Seattle! We Made It!!

Things are "lookin' up"! We have reached the west coast as of yesterday (Wednesday 9/8/10).

We left Coeur d'Alene ID and embarked on our journey across Washington state in the morning with a lunch stop at a Subway along I 90. The lay of the land was very different than what I had expected of Washington. I was thinking trees , trees, trees, and they didn't show up for a long time. The eastern part of the state was almost desert like, with scrubby bushes ,etc and some sort of brown grass on the slopes. Then came the growing region where the type of crops were marked on the fences. now we can tell the difference between sweet corn and alfalfa. (??) The farther west we got, the more trees appeared. The rain appeared there too but happily did clear before we made Seattle.

Arrived in Seattle a little before 3:00pm and had some time to walk down toward the water and go to Pike Market, a really interesting area that takes up a whole square block and fills several floors with small shops , each focusing on a particular thing - jewelry,honey,old records,herbs, etc.and on the main floor, open to the street in many places is the food portion, with absolutely gorgeous displays of fresh vegetables and fruits, (samples abound!) , flowers and fishmongers who toss fish back and forth to attract and please the crowds. Passersby stand with cameras poised to try and capture the moment. It was great fun.

We had reservations at the Sky City restaurant at the top of the Space Needle (built for a World's fair). The cost of the ride to the observatory is waived if you eat at the restaurant. However, the price of dinner is inflated to cover it - so this morning we're eating breakfast at a McDonald's where the WiFi is free too. (An extra $6.95 at the Hilton where we are staying two nights.). Our dinner was wonderful though -I had salmon (figuring it was fresh)with fingerling potatoes and "wilted pea vines" and a green salad with pears and bleu cheese and Big Tom had a fillet that could have almost been cut with a fork after an opener of chicken spaetzle soup. We both had creme brulee for dessert. The pictures included today are from the observatory . The weather cleared and it was a great view.

Today we slept in a little and have scrapped plans for Crater Lake (we'll just have to return!) and are going to just drive the coastal highway (Rte. 101), hopefully down to Florence. Perhaps we'll see sea lions and lighthouses. Talked to Jon last night and he can tell you we are well.

Till we meet again!