Seattle visit with Meg

Sunset over Seattle downtown

I spent two days in Seattle and this is as close as I got to seeing the sun!  Not bad, actually.  And since I live in Rochester I am kind of used to it.  After four days in the San Francisco area, I flew to Seattle to spend a couple of days with Meg.  She is here spending a well-earned sabbatical from her teaching at Lawrence University in Appleton WI.

Meg at the Pike Pub for lunch

I left heavy rains in San Francisco for constant rain in Seattle.  Fortunately the flight was on time and Meg picked me up in her Cooper Mini convertible.  There was room for me and my bags and that was about it.  He headed downtown to Pike Street and the market area.  We had lunch at the Pike Pub.  Meg stuck to her vegan diet but I had a luscious bowl of mac and cheese with copious bacon bits sprinkled on top.

After lunch we walked around the Farmers Market area and, of course, the fresh fish markets.  There were plenty of photos to be taken with so many interesting people and neatly displayed seafood and fruits.  There was a street band outside with one actual instrument as far as I could tell.  A lone guitar was accompanied by a washboard, tub bass, and a jug or two.

After we wound our way through several venues, Meg took me to the chewing gum wall.  What, you might ask, is a chewing gum wall?  Well it is a wall covered with chewed pieces of gum of various colors and consistency along with business cards randomly set into the gooey substrate.  I know it sounds distasteful and  it might but it is striking.  There are several photos in the album but a video is probably the best way to view it.

After this, we walked several blocks--up hill.  I learned that you are either going up hill or down hill in Seattle.  Rare is a street that is level for more than a block of two, especially downtown.  Meg's big secret surprise for me was a visit to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, a place where everything Starbucks is available.  It is also an active roastery as the name implies.

We spent almost two hours there enjoying the physical location as well as a coffee tasting with a flight of four coffees followed by a tasty truffle specialty.

After I checked in to the Green Lake Guest House, we joined Meg's housemates, Trish and Kat, for dinner at Razzis Pizza.  You can see more photos of this first day in Seattle by clicking here.

The next day we got started around 10:00 in steady and heavy rain.  We decided this would be an indoor day and made our way to the Museum of Popular Culture or MOPOP.  The purpose is well stated on the web site:  "The Museum of Pop Culture is a leading-edge nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock 'n' roll, MoPOP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through our collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower our visitors. At MoPOP, artists, audiences and ideas converge, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of our time."  The museum was initiated by Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft.  It is housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank Gehry designed building.  The museum is adjacent to the Space Needle but the rainy weather convinced us not to visit there that day.

We spent almost three hours going through the permanent and rotating exhibits.  There is a special focus on the Seattle (Northwest) music scene.  The favorite, at least of Meg's, is the Star Trek exhibit which has many of the original props and costumes.  There were several models of the Enterprise which were used to film all those flybys.  Below is my humble effort.

A special treat was waiting next door at the Chihuly Gardins and Glass.  These dramatic glass sculptures are some of my favorite and it was great to be able to see them up close.  Due to the inclement weather, it was difficult to take photos outdoors. I was able to get a few good ones of the interior exhibit.

We decided to go to the famous restaurant Ivar's Salmon House.  The salmon meal was delicious and the view would have been spectacular with just a bit of sun.  Still it was lovely scene out the window looking toward downtown.  Click here to view more photos of this day in Seattle.

I left early the next morning and was treated to a nice sunset scene at Dulles Airport as my plane was leaving for Rochester.  The big snow storm missed Washington and Rochester as well.