Monday, August 18, 2008

Trip to Seattle

We joined the line of cars waiting to load the 10:15am ferry to Seattle.  A security dog sniffs each car in the four lines.  We drive on to the ferry, park the car and climb two flights to the passenger deck.  I get coffee and settle in for the forty-five minute ride.  I watch passengers and the passing scene.  I eavesdrop on the group in the next seating booth.  I hear a local telling their southern visitors about the area.  They share "home" stories.  A cell phone rings. "Hello.  I can't hear you."  Someone else takes the phone.  "Here I'll see if I can hear."  pause- Speaker phone,  Now everyone can hear.   Someone begins to talk of the Tacoma Narrows bridge and how to cross only the free direction and go back another way to avoid paying a bridge toll.  They decide it is too much trouble to save a couple of dollars.  We d rive off the ferry, turn right and find  terminal five where our cruise will start.  We tour Seattle due to my less-than-perfect navigation skills. eventually we get to the bookstore.


We took a trip to Seattle to visit my friend Jennifer.  We drove on to the ferry, parked the car and took pictures of the trip.  In Seattle we visited the University of Washington bookstore. Met Jennifer and she took us to a tiny Mexican restaurant.  After lunch we caravan to a small but tranquil Japanese garden.  Walking among the perfectly pruned and shaped trees is relaxing.  In the water are many well-fed carp.  We see about out eight dinner-plate size turtles and one duck.  

Time to go.  Jennifer gives directions back to the ferry dock.  All is well.  We are following the signs to the bremerton ferry and suddenly find ourselves in the hell of Seattle freeway traffic.  I have never eard Paulette swear as she did in the five or ten minutes it took us to find an exit.  Fortunately  it was the street we needed.   Although the turn looks wrong when we get to the corner that threw us into hell we take the opposite way and find the ferry dock.  On board we buy Haggen Das ice cream bars for $4 each (worth it) and soon we are back in Bremerton.  Paulette has a private lesson with Chris.  The group Rumba class followed.  Great day.

I will post more photos of Seattle later.  My learning curve on photobucket is high.

 

1 comment:

Janell said...

Cool ferry pictures. It looks like it was almost as nice a Great Grandpa's.

And I nominate "my less-than-perfect navigation skills" to be awarded Understatement of the Year... :)