The First 24 Hours in Seattle

We went to Washington State a couple weeks ago, a trip to celebrate our upcoming silver wedding anniversary. Our time there was stellar, with busy bucket-listing in Seattle and serene unwinding in a little coastal town.

Wanna go with me on a 24-hour whirlwind tour of Seattle? Maybe just a little more than that; we'll cover our first evening and the next full day.

2 pm - land at SeaTac airport

I saw lots of familiar styles of luggage at this baggage-claim display. So now my old suitcases are art.

3 pm - light rail into downtown

4 pm - steep hilly streets that rival San Francisco, at least the first few blocks up from the water

We took in the waterfront views, browsed some shops, including Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, and reveled in the knowledge that we are on vacation! (This doesn't happen every single year, ya know.)

6 pm - Decided to have our "anniversary dinner" at Ivar's Restaurant. Waterfront view, yummy food (their famous "acres of clams" for Richard and surf and turf for me), and again, amazed to be on vacation. It's really here.

7 pm - Half price harbor cruise; a deal-seeker like me jumped on that one! We were very glad we hadn't taken the full-price event before dinner. 

All of this, on our travel day. We were so exhausted, we took a taxi the 10 blocks (uphill!) to our condominium. Check out this cute place:

We were on the seventh floor of a high-rise condo. After coming down the long hallway in the building, we came into this private hall with the map and artwork on the walls and laundry closet on the left.

The unique layout gave us access to our bedroom (on the right) and bath (on the left) with the owner's entrance to her full apartment through the door to the left of the light. 

Our cozy (definition: small) space provided a perfect place to land each evening after seeing the sights. What it lacked was a lounge spot to spend time talking, playing games, or snacking. So we just did all of our activities away from our condo and enjoyed our evening and morning times here in this pretty location.

Our kitchen closet - literally! -- the clothes closet is directly to the right

Our little morning coffee bar

Rooftop view

Waking our first day in Seattle, we had big plans: much to see! We had fruit and muffins at our condo and started off by renting Pronto bikes and we rode to Pike Place Market.

9:00 am - toured the fish, flowers, and fruit, all in abundance

10:00 am - joined a Shutter van tour, which was one of the best things we indulged in during this trip. During the next four hours, we were escorted to several places we had heard about and wanted to see, but we wouldn't have had any idea how to get it all done.

11:00 am - Snoqualmie Falls

12:00 pm - Fremont Bridge Troll

12:30 pm - Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder

Here, there is a line of boats off to the right, in water that is rapidly draining in order to lower them 26 feet so they can pass through from the Puget Sound to Lake Washington

Endless salmon swimming upstream, seeking fresh water to spawn

1:30 pm - Kerry Park for some of the best views of Seattle's distinctive skyline

2:30 pm - Our first "real" meal of the day, we fueled up on carbs and fat at Cafe Lieto for amazing smothered biscuits. Oh, my!

Please pay no attention to the crude sign. These are known as the "Biscuit B----"

By now, it was close to 4 pm and we were feeling like we had experienced a full day, but we still had places to go. We checked out our bikes again and rode to Pioneer Square, taking in the Beneath the Streets underground tour.

This is a glass skylight that provided sunshine into the storefronts that still operated for years after the city was rebuilt one level higher. This fixed sewage problems but created access problems until the sidewalks and streets were all completed and the previous second floor of each building became the normal street level. 

And then we were hot and exhausted! Our first 24 hours in Seattle, and we saw so much. We continued on and got refreshed at The Crab Pot by sharing an appetizer (the best crab cakes ever) and getting hydrated.

7:00 pm - Biking again, we rode through Olympic Sculpture Park and up to the Space Needle.

8:00 pm - Rode the monorail back to Westport Center and made another uphill ascent to our condo. Day is done!

So Long To Kitten Batch Number Two

This crew went back to the animal shelter today. They'll be spayed and neutered tomorrow and then put up for adoption ... and kittens are going like hotcakes there, so they'll probably each have a new home before the weekend is over.

This is a typical view of them hanging out behind their barricade that kept them confined to the bathroom and hallway. Whenever they heard us coming, they stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to us. Those eyes, how could any of us resist stopping to snuggle them?!

Also very typical ... the two more toward the front have always been the outgoing ones who are more receptive to pats and snuggles. The other two were more stand-offish and sometimes downright unsocial. We worked on getting them ready to be good kitties for some nice family, though!

Annie's favorite, Han Solo, is fluffy and snuggly. This is her very last time to hold him. *sniff*

And if I were told I had to keep one, this would be my choice: White Paws. She always came running when I was in view. She spent several evenings sitting on my lap during the past few weeks.

Bella wouldn't even let us hold her for a photo before we tucked each kitten into the kennel to go back to the shelter. But she looked up at snapping fingers!

