Seattle Day: Irene and Isaac Explore the City.

Each June when Jill and the kids visit, we spend at least one day exploring the city of Seattle.   They've been a lot of places, so we needed some new ideas.  That's where this book comes in.  I ordered it and it was delivered last weekend, so we were ready to make our list.  We eliminated some of the places we had already been, and made a list of the new ones.

Of course the Public Market is never eliminated, and that's where we started.

 Our annual photo with the market pig.

Then we went to find Hammering Man.  He's a new find for the kids, located at the Seattle Art Museum, just down the street from the market.

Our next destination was one that was not in the book, and none of us had seen before, but we had heard about it and seen it on TV.  It took a bit of looking to find the southern end of Post Alley, and the Gum Wall.

Yes, it really is a wall covered with deposits of chewing gum.  Irene added her mint gum, being careful to touch only her own gum.

 Isaac wanted his own space to leave his mark.  He found virgin territory.

Then we headed down the hill climb to the waterfront, another place we must return to each year.  Elliot Otter gives warm hugs.

Of course we had fish and chips for lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront, where the seagulls await handouts of french fries.

 While Ivar himself is long gone, he lives on in spirit and in this statue.

 More fun at Waterfront Park.

Then we headed back up to the car to find the rest of our list of places.  This sculpture at Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill is on the cover of the book,

 The view from here is amazing.

 This painter was doing a great job of capturing it.

Now we are off to Fremont to find the Troll.  He lives under the north approach to the Aurora Bridge. Unfortunately he was vandalized with spray paint the night before.

We heard on the news this evening that a local crew of volunteers had most of the paint removed already.  Trolls don't have broad smiles.  Note that this one has captured a VW Bug.

Also on the list, and also in Fremont, is the statue "Waiting For the Interurban", which the locals like to dress up.

 A few more are now waiting for the trolley.

Lastly, we walked down to the canal, under the bridge, where it opens into Lake Union.  There we found the Lake Union Houseboats, also in the book.  We all agreed that green one would be a good choice.  Irene liked the idea of commuting by boat instead of car.

We were back home by 4:00, ahead of the traffic, and with our check list complete.

Tomorrow we head for Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast, for a four day stay at the little red cabin by the sea.