The Emerald City

It was their first time to Seattle so to say they were excited would be the understatement of the moment. Flannery declared she wanted to live there when she grew up. And both of them were up with much vim and vigor on Saturday morning, declaring they were ready to go.

We walked from our hotel to the market and ran into this giant mechanical sculpture out in front of the Seattle Art Museum. They both were pretty impressed until Flannery saw the back had exposed moving parts and then she thought it was rather chintzy. She's quite the demanding art critic.

Then we headed off to Pike's Market. The kids loved the free samples, giant fish and ceramic pig statues. Unfortunately we were there very early so it was not the bustling marketplace it usually is and we had to find a place to warm up with hot cocoa and wait for more bustle.

Although it was pretty cold, the sun was out and the sky was blue. It's such a rarity that we really had to take advantage of it. After we fortified with hot beverages, we walked along the water and found this totem pole. We had perfectly clear views of Rainier and the Olympics but we really like the totem pole best.

As an aside, I had to add this picture in since I love the fact that there are a) working pay phones with b) bright yellow handles and c) matching graffiti. Beautiful.

We came upon a Garden of Remembrance for those lost in wars since World War II. I liked this quote.

Eventually we made our way to the Space Needle. There was much running and screaming and excitement. Then when we got to the top, I think there was a bit of disappointment that it didn't launch into the sky or have some sort of roller coaster like ride or drop. But they maintained their composure. We looked out across Seattle. Emerson found all the sports stadiums. Flannery noticed they sold hot cocoa up there too. It was magical in its own way.

It was a short trip but we'll be back since it's only 3 hours away and the kids did not get to see any fish being thrown at the market. You simply can't miss the fish.