Vacation Recap - Round 3

For me, no trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to the Market... better known as Pike Place Market. I always say, if you only have one day in Seattle, you must go there. Yes, it's touristy, I know, but I still love it and probably always will. There is no way I can go there and not be in a good mood - even when it is insanely crowded. We snuck out on Saturday at 7am and headed up for a short visit before the wedding later in the afternoon.

We started the morning the only way you can at Pike Place - with a stop into the Original Starbucks. Jim grabbed this candid shot as I was stepped out onto the sidewalk.

We were actually to the Market really early, by 8am, and things were just getting set up and it was almost completely empty... I'd never seen it like this. It was cool because you could almost feel it in the air that the energy was just about to burst. By 10am these walkways would be shoulder to shoulder with people.


The fresh flowers are one of my favorite things here. They are ridiculously cheap and totally awesome...

Here is the bunch we picked out for my mom...


There are lots of old handpainted signs like this throughout the Market which add to the ambiance.

This was the stand we had breakfast from - I chose a peach and Jim chose a pear. Ordinarilly I would never eat fruit without washing it, but here, you just go with it.

Here's Jim enjoying that breakfast - actually he looks mad - but he wasn't, I swear...

Miscellaneous Produce Shots...

Pike Place is home to the "guys that throw the fish" - Here's the corner of their booth. Dungeness crabs - my favorite!

While waiting for Jim's favorite toy store to open (http://www.greatwindup.com/) , we walked down to the park behind the Market. From there, you have a view of the Port of Seattle, with its giant cranes for lifting cargo off ships...

Before leaving, we headed back to Starbucks again (hey, it's Seattle) so Jim could get a Frappucino for the road. Outside, there was this fun band playing, called Slimpickins. They had an aluminum upright bass, resonator guitar, washboard, and fiddle.

Here's a short clip of them playing...

Then it was back to the car - Jim with Monster cookie and Frappucino in tow, for the drive back home.

What a terrific way to start a morning...