Seattle's 60 degree day was refreshing I must say. The city greeted us kindly with it's beautiful coastal views which can be appreciated from almost anywhere you stand downtown. I had been to Seattle before as a young girl and we did just about everything you could do in the city. Those familiar landmarks were still there, of course my favorite of all which will never move is the sight of Mt. Rainier.
I will admit we did some tourist things such as visiting Pike's Market and the Seattle Center. But everything was very exciting and pleasant. At Pike's Market one can get lost in the herds of people all enjoying the fresh smell of the world's finest seafood as well as getting splashed by fish being thrown up in the air! We listened to a very talented group of street performers just in front of the world's very first Starbucks Cafe, and of course people we drooling over the site of that. I was most impressed by the architecture of the Science Fiction Museum & the Experience Music Project Museum designed by Frank Gehry. Everywhere I went I couldn't help but notice the Chicago equivalent of the things I would see. I compared Millenium Park and Navy Pier to the Seattle Center, Chicago's Frank Gehry to their Frank Gehry, the Sears Tower to the Space Needle, the observations could go on and on...
Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington
Seafood being sold at Pike Place Market
The first Starbucks, notice the crowd...
Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project Building, Seattle, Washington
Detail of the building by Frank Gehry
Riding the tram in Seattle
Tram tracks at Seattle Center
Aside from rampaging through the city with my mom those first few days we finally checked out of our downtown hotel and into the home of a close family friend whom we all call "Uncle Delbert". My mom first met Uncle Delbert back in the 80's (pre-me) when she was working on fishing boats traveling from Seattle to Alaska. He generously turned his home into a boarding house for people such as students. Uncle Delbert's generosity to my family has been endless. Our time with Uncle Delbert was fun, waking up to waffles at 8 am, watching baseball every evening, dinner at 5 pm, and off to bed at 9 pm.
Much of the latter part of our trip was spent relaxing and listening to stories from looong ago. Uncle Delbert taught us how to make fresh fruit jam, how to prepare the canning of fruit as well as how to make the best dill pickles. So life in Seattle was pretty relaxing. One evening we dined at one of Seattle's most renowned restaurants, Ivar's. We faced Lake Union and enjoyed a delightful meal.
Uncle Delbert walking towards Ivar's Restaurant, Seattle, Washington
Contemplating what to do with all this food...
Lake Union, Seattle, Washington
Our final day in Seattle was beautiful because the sun had finally peeked out from behind the gray sky and we just lingered around the house and said our final goodbyes. My mom and I both flew out at the same time which was nice for us to finally spend those last hours together. I have been missing Hawaii significantly and it was so great to have seen my Mom.
Our final day in Seattle: Uncle Delbert, my Mom, and I
Up in the sky back to where I came from...Goodbye!
