18 Hours in Seattle

On arrival last night we found McCormick & Schmicks running a late night happy hour; $1.99 hummus $2.95 cheese burger, $3.95 quesadilla. Also tried the Pale Ale from Manny's Seattle Brewery. Beer tasted great and the food was not bad, for the price.

This morning we walked through Pike's Place Market, an inside/outside market full of fresh produce, seafood and oddities like a dried fruit stick coated in coconut (pictured)-- think Reading Terminal Market, only larger and with more seafood. This place is a foodies dream, I hope to bring Christine here one day as she'd be in heaven. The Public Market is also home to the original Starbucks location, which was packed full of caffein deprived tourists. I took a few pictures but decided I'd buy my cup of Starbucks at a less crowded location. Full from the hotel provided breakfast, Kyle & I decided to jump back in the car for the short trip to the Space Needle.

The Space Needle is a must see! The cost I think is a bit high at $18, but it does include a free professional photo of your group. At 520 feet, the view of Seattle & Mt. Rainier from the observation deck is amazing, it was really hard to capture the awesomeness with my camera, attempts are below. After the Space Needle,Kyle wanted to visit the Science Fiction museum but I decided to pass, so I found some free wifi while Kyle went in and sent me pictures from inside. Kind of a 2 for 1 admission!

Now hungry for lunch we decided to trek back to Pike's Market for some of that great food we passed on before. We decided to leave the car parked near the Space Needle and walk the 1.2 miles back to the market…maybe not the best decision as this walk quickly turned into a mild jog once we realized the extra hour we put on the parking meter was quickly dissolving. We made it to the market in record time, now what? So many options, so little time. Some guy was giving out fresh peach samples, I happily accepted and asked him where we could get a good sandwich, he suggested Three Girls Bakery right across the street. I'm so happy we asked this guy, Three Girls Bakery, which only had one girl, was AMAZING. We were looking for a place that would allow us to try a taste of Seattle's salmon as Kyle's mom suggested we not leave the city without first trying it. Three Girls Bakery filled the order with their Salmon sandwich. Wow, this sandwich completely made my Seattle trip. It consisted of baked wild sockeye salmon, topped with cucumbers, thinly sliced onion, and capers, all served on fresh sour dough bread with a lemon aioli. Wow, just wow. After I woke up from that dream I wanted to do one more thing before we left, have a cup of Starbucks coffee in itchier hometown. I ordered a Tall Pike's Place Roast (only available at two places, both in Seattle). Yes, it tastes just as burnt here as anywhere else in the country. =)

With Seattle checked off the list, it was time for the Microsoft tour in Redmond, Washington. After sitting through a bit of rush hour traffic we found ourselves parked at the lair of Apple Computer's arch nemesis, Kyle's iPhone vibrated with fear. Greeted by the welcome center receptionist we found out that the tour was not quite a tour, but was more of self guided walk through through a products display area and gift shop. Inside we were able to play with Xbox's, Windows computers, Windows phones, and a full size touch display. Kyle and I played chess on the giant touchscreen then hit the gift shop before departing.

Final stop in Washington was Mount Rainier to see some glaciers! So we drove toward the giant mountain in the distance! We drove… and drove… and drove, finally finding an entrance to Mount Rainier Nation Park. Continuing beyond the gates we found ourselves on an uphill climb around the mountain. On the way up we encountered at least a 30 degree temperature change. At the bottom it was around 82*, as we climbed the temperature dropped to 64* and had to be in the 50's around the waterfalls and snowy areas. Pretty cool!

Long Day! Next stop Portland, Oregon!