Thursday - Return to Seattle

Will watching the water, me watching Will...

Bill couldn't come with us for the entire adventure.  I am functionally unemployed for the summer months, but he is not.  I think summer must be the hardest time for Bill at work.  Long summer hours mean much more work for him to do, right at a time when he probably wishes he could be at home with the kids and me.  Oh, who am I kidding?  He probably wishes he could be up in the mountains on his bike.

Anyways, Bill planned to join us for the second half of the vacation.  So, we arranged a one-way airline ticket for Bill before the kids and I drove up to Washington.  His flight was scheduled to arrive in the early evening of Thursday, the 10th.  The kids and I parked the car in a garage in Bremerton and walked onto the ferry to spend the day in Seattle while waiting for Bill to arrive.  You might wonder, "Are you seriously going to try to get to SeaTac Airport to pick him up without your car?!"  Of course not!  Bill planned to catch the light rail from the airport to downtown, then walk down to the ferry terminal and meet us there.  Oh yeah!  Gotta love urban transportation systems!

The reason it is called 'Pike Place Market'

So, Helena, Will, and I arrived in Seattle at noon-ish, and had about 5-6 hours to kill while waiting for Bill to appear.  We headed straight back to the Market.  I got more cheese curds from Beechers, and several yummy gluten-free treats for Bill from a bakery across the street from the main fish-monger stall.

The kids had fun trying on crazy hats and glasses in the hat shop on the lower level, and Will got some super sour candy in a little candy shop down there, too.

Why buy someone else's photo when I can take my own?

Will and I were hungry for lunch before Helena was, so we stopped at a 'snack shack' behind the Mexican market and ate some really tasty quesadillas.  I don't even want to guess at the caloric intake in that thing!

After finishing our food, We decided we had had enough of the Market and were ready to wander the waterfront for a while.  Will said he wanted to try a different route down than we had used in the past.  In trying a new route, we stumbled on lower Post Alley and the 'Gum Wall'.

The 'Gum Wall' is actually pretty disgusting!  My first thought was, "What the.....?!"  But Helena got really excited and told us that she had seen a TV show that highlighted this particular corner of the Market.  I don't know how it started, but at some point it 'turned the corner' from graffiti to iconic art and is now left alone by officials.  While we stood there taking our pictures, a young man climbed a drain pipe and added his piece to the collection.

Before I knew it, Will found the gumball machine (that probably makes more money than any other such machine in a 5 state radius!) and quickly bought a piece so he could participate in this rather gross art form.  He quickly chewed and deposited his piece into the collection, then we went on our way.

Once on the waterfront, we walked, and walked, and walked North before we finally stopped at Pier 61.  We ended up in a little convenience store there called Bell Street Deli and ordered a veggie sandwich for Helena (have I mentioned that she has decided to go vegetarian this summer?).  The shop had a deli bench along the window wall, allowing us to sit at our leisure and people watch while Helena ate her lunch.

I took a picture of it for her, because she was so very happy with how yummy it was.  She really loves sprouts.  What a goof!  How many kids to you know who would turn down a cheesy-yummy-quesadilla for a sprout-on-wheatgerm sandwich?  I am quite proud of her!  BTW, Will is not sleeping in the background.  He is reading up on all the different permutations of the Washington State Lottery System.  Apparently, the shop we were in was an official lottery ticket seller. 

Once Helena was done eating, we decided it was time to return to Pier 52.  Unfortunately, we all had sore feet and just didn't feel like all that walking!  Fortunately, the old Bell Street bus route had turned into bus route 99.  It is a FREE bus route along Seattle's waterfront.

So, we waited with a bunch of other people for the next bus to arrive, then packed into an already full carriage.  Helena and I managed to find two seats next to one another, but Will was obliged to stand next to us.  That's okay.  I think he enjoyed it just the same.  Standing sort of added to the experience, if you know what I mean.

Upon stepping off the bus, we wandered over to the T-Shirt Company so we could pick up a couple of shirts for Bill.  We also found a ring for each of the kids  that says 'Love Waits', and some cheap trinkets. 

We were back at the ferry terminal before we knew it.  In fact, we were in time to catch the 5:30 boat, but of course, we were still waiting for Bill.  So instead, we calmly sat down at a cafe table and watched as other people rushed by trying to catch the ferry we were choosing to ignore.  Throughout the course of the day, we had been receiving text messages from Bill letting us know his status.  We knew when he arrived at SLC airport, when his plane took off, when he landed in SeaTac, when he was on the light rail, and when he was walking towards the waterfront from the downtown train station.  And, finally, there he was!  He was dressed for Utah weather in summer shorts and a t-shirt.  The kids and I were all dressed in layers, because, even though it was a beautiful day, it was nowhere near as warm as home.

So, there you have it.  The first half of our vacation over, and the adventures only beginning!