A fun day in Seattle

The ferries sail from Bremerton to Seattle at no charge to the customer and they charge less than four dollars to return, so away we went. No car needed.


The one hour crossing seemed quick and the ride was both smooth and scenic as we navigated the Puget Sound into Elliott Bay.


After a long slow walk up the hill along 1st Street we arrived at Pike Street and the city market. We hardly knew what to expect but were delighted as we maneuvered the shops with the crowd. Such a busy place.


We first paid homage to Rachel the pig. I think the point is to give money which we didn't know at the time.


Nearby the fish mongers shouted to the exuberant crowd and pleased them by tossing fish through the air. This was perhaps the highlight of the day.




There was stand after stand of every type of fresh fish you could want. The farmer's market was begun in 1907 and Pike Place Market is the oldest continuing farmers market in the country. It is at the edge of bluffs overlooking the water and hosts more than 250 retail businesses and about 100 local farmers. This happens to be where the original Starbucks is. Had I thought of it I would have shipped some seafood.


We found our way to a bakery for an early lunch but the difficult decision was which dessert to buy.


Ah, there is the bubblegum wall. Yes, that would be abc (already been chewed). I can only wonder how it started and why.


We wandered around town, rode the underground train through the tunnels, and explored the original neighborhood of Seattle. Much off the old downtown was rebuilt after the fire of 1889 and comprises a large area known as Pioneer Park. The pergola was built in 1905 to shelter those who waited for the cable car.


Smith Tower, which opened in 1914, was the tallest building in the world outside of Manhattan.


The town got a real boost when gold was discovered in Canada's Klondike and Seattle became the place to stock up with supplies for the prospectors. The National Historic Park provided an excellent overview of this time period and the history of Seattle. And then there were the sights that I guess all large cities have.




One can hardly make a dent in Seattle in one day but this is the dent that we made. I was a little disappointed in how dirty the city seems.