It’s finally time to head to Seattle, our destination from the beginning of the summer.  Alaska was a side trip!

We made it! Time to get set up then take the train into downtown, to meet Nate and Kate.

Nate likes to play pinball so we had made arrangements to meet at his favorite spot, Shorty’s.

The next day, Dave and I had a leisurely day at the campground and stocked up on groceries while Nate and Kate worked.

We headed into town in the late afternoon and toured Pike Place Market. We got to see an example of the famous Pike Street Fish, fish throwing event. Fun!

We need to come back to the market some day, to purchase some of the fare, specialty sausages and pastas.

We went to Nate and Kate’s apartment for a pizza supper and bonding time.

The next day we had another fun day in Seattle. We walked a lot and went on a Beneath Seattle tour in Pioneer Square, while waiting for Nate to get off work. We also went to see him at work and pretended to be disgruntled guests.

There are some neat art sculptures.

We went back to the Market to pick up some specialty brats and pastas that we had seen on our first visit.

While walking back to the transit station, I had to show Dave the famous gum wall before heading to Nate’s apartment where he ordered pizza for supper.

On Saturday, while waiting for Nate, we walked down to the pier to watch a cruise ship getting ready to leave. Wow, is it big!

We walked to Nate and Kate’s apartment where Kate had made a delicious pot roast supper for us.

On Sunday, we drove up to North Bend to visit Dave’s cousin Evette and her husband Mark. We had a delicious meal of salmon and a corn/tomato salad. For an appetizer, they had served a creamy blue cheese. I normally don’t care for blue cheese but this was fantastic and I plan to buy some!

On Monday, we had plans to meet Nate for some pool. We walked about a mile from the transit station an took some pictures of a neat church along the way.

We were early, so we stopped at a microbrewery to wait. They had a pamphlet about some of their philosophies concerning tips and a bosses responsibilities to his employees. Dave and I agreed with everything it had to say. No tips with starting wage for all workers at $20/hour.

And now, off to supper. Nate took us to a British restaurant. I had Bangers and Mash (sausage and mashed potatoes). Dave had Shepherd’s pie. Both were awesome!

On the way back to the transit station, Nate and I walked through the waterfall fountain.

Nate had the day off on Tuesday so we met for breakfast at the Marriott Waterfront where he used to work. Nate wanted to introduce me and Dave to some of his friends He particularly wanted me to meet his “work mom” Pauline but she was on vacation. We will have to get back there before we leave Seattle.

The three of us took a water taxi over to West Seattle, the original part of the city. The day was beautiful and we enjoyed being out doors together.

We walked along the beach front. That is a popular place for people who walk dogs. Some people had up to 5 dogs on a leash at one time. I was impressed that they did not get all tangled up.

I can’t remember what organization made 200 miniature Statue of Liberties, but they are 1/18 of the original size. Forty of these were place to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts.

Wednesday was moving day for us. We only had a one week reservation at the KOA, while we waited to get into the Evergreen Fairgrounds. We couldn’t park their while the fair was going on. It is a simple lot, but meets our needs.

After riding the train into the city, now we have to learn to get around by bus. We found a stop about 20 minutes from our campground. We had already purchased and Orca card to pay for the fare, since it had to be Orca or exact cash.

Dave had not been to the space needle so we walked Seattle Center to see it. Neither of us wanted to pay the price of admission, but it was still neat to see.

Nate and I had been talking about going to the 5 Point bar and restaurant some day. I have been there with him on every one of my visits to Seattle. As Dave and I were walking back to the downtown area and texting with Nate to make plans on where to meet, Dave looked up and there was 5 Point! So, that is where we met for the evening. The food and atmosphere was as good as I remembered and the bartender was even one that I had met 5 years ago. (Has it really been 5 years since I’ve been here???)

On Friday, I wanted to show Dave the Seattle public library. It is a neat building of angles and glass.

