SiJen and Bryan had to work today, so last night they helped us plan our activities for today. We were going to visit the Space Needle then take the monorail from the Space Needle to the Pike Place Public Market and walk the Waterfront. The Olthofs let us borrow their Jeep and carseat so that we would have the option of taking the bus downtown or driving. We wanted to meet up with the Narges’ and Oberlanders (N & O) today since we had planned on seeing some of the same Seattle sites.

Abby had a rough night - probably due to a few nightmares involving the Olthof’s extremely friendly, but BIG doggies. She took a morning nap that lasted 3-4 hours, so our tour of downtown did not begin until noon. We called Eric to see where the N & O group is and they were finishing up at the Space Needle and heading to Pike Place. Paul and I were getting hungry and Abby had not eaten since she got up, so we decided to go down to the Public Market to find a place to eat and meet up with N & O.

Pike Place was much more crowded than I had expected on a Friday. It was very difficult to navigate the vendor stands dotted along the street with Abby’s stroller, but we managed to plow from one end to the other, seeing the most beautiful flower bouquets sold for the cheapest prices, drool-worthy fruit stands, crafts ranging from silk-screened t-shirts to hand-made jewelry and exotic woodworking. The noises of the crowds and smell of lavender, then cinnamon roasted nuts, then fresh seafood, fruit, flowers, and buskers contributed to an experience that met all expectations for this touristy hot-spot. Definitely a worthy place to visit when in Seattle. Of course, we saw the Fish Market, but I missed the fish tossing. Paul got to see one, but I was too busy maneuvering the stroller and missed the show. It was odd seeing people standing around anticipating fish to be tossed, with cameras at the ready, not realizing that someone actually needed to purchase a fish to see a fish being tossed!


When we finally met up with N & O, we collectively decided to head down to the Waterfront to look for a restaurant to get lunch. We ended up at the Fisherman’s Restaurant overlooking the waters. Food was ok, atmosphere was ok, price was high. Definitely not as good as Chinook’s from last night. It was great catching up with Eric, Lisa, Kristin, Bob, and Judy, though.

After lunch, the groups split up, promising more bonding when we got on board the cruise ship. Paul, Abby, and I continued to wander around the waterfront and had an immensely good time. The view of downtown if you look up on one side and the mass expanse of water when you look on the other side was so tranquil! We enjoyed some huckleberry ice cream (Abby especially) on a deck, watching sailboats passing by, then popped into several odds and ends shops, such as ‘Ye Olde Curiosity Shop’ that sold everything from 3-D puzzles (Paul got a dragon/phoenix puzzle) to shrunken heads and bongs! We picked up some fudge to share with our friends and casually strolled back to the Public Market and start heading home. On the way back through the market, though, we did find the most beautifully made exotic wood cribbage boards. We had to pick one up!

We debated about visiting the Space Needle, but after having paid $17 for parking at the Public Markets and then running into difficulty finding parking at the Space Needle park, we decided to skip it and headed back to the Olthof’s house.

That evening, Bryan and SiJen suggested that we go to the Seattle Center (place for the performing arts) and experience the Bite of Seattle event being held there where local restaurants were selling tastes of their specialty foods and live bands were performing on stages throughout this large venue. Dinner consisted of lamb gyros, chicken pita sandwiches, these beef Piroshkies, curly fries, Brown Cow yogurt, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Lots of fun!

After dinner the Olthofs took us to an Overlook site that gave us a fantastic view of downtown Seattle - an exceptional spot to see the Space Needle at the center of attention among the downtown skyline - plus the water, and the Olympic mountains in the distance.


Abby went to bed and slept extremely well tonight. SiJen, Bryan, Paul, and I got to play a game of Settlers. Reminiscing about the days when they lived in DC and we got together to play regularly, and realizing that with their baby due next month that this may be their last chance to play for a very long time. SiJen slaughtered us in the game and we all headed to bed around midnight.

More Seattle pictures on Fotki.