I'm in Seattle for a few days, visiting my Aunt Cathy, Uncle Buck and cousins -- Kelley (27) and Lindsey (23). It's beautiful and COOL -- such a welcome change from the sweltering heat in Dallas.
Yesterday, Kelley & Cathy took me to Pike's Market, an open-air market for local farmers and merchants, famous for its fish-throwing. There are several street performers and musicians, too, and they told me how my niece Anna unabashedly danced to the music when she visited. (I tried to resist that temptation.) We visited the original Starbuck's, and I couldn't help but think how my ex-boyfriend Rod would have loved to say he'd been there. (When we travelled, we always had to find the local Starbuck's and take his picture by the sign.) I was surprised that the original is not as commercialized. It looks like a very simple, all brown, none of the trademark green that you see so prevalent in their other stores.
We had lunch at a cheese-making place, known for their curds. "Curd" is such a weird word. Not very appetizing, although the cheese was tasty. We ate at the counter which overlooked their glassed-in operation. These two men were using snow shovels to move the large amounts of cheese around. They fed large slabs of cheese into a shredder, forming the curds. The slabs were white and resembled fat. It was kind of disgusting and fascinating at the same time!
Later, Cathy and I had dinner with Lindsey at a great pizza place overlooking the water. We were across the bay from the city, and it was a beautiful evening. Lindsey took me out with her friends to a couple of local bars. At one point, she asked me who I was looking at, and said, "The one with the bald spot?" (Poor guy was thinning, but not exactly bald.) I just laughed and said he looked more my age than hers. I guess as I've gotten older, whether or not a guy has hair is not a requirement.
Today, we're planning on going down to the waterfront for seafood and a visit to the Aquarium. Seems a bit of a contradiction, but I guess it's just two ways of enjoying the bounties of the sea.
2 comments:
We had such a good time in Seattle, and have many fond memories. Anthony LOVED the original Starbuck's (you're right, very stark and wonderful); we had to go TWICE. Anth wanted to get a prepaid Starbucks card from the original store (the only place you can get them) and occasionally cashiers here notice that its an original. It has the bare breasted mermaid on it.
Colin loved the jellyfish at the aquarium, and Anna still eats on her placemat with fish from the coral reef. My favorite exhibit was the sea dragons - they are the most amazing, fantastical looking creatures. When they eat, puffs of smoke (really just chewed up food) come from the back of their heads. They just look like drifting pieces of seaweed. Incredible!
Have fun and say hello to Sierra for us!
Hey, Buck said something about pictures, Emily! Aintcha gunna post some?
Sounds like fun. Wish I were with you.
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