expedition_retirement | Seattle (Reply)

When we woke up at our AirBnB on Sunday morning, we still had time to kill if we didn't want to show up at the campground before our friends were checked in and had the camper set up. Since my wife had never been to Washington before, we decided to take in some of the sights in Seattle before crossing the Sound and making our way to the campground. So after we got up, we drove into the city and parked at the garage at the Pike Place Market.

We spent quite a while exploring the market, watching them throw and catch fish at the fish vendor, tasting samples of various products, and generally enjoying the fun atmosphere. I had been here previously, but my schedule didn't give me much time, and I hadn't realized just how big the market really was. It was actually a little overwhelming when I realized how much I had missed the first time around. Eventually, we settled into a restaurant for a seafood lunch that was quite delicious.

After lunch, we walked north towards the Space Needle. We bought tickets to go up to the observation deck to take in the views of the city and the surrounding area. It was a bright sunny day, with clear skies, and you could see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. After enjoying the views, I took the elevator back to the ground, but they were offering free t-shirts to those who walked down the 800 steps to the bottom, and my wife decided to take the challenge.

Back on the ground, we realized it was time to get on the road to meet our friends, so we headed back to Pike Place to get our car. We then drove to the ferry terminal and got in the queue for the Bainbridge Island ferry. We timed it well, as the ferry had just arrived and was off-loading cars and passengers as we got in line, so we didn't have to wait long to board.

Once we were parked on the ferry, we walked up to the open decks to take in the views as we crossed the Sound. We got another glorious view of Mt. Rainier, as well as views of the Seattle skyline behind us. All too soon, we pulled into the terminal at Bainbridge Island and we had to return to our car to continue our drive out to the campground.