The last day of July. Wow- what a month! I can't believe we have been on the road for 41 days. It is really going quickly. Thanks for reading our blog everyone.
Today we got up at 9am (yahoo) and drove up to Seattle. I just love it when someone else drives and I can enjoy the scenery and take pictures (thanks Carolyn). It was Carolyn, Me, Michael and the girls- Mackenzie and Regan. The first place (after lunch) we stopped at was Pike's Market. Probably next to the space needle, the most famous landmark in Seattle. I thought it was going to be a real tourist trap with crappy stuff being sold. But, I was wrong.
There were about 100 booths, inside and out. They sold everything from live crawfish to t-shirts. I was very impressed by the produce and the flowers. Carolyn picked up the most beautiful bunch of sunflowers, which sold for $5. In NY, I would have easily paid twice that much. The quality of the flowers was outstanding.
The fruit and veggies, just as good. I had these cherries- don't remember the name, but they were SO amazing. They looked half ripe, but were so sweet. Then I had a regular cherry and it tasted a lot more bitter than the first one. I could have stayed there all day sampling, but Michael kind of had enough. Boy, he can only take about 20 minutes of places like this. We were able to pick up some t-shirts and see the first Starbucks.
After the market we drove over to Alki Beach in West Seattle where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. I knew right away when we drove down the road that it was from the movie. I called my friend Kerrie in NY and she confirmed it for me after checking on the IMDB website.
I liked this area. It reminded me of Virginia Beach. There was a boardwalk, shops & restaurants, small homes, people playing volleyball on the beach. It seemed like a very cool place to live or even hang out. And of course it has the best views of downtown Seattle. I will post some pictures as soon as possible.
When we see the pictures and video of the city of Seattle, it's usually shot from Alki Beach. But, when you are in the city itself, it's feels kind of cramped. It was very hilly. Lots of homeless people (just like SF). And there is this grassy area right by the market, which is very pretty, but runs along the highway. So, the traffic noise really kills any beauty of the spot.
I'm glad Carolyn drove, because it seems like a hard place to get around (by the market area). There are many levels and the parking was kind of hidden. You can't just look out and see the area. I bet if the city could, they would restructure that whole area. I'm still glad we went. It's a very pretty area. There are so many hills, neighborhoods and islands. A lot going on.
At 6:30pm we went to this place called "The Bouncy Place". They have the blowup slides and jumpers seen at carnivals. It costs $5 for about 90 minutes. We met some of Carolyn's friends there and it was also "disability day", which is the last thursday of each month. I saw about 5 kids with autism there. Michael had fun, but it wasn't very crowded, so I could tell he was a little bored. Plus, this was the 3rd place like this we had gone to in the last month.
After the Bouncy Place we stopped at this mexican fast food place- Baja Express or something like that. They don't have them in NY. It was fast food, but pretty good. Michael was able to get chicken- so all was good with the world.
We got home late (9:30pm) and Michael ran around with the girls for a while. He just feel asleep at 12:30am. Holy cow we are going to have a long day tomorrow. Oh yes, guess what? We were planning on driving to Squamish tomorrow. It's a small town about an hour north of Vancouver, BC (Canada). But now I don't know if we can go because there was a landslide and the road is closed. We would have to drive like 10 hours out of our way to get there. I emailed the inn where we had reservations to see if they have any ideas. But, we may spend a few days in Vancouver instead. This really stinks because I wanted to see where "Men in Trees" was filmed. Plus, I heard the area is beautiful. Hopefully I'll hear from the Inn on the way up there.
Wish us luck going over the border. I pray that they don't make me unload the car. It will take me an hour! We never made it to Mexico because some unnamed person didn't want to wait inline at the border crossing. But, we did see Mexico from the beach in south San Diego. So, this will be our first trip over the border.
I can't believe I'm finally caught up with the blog- except for the photos and video. But, the posts are up to date. We have 1 month left on the trip. From Vancouver to MN will all be knew for me. Once we get to Park Rapids, every place east of there I have already been to. So, I'm enjoying every step of the way. I'm not really tired of driving, but I am kinda tired of packing and unpacking. And putting $50 of gas in my car every few days isn't much fun. I'm glad gas prices are going down. We saw $3.99 per gallon today. But, overall, we are both doing great and enjoying the trip. Michael's behavior has been pretty good the last 2 weeks. I think it has helped staying with friends. We won't see anyone we know until MN- so it will be another long stretch- but I know we can do it!
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