Seattle Day 2

 We spent our second day in Seattle by visiting Bainbridge Island and later getting ready for our cruise tomorrow.  Walking in Seattle is a bit of a challenge since there are very few level streets.  We had a half mile walk to the Seattle ferry terminal, so with that round trip and walking on the island itself, we had another 10,000 step day. 

We took a late morning ferry to Bainbridge Island, enjoyed lunch there, and walked around.   This is an island in the middIe of Puget Sound and is a 35 minute ferry ride from Seattle.  It's known to be a bedroom community for Seattle as many people commute to Seattle from there, as well as an artistic haven (this picture is of a sister ferry)

Bainbridge island has a nice collection of stores and a few restaurants. We enjoyed omelets for lunch in a pleasant diner, visited a farmers market, a bookstore, and a number of other shops.  Overall it made for a relaxing day.   Here are a couple of scenic shots of the island.

On the return trip, Mary got this nice picture of the Seattle Skyline.

Tomorrow we leave for our cruise ship at noon, then head north to Juneau, arriving on Tuesday. 

Day 1 in Seattle

 

We had a quiet morning today, walking around Pike's Market.  The only thing we bought was some blackberry apple cider.  But we did enjoy seeing the fish-tossing; in the picture the fish has just left his hands.  Then the rain started when we were about done walking around so we picked out a place for lunch and headed back to the hotel.

Our afternoon adventure was a boat ride from Union Lake through the locks to Puget Sound.  We saw some interesting things, including the floating house that was used when filming Sleepless in Seattle.  As you can see, the weather left a bit to be desired (high of 61 today), but the rain stayed light and did not interfere with seeing the sights. 

It was neat passing thought the lock, going from fresh water to salt and dropping about 17 feet, as you can see in the picture on the right.  

We also saw several Deadliest Catch boats (a reality show about crab-fishing in the Bering Sea) but it was hard to get good pictures, except for the Botany Bay that the show uses to film the other boats. 

The trip ended up at Pier 54, right next to Ivars so we went there for dinner.  Mary enjoy a clams, while I had fish & chips. We walked back go the hotel in the rain, but fortunately they had loaned us an umbrella.

Tomorrow we are planning to take a ferry to Bremerton, but might not if the weather does not cooperate. 

Traveling to Seattle

We flew to Seattle today and are staying here until Sunday when we head to our 7 day cruise on the Westerdam, our first cruise on Holland-America.  Our flight was routine, and after an issue with our Lyft driver, we got to The Inn on the Market, our hotel.   Unfortunately the hotel is having an issue with their internet so we are using my phone as a hot spot, which is rather slow. After settling in, we headed out for dinner at Ivar’s Seafood Cafe. We both had clam chowder (mine was in a bread bowl) which was delicious!  

   

Not too much else to write.  Tomorrow we are walking around Pike's Market, then heading to Union Lake for a boat tour of the lake (famous for the site of Sleepless in Seattle house) and then through the locks into Puget Sound.  

Seattle Locks Cruise

Sunday afternoon we took the Seattle Locks Cruise from Lake Union through the Lake Washington Ship Canal into Puget Sound, docking at Seattle Pier 56. Along the way we saw the houseboat made famous by the movie Sleepless in Seattle, pictured here.

We also saw two fishing boats from The Deadliest Catch: The Early Dawn and The Wizard. Very cool since I follow that show.

Overall a very relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon as we prepare for our cruise.

Pike's Market

We explored Pike's Market today. Very intriguing place, with lots and lots of shops. Plenty of restaurants, and many,many other kinds of shops, from fresh fruit stands to flower markets, to a wide variety of jewelry, bookstores, and gift shops. We got LOTS of exercise walking up and down and all around this very large market.
Pike's Fish Market is famous for tossing fish around. A high quality image titled "Catching a Fish" is available in Picassa. The guy on the right with the white paper is about to catch a thrown fish. The fish is actually airborne just under the neon red sign. If you expand this picture you may be able to see a blur.

Here's a picture of the famous Gum Wall at Pike's Place. No we did not add any gum to the wall.
After we rest up we are heading out for our Locks Cruise followed by a birthday supper at Ivar's Acres of Clams on the waterfront.

In Seattle

Not much to write about yesterday - a travel day. We didn't fly out until mid afternoon, arriving in Seattle at 5:40 local time. It was neat having a "Princess Cruises" guy there waiting for us at baggage claim; this is the first time we've arranged Princess airport pickup for a cruise.
Once we got to the hotel we walked around looking for a restaurant. Found a nice Italian one a few blocks way and had a very enjoyable meal - at 10:30 Detroit time. Today is sightseeing - Pike's Market and a boat ride through the locks into Lake Washington where we will see the famous "Sleepless in Seattle" houseboat community among other things.