As we were walking back from the library we saw a motorcyclist side-swipe the rear bumper of a car that was stopped to wait for a turn. It sounded bad, but the rider got right back up. Dave and another bystander helped him pick up and move his bike to side of the street. As we left he looked fine and was exchanging info with the car driver. Could of been a lot worse! After that we wandered around and stopped in a pub (Retro Restaurant & Lounge) to wait for Nate. It had a neat atmosphere, but was way to loud so we moved onto a different restaurant.

We ended up at the Whiskey Bar for a light supper before saying good night to Nate.

We then went next door to another pinball joint where Dave and Nate played a few games.

On Saturday, we met Nate for pizza at Rocco’s. One could say that Nate likes pizza…

On the way home as we sat in the bus shelter it started to rain. As we got onto the bus the shower turned into a full-fledged thunder storm with lots of lightning. The driver was allowing groups of people on without paying just to get them off the street faster and was making extra stops trying to keep everyone safe. He had everyone turn off their cell phone because he was concerned that the phones would attract lightning to the bus. Something that both Dave and I doubted, but we complied.

Sunday is a stay at home day for us. I really needed to catch up on this website and do some cleaning. Yuck!

On Monday, we met Nate and Kate at a neat pub, Yard House. The decor was neat!

This was our last day in the northern part of Seattle, and we wanted to meet Evette and Mark again, for lunch. Besides, we had not gotten any pictures the last time we got together. They suggested The Commons, just two miles from the Park & Ride where we need to catch the bus. The food was great and then wonderful company was even better!

On Wednesday, we moved to our final campground while in the Seattle area, Sawyer Lake Resort. We have sure learned that the campgrounds around here have very small sites. Oh well, it is just a place to eat and sleep.

We got together with Nate on Thursday, at Collins Pub. He keeps looking for places near our bus and train stops. This was 450 feet from the transit center! Unfortunately, Kate was unable to join us.

We planned to go to Gig Harbor on Thursday so did not see Nate. However, tentative plans with Dave’s cousin Paul did not pan out and we didn’t feel like doing anything so we stayed home!

On Saturday, Nate and Kate came out to the campground for supper. They had never seen our home and were anxious to check it out. We had a yummy supper of home made Juicy Lucy’s and grilled potato packets. We had picked them up at the closest transit station, but later drove them back home. It was Dave’s first time driving in to Seattle. The traffic is crazy, but not too bad on a Saturday night.

On Sunday, Nate wanted to show us some of his old haunts. We went to Ballard to check out a funny establishment, Full Tilt, in Ballard. Where else can you play pin ball or arcade games and buy beer or ice cream?!

I love all of the little communities of Seattle. Some of them used to be their own town and were eventually incorporated into Seattle. They all have their own main streets, shops and personalities.

Then we wandered around the Ballard Farmers Market for a while.

We got back on to the bus and headed to Fremont to check out more art.

We all got to be on TV, on the J.P. Patches Show.

Nate wanted to take us to Minnesota Themed Bar for a supper of pizza and cheese curds.

Monday was Nate’s day off so we met him in China Town/International District and wandered around Uwajimaya. It is really neat!

I wanted Dave to see King Street Station, where I have arrived and departed by Amtrak on a past visit to see Nate.

We wanted to meet with a friend of his at the Marriott, but wires got crossed and we missed Pauline. Dave and I will still try to meet her before we leave Seattle.

We ended the day by going back to Five Point where we met Kate for supper.

On our last day, we tried one last time to meet up with Nate’s friend Pauline, at the Marriott Waterfront. He calls her his work mom and wanted his two moms to meet. Due to some miscommunications, it looked like we had missed her again, so Dave and I walked to the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) Sculpture Garden, about 1/2 mile from the Waterfront. Just as we were starting to walk through the garden, Nate called and said Pauline was still at the Waterfront and would wait for us. We walked back very, very quickly. We spent an hour visiting with this lovely lady. Nate was able to get off work to join us too.

Then we walked to another of Nate’s favorite pizza joints where Kate joined us for our last evening together.

We walked the two blocks to the apartment before saying goodbye to Nate and Kate. I was fortunate to see Nate almost every day for three weeks. That sounds like a lot, but I never know when I will see him again. I know it could be years so I am always sad to say goodbye. I love Nate and Kate and already miss them so much.