Day 41: Seattle, WA (first day)

Red has never been to Seattle before. Neither has she ever been in the Pacific Northwest. Yellow has been to Seattle twice, but it was always on the way to another destination. He remembers walking around the city with a very cloudy sky, when it was not raining. But this time, the weather was excellent, especially the second day. It just rained a little bit on the first day, so it was a very clear and sunny day the next day. A great time to discover the city.

But first, we have to leave Mount Vernon, which doesn’t happen immediately that morning. In fact, Red’s classes start today. So she studies while Yellow does some planning. We leave in the middle of the morning, and we drive to a liquid propane station. Our LP tank is getting very low, and we tried to refill it up at several gas stations in the past two weeks, without real success. It’s always a big challenge for the person in charge. A couple of liters might have made their way inside, or not. So there is urgency here. When the guy looks at our tank system, he tells us right away that he doesn’t like those kinds at all, and that success is not a warranty. Fortunately, after a couple of trials, he refills the LP tank totally. Yeeehaa, we’re good for several weeks again. Thank you Northwest Propane! And off we drive to Shoreline, WA, a town in the northern suburbs of Seattle.

There, we meet Dan & Kathryn around noon, our hosts for the next two nights. We chat for a bit and settle down in our room, close to the kids’ room. Then, we take the bus to reach downtown Seattle. We take Bus 347 and, really hungry, we start eating our lunch. Then, we transfer to bus 511. But we have to buy another ticket. We look so confused – especially with that very thick French accent - that the driver tells us to just sit and not worry about the ticket. She explains briefly that this is an express bus, so it requires another ticket. It gets to our brain, and we know that we have to figure out another route to get back home.

 

Once arrived downtown Seattle, we walk toward Pike Place Market and browse in and around it for a while: it is a gigantic market selling everything from the fresh local produce and seafood, to the strangest specialty shop items, along Pike Place and spilling over into the neighboring alleys and inside the buildings, going up and down several levels. The world’s biggest shoe is there, and a museum. Not to forget the gum wall.

 

We don’t really have a map, neither do we have a plan. We walk and end up at Pioneer Village, an older neighborhood with some charming brick buildings.

 

 

A little bit more walking brings us to International Village. Chinatown is not far but we are focused on finding our way back home. After choosing the wrong bus, we finally get on Bus 41, which leads us to Bus 347, which leads us back to our hosts’ place.

 

We have dinner with the whole family, the parents and the two kids, who are going to a French school. We eat the most delicious pieces of tofu, tender with a very crispy crust. We talk about our Mennonite connections and about Africa, as the family spent several years there, especially in Uganda and Chad. Later in the evening, once the kids are in bed, we continue the discussion around some Spanish wine and American goat cheese.