The Sparkling City of Seattle

On Friday the 4th of July we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the nearest park and ride. The Sound Transit Express bus took us to Downtown Seattle in 30 minutes. From there we headed to the famous Pike Place Market to see fish being tossed across the P P Fish Market. We wandered through shops filled with fragrant fresh flowers, local berries (including Boysenberries) and fresh produce for a while before we realized that the fish market was closed for the holiday. I had to stop and take pictures of some exotic mushrooms that are hard to find in regular supermarkets or grocery stores. We also stopped by the first Starbucks that opened its doors in 1971. Today the state of Washington alone has 559 stores.

We then boarded a bus to the Seattle Center to see the Space Needle. All that walking made us so hungry that we sat down on some concrete steps in front of the EMP museum and ate vegetable masala burgers and cherries (both from Trader Joes). The monorail zoomed over our heads every few minutes. After lunch we took a bus to the waterfront and a short 3o minute ferry ride to Bainbridge island. The sea breeze was chilly and I abandoned the deck and my search for otters and sea lions, for the heated lounge. When we got to the island we heard drum beats in the distance. As we turned a corner we discovered an entire collection of drums arranged in a clearing. Children and adults alike were playing bongos and other kinds of drums (please excuse my limited ‘drum’ vocabulary). Tambourines and other jingly instruments (apologies again) lay in a basket on the floor. My kids and I went for it. We drummed to our hearts content for a long time. It was fun and exhilarating. Others joined us and then left. This was community drumming at its best and left everyone smiling in the end. We thanked the man who had so generously offered us this fun opportunity and left.

We then headed to the art museum with paper sculptures, old coins, antique dolls and playing cards. All that walking and drumming made us ravenous. We headed to the nearby café for hot chocolate, cinnamon buns and coffee. It was getting late so we headed back to the mainland. P wanted to eat fish and chips (something he fancied after a short stay in England). So we got off our boat and headed to Ivar’s fish and chips. It was the kids first time eating fish and chips (or French Fries as they call it in the U.S.). The pacific cod that they use must be really good and really fresh because the sea gulls were surrounding the modest shop that sits right on the pier. The kids and husband loved it and had it been warmer we might have eaten at the waterfront and fed some sea gulls Ivar style. There is a statue of Ivar feeding gulls in front of the fish shop. He also came up with the motto “Keep Clam”. We’ll be sure to order some of that Clam Chowder on our next visit.

We took the bus back home and ate a quick dinner so we could watch the fireworks in Bellevue, supposedly the best show in the area. We had seen the 4th of July fireworks at the Boston Esplanade and at the Cocoa Beach pier in Florida. Now we were seeing it for the first time in the Pacific North West. My daughter remembers the one in Boston because that year they had a firecracker that made a smiley face. Guess who all went to sleep with smiley faces that night? All of us! A fun day trip with the family in a sparkling city doesn’t get better than this!

How did you celebrate this 4th of July? I’d love to hear it all…