Seattle

We got up early this morning (6:30 a.m.!--well, early for us). We had to finish packing, move to the storage area, and be ready for our shuttle driver to pick us up at 9:00 a.m. We thought we'd have time to explore more of the hiking trails at the park, but as it turned out, as we were backing in to the storage space, the driver was waiting for us. There was actually room for all the luggage. Our driver said we'd have to go a bit before we caught up with the two elderly ladies he picked up once with 21 bags! We had a pleasant chat on our way into town, and the ride went quickly. We arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel, where we were meeting Chris and Shawn and Annie.

We all walked to the SEA (Seattle Art Museum) where they are members. We saw some of the permanent collections, but mainly we visited the special exhibit of Australian aboriginal art. It was all rather extraordinary, grounded in sacred ceremonies and mysteries, with a tension between exposing and hiding, between the outside and the inside meanings. Much of the artwork involves very intricate repetitive designs, with dots and crosshatchings and striping.

After a while I started to feel a bit dizzy (my astigmatism makes it difficult for me to look at some patterns), so we moved on to other exhibits. We didn't take the time to visit all the museum has to offer. It was lunchtime, and Shawn needed to leave by 2:00 p.m. to join a group of friends who are spending the night camped at Mount St. Helens so they can get an early start in the morning to climb the mountain, which they do every year or so.

We walked down to the Pike Place Market area, where we stopped to see the famous (or infamous) "gum wall," created by thousands of gum chewers. We had bagel sandwiches and then returned to the hotel, where we said goodbye to Shawn and went to our room to rest before heading out to explore.

A small part of the gum wall.

Pike Place Market restrooms

Seattle waterfront--ferris wheel reminded us of Santa Monica Pier

Lee and Chris torturing Annie

Pier 66, where we will board our cruise ship tomorrow 

Pirate ship--the crew were serenading at a local bar

Next we walked down to Pike Place Market, but it was closing, so we walked over to the waterfront and down to our cruise ship pier before walking back towards Belltown for supper at Forte, a nice little Italian bistro. It was 9:00 by the time we got back to the hotel, and we agreed to meet at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast.
Seattle is an extraordinary place. As we walked around, we were accosted by many people, mainly proselytizers and beggars. I felt accosted by the smoke which stuffed up my head and gave me a headache. I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep!