June 6

Since we missed National Donut Day yesterday, we stopped at a small donut shop on our way out this morning.  I got a vanilla bean latte to go with my better-late-than-never donut!
We drove 5 hours from Coeure D'Alene Idaho to Seattle Washington.  The drive was fairly uneventful.  I am very weary of spending hours driving!
When we got to Seattle, our first stop was Pike St. which is downtown Seattle close to the harbor.  Driving downtown was quite challenging, with pedestrians, hills, one way streets, limitied parking, and just everything just so different from what I'm used to seeing.  We finally found somewhere to park, and walked to the first ever Starbucks.  It really wasn't that impressive at all...but, we were there.  After that, we walked through the market place.  That was a very interesting experience.  Downtown Seattle is a bustling, busy place full of noises, smells, and very diverse people.  Such a variety of shops, and booths, and restaurants in the market as well!  I learned from someone that a 'normal' occurance in coastal city markets is fish venders throwing fish at prospective buyers.  The buyer then inspects said fish, throws it back, and if he wants, buys it.  Sounded crazy to me..I didn't stick around long.
We went to the harbor, and rode the ferris wheel.  It was fun to see the city, and the water, from above.  After that we started walking back to the car, seeing many more sights and people along the way.  We stopped to buy homemade ice cream in waffle cones, which was delicious!
We then went to the B&B where we are staying.  Our hostess recommended we visit a nearby park, or 'rainforest' as the locals apparently call it.  I am not sure if it is truly considered a rainforest, but it was beautiful.  I enjoyed the nature immensely. Ferns abounded, the trees were huge, many exciting varieties of moss grew all around, and we on a large hill right by the water.  I took tons of photos, and we hiked awhile.  We eventually made our way back down, and found the beach.  I enjoyed just sitting on a piece of driftwood and listening to the small waves crash onto the pebbled beach.
We had a late supper at a local pizza place about 8:30.  That was a great meal.  Today had such a mix of things to do, see, and remember!
I took many photos, so enjoy the widespread assortment! The ones of the city scene were mostly taken quickly or some even from my hip as we walked.  I love taking photos with my wide angle lens, but it does give quite a bit of distortion, so you may see that often.  That would be things like trees seeming to lean, or building tipping, people stretched etc.  Most of the objects in my photos are actually not leaning!