Seattle

From southern Washington, we drove straight north on IH 5 to and through Seattle and beyond to a Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle. While researching RV parks in the Seattle area, we found it very difficult to find a place with a decent rating from previous visitors. We finally gave up, deciding that we were going to be staying a pretty good distance from the city. The park we chose is not the greatest park, but it's on a bay and we loved the community of Anacortes. What the RV park lacks in aesthetics is made up for in the community, especially the downtown area. The streets are lined with huge hanging pots of flowers and the residential areas are made up of frame houses with a great deal of charm, for the most part.

This inn and spa was a definite landmark in the downtown area. Everyone in the family was due for hair cuts. After dropping Linda off at a local salon, the guys made their way to a marina shop. Linda is more blonde than she was expecting, but everyone was generally pleased with their new 'do's'.

Anacortes has a harbor with ferry transportation to the San Juan islands and Sidney, British Columbia. We're planning a day trip to the islands later - so there will be more photos of the islands that populate the area.

We planned a day trip to Seattle with very few stops. An abnormal heat wave was upon the area with temperatures pressing the 100 F mark. While not entirely unaccustomed to those types of temperatures, we don't particularly enjoy them!

We have used a book entitled 'Roadtripping USA' at several points along our journey and in the case of Seattle, found it to be an invaluable resource. We steered clear of areas that wouldn't interest or be suitable for the kids (or us!) and decided to park near the monorail terminal and hoof it to sights from there. The book had recommended a specific parking garage and it was as reasonable as reputed. Our boys were also elated to find that Barnes and Noble was housed in the building with the garage, so we would return to browse on our way back to the truck.

Before boarding the monorail, we wanted to see the Public Market at Pike Place. Only a six or seven blocks away, we took in the city environment along the way. Occasionally, we looked for the Blue Angels that were practicing for an event on the weekend. Problem was, the sound of the jets was evident only after the jets had passed and with the city skyscrapers, it was then impossible to spot them!

The market was very busy, even with the steadily increasing temperatures. We were glad to visit on the weekday, as the weekend - especially with a big event - would surely be crazy! We didn't photograph the flower shops and produce stands, but Linda loved the floral border along the second floor of the shops.

Of course, we had to see the infamous 'flying fish'. We found plenty of fish markets, but few were flying! Apparently, the fish mongers only start flinging them if someone buys. We only saw one during the time we were there. The sheer volume of fish and shellfish was an eye opener for us. Do these markets actually sell that volume of fish daily? Hard to imagine!

We walked a few blocks further to find a Russian pastry shop from the travel book. Again, we were rewarded with a good find. Everyone ordered and relished a unique stuffed piroshky.

Full and happy, we worked our way back to the monorail terminal. Amongst the many tourist attractions with the expected price tag, the monorail was very inexpensive. A short ride later, we arrived at the Space Needle and other attractions at Seattle Center.

We browsed the area and watched people for awhile, then returned via the monorail to peruse the downtown area a bit more.

The boys were happy to find this very cool fountain. A narrow path leads through a wall of water on each side. While not enough to soak you, it mists enough to dampen your shirt and your feet get splashed. On a day near 100 F, the light sprinkle felt terrific and refreshing!

Another few blocks of walking and we were ready for lunch. We found our way back to the market for another travel book recommendation. With a great view of the sound, we enjoyed our lunch of sandwiches and more clam chowder. The waterfront view also allowed for glimpses of the Blue Angels as they made some maneuvers above the sound.

Full and happy again, we walked back toward the parking garage, picking up a couple of items at shops along the way. Everyone enjoyed about an hours worth of book browsing at Barnes & Noble, then we located the truck and crawled through heavy traffic back to the RV park. Seattle probably has at least two week's worth of activities and sights, but we were very content with our day of highlights.