It's a Miracle!

We officially leave on the cruise today, but we can't board the ship until 1 pm.  When you are in Seattle near one of the most famous farmer's markets in the world, this isn't a problem.  We started our morning by taking a taxi to the Pike Place Market.  The general market didn't open until 9 a.m., but some of the restaurants and bakeries open earlier.  I was hoping to watch the guys at the fish market "catch the fish", which has made the place famous.

 

Unfortunately for us, the market is also built on a slope, but luckily for Mom, there were a few strategically located elevators.   Regardless, it was a place where you could easily walk yourself to death.  Our first stop was a bakery where we purchased an almond croissant, a soft pretzel, a walnut cinnamon rugelash, and a cinnamon palmier.  Mom decided she wanted a regular breakfast that didn't involve walking and eating, so we found a diner with a water view.  She had a vegetarian omelet and I had a breakfast quesadilla while Zach and Kelley went exploring the market.

I think we got to the market just a little too early because most of the vendors were still setting up, but it was a pretty interesting place and not at all what I expected.  It was pretty spread out and there were three levels of shops.  However, when the vendors were set up, there was a lot of beauty in all of the colors of their wares.

Our Hotel

Mt. Ranier

Crab Cocktail

After we finished our breakfast, Mom decided to stay put while we went exploring.  Kelley found some Bacon Maple Apple Cider, a Moscow Roll, and some doughnuts before moving onto a brunch of fish tacos and a crab cocktail.  It's safe to say we ate our way through the market.

We headed back to the Marriott to wait for our shuttle to the pier.  I had arranged for a van, but the shuttle company called to tell me they had a limo in the area and asked if they could send the limo for us.  Umm...SURE!  The phone call occurred while Zach was wandering around, so we didn't tell him about our upgrade until the limo picked us up.  It was hilarious.  I'm not sure he believed the limo was for us until I had handed over my luggage to Ricky, our driver.  

Embarkation was easy, but it was a lot of walking. (So far, I think Port Canaveral has the most convenient process)  We were on the ship by 1:30 pm or so.  We headed to lunch, then we were able to get into our rooms.  The ship was scheduled to leave port at 4 pm, so the required muster drill was held at 3:30 pm. Kelley couldn't understand who would go all the way back to their room for a life preserver before getting on a life boat.  It safe to say everyone standing around us was subjected to the comedy stylings of Mr. Zach Lego while he told mustard jokes while we stood there.  **rolling my eyes**  We spent sail away on our balconies.  Once again, the weather was perfect (70's) and we got our best shots of downtown Seattle.

Tami and Lola

Zach and Kelley

Chillin' on the balcony

Before our balconies were opened up

Flat Nathan peeking around from the other balcony

Downtown Seattle

Mt Ranier

Dinner was at 7:45 pm, so we decided to take in one of the first nature talks in the theater.  We had a Naturist on board named Michelle who hosted several talks throughout the cruise to give us some background on what we would be seeing and what to watch for.  By this time, the boat was starting to really move through the water, and it was a little bit rough.  It was starting to get to Kelley, and she said her brain was rattling around like she was sitting on a dryer.  This isn't good.  We made it though dinner, during which we've established that Kelley's nickname this week will be "Maytag" - May for short - and Zach will be known as "Heinz" in honor of his various mustard jokes at the muster drill.  We also decided we would have a word of the day, which was "wine/whine" for this first day.  When someone says the word of the day, everyone has to give a villainous laugh while (how do you describe this??) waving your fingers, allowing your fingertips to touch, just like a villain would do.  Please feel free to ask Kelley for a demonstration.  

Our first towel animal

After another long day, Mom and Kelley decided to call it a night, while Zach and I decided to try our luck in the casino for a bit.  For me, it was a very little bit because I found no luck.  

Tomorrow is a full day a sea.  I'm sure Kelley is looking forward to it. (Not!)

Zach's word of the day: Whine/Wine
8,486 steps
3.82 miles

Seattle, here we come!

After all the angst of packing, my suitcase weighed in at 49.6 lbs.  Luckily, American Airline's scale matches that of my bathroom, so I was prepared for it to be close. Admittedly, my carry-on backpack is pretty heavy, too, so once again I've over-packed.  Seriously, how does one pack for Alaska in May?  The weather might be all over the place.

Kelley and Zach flew from Indy to Denver to Seattle and arrived about 1:50 pm.  My mom and I flew from Cleveland to Dallas to Seattle arriving about 30 minutes later.  Our flights were uneventful, and we met at baggage claim.

Welcome Grammy and Toots

I had pre-arranged a shuttle to get us to our hotel, the Marriott Seattle Waterfront.  The hotel was nice and the location was pretty good for our needs.

The view of Puget Sound from our hotel room.

When I think about Seattle, I think of Starbucks, the Space Needle and the skyline picture that is used in every episode of Grey's Anatomy. I had never considered that Seattle would be hilly, and boy, is it ever.  Some of the inclines are extreme.  It really isn't what I would consider a "walking" town, so even though our hotel was convenient, it would have taken someone much more fit than myself to walk from our hotel to some of the shopping areas.  Luckily, one of my Chevrolet dealers has a son who lives in Seattle, so he had recommended using "Uber" for our transportation needs.  Uber is an app on your phone that allows you to arrange immediate transportation in select cities.  The app uses your GPS location to send a driver to you, and you can choose the size of the vehicle you need.  The driver usually arrives in 5-8 minutes, and conveniently, you can set up your account with PayPal so that no money is exchanged (tip is included).  You hop in, ride, hop out.  Easy peasy...and it's less expensive than a cab.  We used Uber several times throughout the evening.

When we got into our hotel room, Kelley introduced me to a couple of stowaways - Flat Nathan and Flat Jon - who would be joining us on our escapades.  Here they are hitching a ride to dinner.

Flat Nathan and Flat Jon

After settling into the hotel, we headed to Iver's Seafood for dinner.  It's was probably a little early for dinner by Seattle's standards, but with the 3-hour time difference, we were all ready to eat.  We tried some oysters as an appetizer, then we had salmon, crab legs, and halibut for dinner.  It was delicious.

The Puget Sound ferry

We then headed to the Space Needle and the Chihuly Glass Gardens.  The weather in Seattle was perfect for long distance viewing.  We were told that Seattle has an average of 54 days without rain each year, so we were very fortunate.  The views were amazing.

Spiders painted on the roof of the building

Century Link Field - Home of the World Champion Seattle Seahawks

Safeco Field - Home of the Seattle Mariners

We then headed next door to the Chihuly Glass Garden.  Dale Chihuly is an American glass artist from Washington.  He spent some of his early career in Venice, Italy, and is celebrated world-wide for his permanent art installations.  The first one I saw in person was in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, but according to his website, he also has an installation at the Huntington Museum of Art.  (I plan on checking that out soon!)  As you can see from these pictures, his work is amazing.  The colors are so vibrant.  Interestingly, Dale Chihuly suffered an eye injury years ago, so he isn't able to personally create a lot of the individual glass pieces any more, but he has glass artisans working with him that bring his vision to life.

Glass Flowers

Flat Nathan enjoying the art

Flat Nathan loves cobalt glass

This shot was inspired by my art director, Zach Lego

Glass Cactus

By now, we are all exhausted.  We ordered an Uber to get back to the hotel and crashed.  We watched part 1 of the finale of Dancing with the Stars, but Kelley was begging to go to bed.  We just aren't cut out for this time change.  Here's to a good night's sleep.


7,887 steps
3.55 miles