Debarkation at 9:30 am was smooth, at least the getting off the boat, and collecting the bags part, and even clearing customs that wasn’t more than just a wink and a nod. It was the Taxi grab that was disappointing.
Earl and Charyl Kay [know by many in these parts as “CK”] had the grandkids for the morning so we planned on grabbing a cab to the hotel and boy was that an education. As we were to later find out, this cruise pier was recently opened and apparently the traffic flow had not been thoroughly thought out so the ‘in’ and ‘out’ traffic maneuvering was slow. But the worst part was the cab situation. A long line formed to grab taxies but if you had a porter haul your bags out, they would shanghai the cabs halfway back in the lineup and load passengers who had just got to the line, leaving those already in line to wait even longer. What should have taken 20 minutes tops, took over an hour.
Once safely in Yellow #632, we were off to the Marriott to drop bags and head out for some sightseeing etc with plans to meet Earl and CK for lunch later. Of course, getting past the regular cruise terminal at the Bell Street Pier with the other ships unloading was a chore, but we still made it to the hotel by 11:30am. Knowing the room wouldn’t be ready yet, we stored the bags on arrival with the hotel, left our Phone # for a call when the room was ready and headed out for Pike Place as Dragon Lady was on a “Mission!”
The weather was beautiful, and the walk to Pike Place was easy, through garage to the elevator up to the market. Once there she proceeded to search out the T-shirt vendor with a special shirt she spotted on the first trip here. Bang... there it was, and T-shirts in hand it was off to find the Pasta Vendor with the Chocolate Fettuccini, and Bang... there it was. [Hey this ain't so bad... 2
for 2 so far] With pasta in hand, I stopped to take a pic of a Grandly 
Dressed Native who was watching a local street entertainer who was playing a heart wrenching version of “Smoke Get In Your Eyes”... on a SAW. We’ve all seen a YouTube of some guy doing this, but up close and personal... this guy was GOOD! As I turned to look for her, Bang... there she was at the Crochet Lady’s stall making her 3rd tchotchke buy of the day and... Shazaam... she had scored all 3 of her targets in less than 20 minutes. DAMN she’s GOOD!And just in time as Earl was calling to set up our rendezvous for lunch.
We arranged to meet by 
the PIG at the market entrance but he called right back to advise that due the re-located Gay Pride Parade down 4th avenue, cutting across town was impossible so he would meet us along the waterfront. We hustled over to the Seattle Aquarium and in short time Earl rolled up and we were off to his 
Condo downtown for lunch with friends and along the way, we got a brief tour of downtown Seattle, without time to get too many pics.
Arriving at their condo on the 14th floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel with a 
spectacular view of the Space Needle, all Seattle and Puget Sound, we were greeted by the effervescent CK who introduced us to Ginger Kelly, a renowned Seattle Glass Artist, now living in New Orleans [see some of her work with her son in Seattle at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHgrU8PlVjo ] who was visiting and delivering a special order of custom glassware to the Sedlik’s. Also along for lunch was a long time Seattle friend of theirs, Nancy Bittner. While the ladies drooled over some exquisite glass and metal jewelry that Ginger brought along, Earl and I went down to a cute little Pizzeria next door to pick up lunch.
Now... most of you who have followed our follies around the world, know that Chuckie always finds a Bride on the way to or from her wedding, and this trip was no exception. As we cut across the lobby of the Pan Pacific Hotel what do we run across...a Bride of course, posing on the spiral staircase of the hotel! Chuckie MUST stop for a picture, which the Bride proudly poses for just at the thought of being in Chuckie’s “Gallery of International Brides. “
Pizzas and salads in hand, we join the ladies for a delightful meal and camaraderie. Then it was off to take Nancy home [her power outage locked her car in the garage]. With Nancy safely at
home and the power back on, we started a little tour of the Lake Union Boat house community, where we came upon a Realtor friend 
of theirs who was showing a delightful 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story beauty, with a 2 media rooms, wrap around dock, spacious 2nd floor patio and great kitchen, all for the low, low price of $845,000... not including taxes and 
Dock Owners Association Fees. Earl wanted to show us the “Sleepless in Seattle” house boat but it was on the other 
side of the lake and not very accessible. We did get a chance to see some pretty eclectic units in prime locations facing the Lake. Average price, $1.5Million.Leaving House Boat Heaven, we pass through the campus of The University of Washington and what a treat. The Campus is magnificent with a broad mix of very old, Modern and Contemporary structures in a wonderful layout. Earl assured us that the serene scene we experienced during the summer break belied the real hustle and bustle of the campus when in full session. Uncharacteristically Chuckie was too busy rubbernecking this Great Campus and forgot to take pics. Soooo... here’s a link to the campus website with a couple of great shots.http://www.washington.edu/discovery/about.html
Next stop, the Chittenden boat locks to watch the boats traverse from
Lake Union down to Puget Sound. It is quite an engineering feat, similar to the Panama Canal but on a much smaller scale. And boy do they pack the boats of all sizes in for the 
lift. [See PicasaWeb for a series of pics showing the boats being raised] We then 
crossed over to the Salmon Ladder, where there is a man made sluice and tiered salmon run 
leading to a nice under water view of resident and spawning salmon [fuzzy pictures on Picassa]After a brief walk back to the car through the
lovely Carl S. English Jr. Gardens we took a tour of the area around Lake Union and wound up at one of their favorite dinner spots [also in the top 3 recommend at the hotel] Ray’s Boatyard. And what a marvelous dinner it was, along with great harbor view of the sunset [well almost... since the sun doesn’t really set here till after 10pm in the summer]. I had some of the BEST herb crusted Scallops in a beurre blanc sauce ever. Ironically, last night at our farewell dinner on the ship I had seared scallops that were rubber marbles compared to these 
silky puffs of perfection. Along with a superb bottle of JC Cellars Fess Parker Vineyard Syrah and such great company - [The Sedliks in one of those Rare moments] ---->It REALLY just doesn’t get any better than this.
A couple of rich dessert creations and great Seattle Coffee added the crown to a perfect meal and it was time for us to retrieve our baggage at the Waterfront Marriott, bid our wonderful hosts a hearty goodnight and trudge up to a warm inviting room with a great view of Puget Sound.In a flash, Dragon Chic was snuggled warmly in her bed while I scratched out Victoria in Da Rain, struggled to get the pics uploaded to the blog and Picassa. Then I too crashed and...[in the words of Forrest Gump]...”That’s all I've gotta say about that... “
Tomorrow... Struttin’ around Seattle’s Pioneer Square, a search for the Mayflower, and "The Saga of Larry’s Tavern"... [No Mr. Sedlik... you'll not live that one down!]
Ciao 4 Now,
Chuck & the snuggled in her warm, non-rocking bed, Dragon Lady
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