The Journey
Landing in Seattle after a 9 hour flight seems so much more efficient than in the past. We disembarked and walked to the immigration without any hold baggage to hang around for. No queue and we exited within 2 minutes.
The flight had passed smoothly enough. I didn’t enjoy the main meal. I watched the old Goodfellas Movie and wondered why it had such a high reputation. I remained asleep when they served the snack at the end of the flight and Maggi said the food tasted awful, so I’m glad I missed out on another rubbishy BA meal.
I think it’s about time we looked for a different airline to fly long haul. The service with BA seems to worsen by the day. The lounges at Terminal 5 always seemed too busy and you have to search around for a seat. The whole flying experience they offer seems tone getting worse.
Alex meets us
Because we passed through the airport formalities so quickly by the time we exited the terminal Alex hadn’t yet arrived. It wasn’t long, however, before we saw her smiling face and she with both the girls jumped out of the car to give us both big hugs. It’s always great to arrive in Seattle and receive such a warm welcome.
We made our way back to Queen Anne, only delayed by the bridge on route 99 being up for awhile. Greg had made a pasta dish and we all sat down to enjoy our evening meal. We stayed up as long as possible before the jet lag forced us into bed around 10:30.
Monday in University Village Seattle
Both Maggi and I managed to stay in bed until until 6 am, although Maggi did wake me up several times through the night because of my snoring.
I drove Maggi and Sadie over to University Village to buy Sadie a skirt and top in two of the trendy shops in the mall. Maggi also shopped and bought a pair of trousers or should I say slacks. When we had finished the shopping part of our visit we decided to have a bite to eat at Bamboo Sushi. We have eaten in the same restaurant a couple of times before with mixed results. This time round I think we choose the wrong things and we had a very poor meal.
We brought back some of the remaining food and then through it away a couple of days later, as I knew we would. It wasn’t that appetising the first time round so why we thought we might eat it at a later date i don’t know.
Tuesday in Golden Park Seattle
Today the big trip out took us to Golden Park with Carrie. Maggi, Carrie and I drove down to the car park beside the shore in early afternoon. I took responsibility for Bennett the dog while Maggi stayed with Carrie as she paddled in the sea.
I walked with Bennett to the end of the park where we found a small pond. Suddenly Bennett almost pulled my arm at out its socket as he jumped into the pond to try and catch the ducks. I did manage to restrain him and pull him out with no damage to the ducks.
On the way back I let go of the lead and tried to play ball with him, but he would only chase after the ball and then leave it where he found it.
When Bennett and I returned to the girls we walked on past the car park and found a place to have an ice cream. The girls indulged in the chemical abomination that went by the name of ice cream.
Wednesday Shopping in Seattle
Maggi and I started the day by walking down to Nickelson Street where we had a couple of cappuccinos, and then walked along the canal with Bennett in tow. After walking back to the house we drove off to QVC on West Dravus St. I found the store very disappointing both in the stock and the quality of the service. One man however, was very helpful when we tried to use the self-checkout.
Maggi and I couldn’t find tagliatelle in QVC so we decided to drive over to Safeway’s in Queen Anne. Before we entered the store we popped into Ikiiki Sushi Bar Japanese & Chinese Cuisine where we had a cheap meal of noodles and soya. Tasted better than Monday’s sushi restaurant and a lot less expensive.
When we arrived at Safeway we found they didn’t have tagliatelle either.
In the evening Maggi made a spaghetti dish with green vegetables and creme fresh.
Thursday Long Walk to South Lake Union and Back, pick up Reids from airport
Since we have arrived at Queen Anne we haven’t actually done anything or seen anything so I thought it would be a good idea to go to the largest art gallery in downtown Seattle. Maggi reluctantly agreed. Just before we set off Greg said it was a bad idea and we should go and walk to The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).
He suggested that the walk would be nicer and the museum more interesting. Maggi was persuaded. I wondered why a museum should also have the word history in the title.
We followed a route from Komoot and it took us all along Westlake Drive to the souther end of Lake Union. As we arrived I realised we had visited the museum before. We entered and found the cost of a single senior ticket $20. I didn’t feel like paying this much to tour round a very average museum. Instead we sat down in the cafe and had a coffee each.
The return journey was more of a challenge. We needed to climb back up to Queen Anne. We retraced our footsteps along Westlake Drive and then crossed the road via a bridge and then climbed up a series of steps until we arrived at Route 99. Again we crossed via a bridge but then followed along beside this busy road.
Komoot then directed us off to the left through a wood. Maggi was a little dubious about walking on this quiet out of the way path, but we did proceed anyway. We emerged nearly at the top of Queen Anne on 5th Ave N puffing and panting following the continual climb. I think my heart rate registered 111.
We then carried on and headed to Ken’s Market to pick up a couple of things for lunch. The path took us through a hidden allotment. As well as the normal fruit and vegetables many of the raised beds contained loads of flowers.
After lunch I felt quite tired, but Maggi dragged me out to play with the girls where I tried catching a ball with a La Crosse stick for the first time. Missed the ball completely, but after a few goes managed to actually catch it and throw it back. I also kicked a football very badly. Finally we ran around throwing a ball at a basketball hoop, Maggi and Sadie v Carrie and myself. I had forgotten how tiring this can turn out to be.
We returned and Alex drove to the airport on her own to pick up Adam and all the family.
Greg had cooked the evening meal and he served it shortly after all the Reids arrived. Although all the cousins were excited to see each other the jet lag slightly reduced the noise level.
After dinner the kids descended into the basement to play while the adults watched the last two episodes of The Offer. I have no idea what Sarah or Adam made of it as they hadn’t see any of the previous 8 episodes.