Spending Some Time in Seattle

I mentioned at the bottom of one of my posts that I needed to blog about spending a couple of nights with my dad in Seattle... partly because I want to keep a record of these experiences, and partly because I want to practice my sequential writing. So, here it is. Another attempt to capture a couple of days of my life in writing (if anyone has any tips to make these posts a little more interesting... besides doing something more interesting... please share! These posts always make me feel like a lame writer).

Just before the kids went back to school (I think it was the weekend before labor day weekend), my dad called our house (this happens rarely. in fact Katie and I were surprised when he actually remembered our birthday's this year and called us on them :)). He is currently dating a girl who works for a major news station in Seattle, and thus they often get free tickets or coupons for new events taking place in the area. He had a couple of options, but after taking schedules, etc. into account, we decided that going to a showing of Shrek the Musical at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle would be our best option. The musical was written for Broadway, but ran a test run here in Seattle to see how it would go over. It was exciting to be able to witness the beginning!

I have to be honest. I was a little skeptical. I mean seriously... who watches Shrek, and immediately thinks "I'm going to make this into a musical!" It really doesn't seem to lend itself well to that sort of atmosphere. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. The costumes, sets, and music were very engaging and interesting, and the acting itself was also excellent. They were selling Shrek ears in the lobby (think bunny ears, but smaller and greener), and although we didn't buy any, it was quite entertaining watching the people who did choose to christen themselves with said ears.

The show took place on a Friday, and we arrived at dad's on Thursday afternoon (he's living about 10 minutes out of downtown Seattle currently). When I woke up Friday morning I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and Katie went downstairs. Dad promptly told Katie that he had some bad news (a comment that of course, I heard. I think ears are especially attuned to the words "bad news"). He said that work had called and he had to go in... thus he would not be able to make it to the play, and our time spent with dad on this visit was over. He said he would do what he could, but he might have to go in anyway, so we decided we'd take the bus into downtown and spend the day at the Pike Place Market (I've been several times, but it never loses it's charm) and all of the wonderfully artsy shops and bookstores that dot downtown.

We had to take the bus because my dad needed his car, so we looked up the bus schedules online and found out that there was a bus stop about 2 blocks from where we were. It was great! I found myself wishing I could live that close to all the bustle and wonder of Seattle all the time. Anyway, the four of us (Me, Emily, Katie, Kenzie) caught the bus and enjoyed the twenty minute ride to downtown (which is another thing you can do to go green). When we got there we took a stroll through the market admiring the beautiful flower arrangements and handmade jewelry and clothing, and enjoying the endless food samples! It was super busy when we first arrived, and we had to make a little train to make sure we didn't lose anyone (we didn't). Soon we decided we were hungry and we found a man who was selling roasted corn with all sorts of different seasonings. We helped ourselves, and then took a seat at one of the open benches near his stand (he just so happened to be parked at the end of the market, in a little park that has an amazing view of Elliot Bay, and the ferries and cruise ships that come in and out through that area). While we were eating we saw a man ride by with a basket on his bike. In his basket was a miniature dachshund who just happened to be wearing a top hat and cape, and who was standing with his feet on the front of the basket as if to be saying, "ONWARD!" We enjoyed the park so much that we stayed for awhile even after we were finished eating. Turns out Emily is crazy scared of pigeons. There are tons of pigeons in that area (think people, food, free bird snacks), and anytime one would start inching in our direction, or even walk past, Emily would scream and cry! It was worse if one happened to swoop in our direction at all. We knew she was afraid of birds, but we had no idea she was that afraid. For this reason, we left sooner than we really wanted to.

It was about this time when dad texted us and told us that he had managed to get out of having to go to work, and so we decided to head home and meet up with him (he did get to go to the play with us after all :))

Though the play was fun, Seattle was probably the most enjoyable thing (for me) that we did on this trip. Seriously, the more time I spend in Seattle, the more I love it. If you ever have the chance to go, do it.