Home of Starbucks

I had fully braced myself for a very rainy Seattle, so when Kevin and I woke up to blue skies on Sunday morning we were pumped.  We started our day by hopping on a bus a block away from the bed and breakfast.  Apparently this was Kevin's first bus ride.  Ever.  Common, who hasn't ridden a public bus before?  After almost a year of marriage, there is definitely still a lot about him that's a mystery to me. 

From the bus stop we decided to walk to space needle rather than jumping on the second bus.  We turned the corner and I saw the space needle, so I immediately dropped my purse, took off my coat, and made Kevin take a picture of me in front of it.  He's always thrilled when I do this sort of thing... 

Here's a picture I took once we got a little closer.  Kinda neat huh?

The views from the top were awesome.  I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised to see so many tall buildings, mountains, and lakes.  Was a little windy at the top but was fun to walk about with a chai tea latte and take in the sights.  

Here's a picture I took of the city:

After the Space Needle, we took the light rail and headed over to Pike's market.  It's a very neat indoor/ outdoor farmers market.  Check out the couple kissing in the foreground of the picture.  I wish I knew the them, because I'm sure they'd love to have this picture. 

I liked all the pretty bouquets of flowers they had for sale, but by far my favorite part of Pike's market was the specialty pickle stand.  They had pickled asparagus, green beans, Wasabi-flavored pickles, and spicy pickles.  Stacie, I know you're jealous right now.  I actually almost bought you a jar, but when we found out shipping was $18.99 Kevin quickly put a kibosh on that idea. 

This is me with the best pickle I've ever eaten.

After roaming around Pike's market we stopped in for lunch at a place called Steelhead Diner.  A lady in the Pike's Market visitor's center recommended the place and gave us a coupon where we could get a three-course meal for just $15.  We chose the chicken wings, catfish, and the pecan pie for dessert.  Sounds like an odd combination now that I've written it down, but it was soooo yummy.  Cheap, tasty lunch in a new, trendy restaurant with great service, overlooking the water.  Sigh ... I want to go back.

After lunch, we did some aimless exploring.  Kevin even grabbed the camera and took a few pictures himself.  He's a natural, huh?

 

And of course, a trip to Seattle wouldn't be complete without a visit to Starbucks.  Notice the "Pike Place" sign? 

After all the exploring we made it back to the bed and breakfast around 7:00 p.m.  We planned to take a quick nap and then go get dinner, but after our nap we were too pooped to get up and go to dinner.  Embarrassing!