We walked along Broadway, an interesting street boasting some eclectic stores and a community college as well. We saw the foot plan for the foxtrot on the sidewalk.
Further down Broadway we went over a street or two to walk through Cal Anderson Park, where there was a water sculpture plus several ponds and one with ducks!
After leaving the park we headed back to Broadway and our ultimate goal of downtown and Pike Place Market. We did see a few homeless people sleeping under bushes and steps behind buildings. That is, obviously, very sad.
We made our way downtown passing numerous Starbucks and very curious shops. Eventually we arrived at The Pike Place Market and headed for the fish market where we knew that they tossed the fish being purchased from the display areas to the men who would wrap the fish. When a purchase had been made they would sing out what the fish was...three trout or two red fish...and the whole crew would be chanting this and then the worker on the floor near the displayed fish would pick up the fish and throw it to the man behind the counter.
Obviously this attracts a whole lot of spectators who want to see the tossing and snap it!
The market has everything, everything. There were so many Hmong flower vendors that the air hung heavy with the aroma from the flowers.
Got a peek at the very first Starbucks too...the line for ordering extended outside and down the sidewalk past several more stores. Needless to say, we skipped getting coffee there.
Next was a ride on the Monorail to the Space Needle in the Seattle Center, where one also finds the EMP Miseum and the Chihuly Museum and Gardens. The monorail is straight from the 1962 science fair in Seattle, and, although very advanced at the time, it feels very 60s-ish now. We skipped the Needle for today because of the crowds and headed to the Chihuly Exhibition. Below are several photos to give you an idea of this place and the art work. It is glass!
Many of the indoor exhibits were in darkened rooms with the glass sculptures illuminated in such a way that they really seemed to have a life of their own.
It is difficult to obtain a sense of scale from the photos. This bottom shot was of two boats spanning a total of about 40' in length!
We continued outdoors where the glass and plants became nearly as one.
Marty had a field day shooting with both the camera and iPad. There were also flowers and bees to be photographed as well.
A late lunch and well deserved break was next before we headed to the sculpture garden where American Idol was auditioning and it was a waste of our time to even try to get in it. Plan B was next next, and that was going to the Seattle Aquarium. This was yet another walk and we were certainly beginning to feel it. But we went and enjoyed seeing the exhibits as well as doing some people watching too.
Marty's favorite of the exhibits was the birds..This Tufted Puffin who was madly courting the only female in the pool and putting on quite a show.
From the aquarium we headed back to the room via bus. We both crashed for over an hour before deciding to eat at the closest restaurant to us, a small, family oriented Mexican place where we both indulged in large margueritas.
Now back in the room at 8:00 pm we are ready to rest. We have walked, according to Marty's Fitbit 21,454 steps for a total of 8.81 miles. Enough for one day we would say.
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