Seattle 2012

I love Seattle.

I lived there for about 10 years, and I try to make it back whenever I am visiting Washington. This April, I did exactly that during a 10-day vacation out there.

My first stop after landing at the Sea-Tac Airport was Seattle, where I stayed 2 nights at the Edgewater Hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay at this place, so this year, I decided to splurge and get a room with a view. I could have actually fished from that window, believe it or not, and I took some of my best photos standing right there.

There is so much to do in Seattle, and I never have time to do it all. If I only have a day or two, then I generally stick to the waterfront and Pike Place Market; my two favorite locations.

It’s about a 1/4th mile walk along the waterfront from the hotel to the Seattle Aquarium. Then, one must cross the street to get to the hill climb up to Pike Place Market.

Seattle is full of public art.

Halfway up the hill climb from the waterfront, one of several Pike Place Market Pigs greets tourists and locals, alike. That red music note marks the spot where a busker may stand or sit while singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, or otherwise officially entertaining passers by.

An alleyway to the side leading to Western Avenue.

Pike Place Market. Flowers, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, food stalls, fresh cheese, hand-crafted jewelry, toys, scarves, clothing, and many other items. Because there are so many photo ops at this place alone, it would be very easy to simply walk around with the camera almost permanently affixed to the eye.

Purple asparagus. I’d never seen that before until I visited the Market this year.

If I still lived in Seattle, I’d be cooking that purple asparagus, along with all sorts of other fresh veggies, and fresh salmon, as well. Ohhhhh, I do miss this place.

So these are what fresh garbanzo beans look like!

A cute vendor with gorgeous eyes who outrageously flattered me (yeah, I loved it).

After tiring myself out that first afternoon, I returned to my room with fresh fruits, chocolates, and a microbrew or two and settled down to working on photos while periodically looking out the window and capturing some of the awesome scenery. I stopped to splurge – again – for dinner at the hotel’s Six Seven Restaurant for some lobster mac and cheese, asparagus sauteed in butter, a Manny’s Pale Ale, and for dessert: crème brulee and coffee……don’t ask me how much I spent on dinner for one that evening……it’s vacation, ya know.

The view from my window changed with the wind; tug boats, container ships, state ferries, a heavy raincloud, puffy clouds that reminded me of cottonballs, golden sun-edged clouds, the snow-tinged tops of the Olympic Mountains peeking out from the clouds, and ultimately, the deep blue of dusk to be replaced by the black of night with reflections on the water of Seattle and Harbor Island.