And finally, this beauty with the crazy whiskers ... Princess Leia. Another one who wouldn't let us get in a last snuggle.

An hour and a half of hard work after we got home from the shelter, and my bathroom was back into perfect shape. I must say, while I want to have another round of foster kittens, I wouldn't mind waiting for a little while. They offered me two with no mama today; they require bottle feeding every two hours. I declined.

Blue Skies and Sunshine

Enjoying the trails and views of Colorado is something we don't do nearly enough, but we have a few favorite spots and venture out to new ones every now and then. This was one of our favorites from when the kids were little. Funny how walking this trail evoked memories and wistful feelings of those days.

My sweet husband and faithful partner for half of my life now.

It's always nice to find a stream on the hike. It changes the way the air feels, and the sound is truly soothing.

We wondered what kind of schooling and know-how we'd need to learn in order to be the park ranger that gets to live in this divine spot.

Escalator Phobia

If you've ever been to the mall with me, or anywhere with an escalator, you'll probably recall that stepping onto a "down" escalator is a bit like jumping into a swinging jumprope for me. I need to watch several steps roll by, hover my foot above, and finally place it down and take that step.

My sister and I did some touring around Minneapolis this week, and the Guthrie Theater is a place with a very unique escalator. First to fourth floor on one long stretch.

That's me, heading up the steep, eternal stairway, feeling a bit on the jittery side. I can't believe people step onto this thing like it's normal.

(In this next photo, there is a mirror in front of the top of the escalator)

And here's Pam's pic of the entry going down; going near that wasn't anything I could bring myself to do. I'm obviously kidding when I watch Amazing Race and say, "If I had to jump off that cliff, I could do it!" Riiight...

Longings of Moms

I can't tell you how many times during these first couple weeks of fostering two kittens and their mama I have likened their mother/child relationship to our parenting relationships with human children. When the babies are taken away from mama (because, you know, I need to weigh them ... and play with them), she is concerned and cautious. Likewise, when they are crawling all over mama and needing her, she is patient and happy ... and sometimes possibly a little overwhelmed.

Tonight when I opened the bathroom door, I found all three had ventured out of the kennel where they are usually snuggled together. I assume that the kittens had gotten curious, and mama followed to be protecting them. True to her form, though, the moment I opened the door, Mama immediately retreated back into the kennel and then watched to see what I would do with her babies.

I just enjoyed watching them. They walked around a little bit, on their still-wobbly legs. Their world is getting bigger. Just like kindergartners, getting a taste of new adventures just a half day at a time. And Mama waiting at the school door, ready for them to be done with each day's excursion.

After a few minutes, the little gray one had had enough. She's less adventurous than her white and gray sister, who has been stepping out of the kennel frequently for the past few day. She went back to Mama, like a middle school girl who needs some comforting advice from her mom. Sis hung out a little while longer, and then she decided it was time to head inside.

This mama kitty is oh-so-happy to have her girls back in the nest tonight. Can you hear her purr? She needs to enjoy it immensely now, because in another month, they'll be weaned and she will return to the animal shelter. The kittens will follow close behind, all of them to find new homes.

The comparisons to human relationships can get bleary eyed and heart wrenching at this point. Right now, I'm grateful that my "kittens" are in touch and we enjoy frequent interactions with them. Purrr.

Kitty Update

I really do not do pajama days. It's a very rare occasion (once every few years) that I am still in p.j.s after 8 a.m. So when it was approaching noon today and I was just heading for the shower, I was feeling a little bit unaccomplished.

You see, I was going to swim this morning. But I was waylaid by coffee and scripture memorization, and then I did a few chores, and then fell into the black hole of kitten admiration. I never did get in that swim, but I'm happy to say that I am finally dressed and ready to head out the door and do some shopping prep for an event this weekend.

But first, let me share with you some of the 14 kitten videos I took while I sat on the bathroom floor and enjoyed this sweet little family this morning...

This is where they live. That striped towel is where I sat this morning while I talked to and enjoyed watching them.

Hard to believe this loving mama is a wild stray cat. Maternal instincts sure kick in, and she is devoted to these babies.

Of course, when my college girl came home last weekend, she had to have a little fun. This kitty wore the Princess Look quite well.

These special young women probably would have snuggled the kittens all night if other activities hadn't beckoned.

 And here is just one video, because the others were coming in upside down and I don't know how to fix that. This is the sweet little curious kitty who wasn't interested in nursing. I predict that by the end of the week, I am going to have kittens crawling outside of their little bed area.

Finally, here is a bonus picture that has nothing to do with kittens. It's the very fun, cheap, accommodating vehicle that our favorite Captain America who is overseas purchased yesterday.