Seattle

After my time in beautiful Vancouver, I hopped on a Greyhound and headed to Seattle. (This border crossing, by the way, was soooo much easier.) It was my only bus leg of the trip and I'm glad, because four hours on a bus is about my max.

The bus arrived at the Seattle station and my Buzz sister Dona picked me up and immediately whisked me away to Pike Place Market for a food tasting tour. I got to see the original Starbucks store.

I might have cried a little. (The pic above is not the first Starbucks, but it's where the tour group met before taking off on our amazing exploration of the public market.)

We saw the world famous flying fish stall. Yes, they actually throw fish. And clams. And crabs and lobsters and scallops and whatever else people order. You see that blur in the picture below? That a fish flying through the air.

The market mascot is Rachel the pig, who is also a really massive piggy bank. Since the market is a public enterprise, they are always in need of funds for repairs and maintenance.

One of the coolest things about the market is that the city does not allow chains or big business to set up shop. It's only locally owned and locally harvested, with no middle man to jack up the cost. On the tour we had amazing cheddar cheese, fresh hot mini doughnuts, smoked salmon, crab cakes, and so much more.

After the tour, we went to Dona's house and she served up a totally delicious chicken dinner with risotto. Then we headed to the movie theatre and watched Ghost Write which, I have to say, was quite painful.

Sunday morning we walked to Starbucks (because, in Seattle, there is always one within walking distance) then just relaxed before going to meet Buzz girl Heather for dinner.

Heather selected the Pink Door for dinner, and fun restaurant with (you guessed it) a pink door. It also had another fun surprise: trapeze performances. Twice while we were eating a woman came out and performed a trapeze routine above the tables.

Then I went home with Heather, since her apartment is close to downtown and all the fun things. I met up with fellow Seattle YA authors Barb Ferrer and Serena Robar, and we spent the morning at the waterfront.

We visited a very cool used bookstore, where I picked up a couple of vintage Nancy Drews with fun inscriptions from the original owners inside.

Barb also took me to the fabulous Third Place Books, where they are big fans of the Oh. My. Gods. series. It's a huge independent bookstore and I had a blast.

One of the funnest things about Seattle is all the sealife around. Felt very Forgive My Fins friendly. There was this doormat in Heather's building.

And this massive squid sculpture hanging high in the Pike Place Market.

But the best thing about Seattle is just the natural beauty. Even though Heather's building is right in the heart of downtown, this is the amazing view from her rooftop.

This was my first visit to Seattle, and I have to say I fell in love. There is just something about the climate (I love rain) and the energy and the vibe of the city that just felt comfortable. I'm planning on making another visit to the Emerald City this summer to do a little apartment hunting and make sure that's where I want to move. And, if all goes according to plan, Daisy and I will be packing up and heading to the Northwest this Fall.

Hugs,
TLC