Lovely weather!

Yesterday my SW Airlines flight was delayed by an hour on the tarmac due to weather between BWI and Seattle. But Roberta’s flight was scheduled to arrive from Denver an hour after mine so we ended up arriving at about the same time and taxied to the rental houseee at 2402 4th Ave W in the Queen Anne area. Sandy, Pat, Monika and Janet were having a meal of hummus, bread, cheese and cherry tomatoes. We chose sleeping arrangements (Roberta and I sharing the king and everyone else has their own bed and room) and had a early (Seattle time) night.

Monday morning we headed for the Seattle Center part of town which is where the Space Needle is located. Our first stop was the Microsoft building. We arrived about 9:50 and read on the door that it did not open until 10. It was not until 10:05 that we read “Closed Mondays”. Oops! So, across the street to the Gehry designed building and the MOPOP museum. Pop culture with a Seattle bias. My favorite was the Jimi Hendrix room. I never knew that he was from Seattle. There was also a room on Nirvana and one on Pearl Jam as well as exhibits on horror films, sci-fi films, and on Marvel comics. Pop!

Our next stop was the Chihuly museum. Pat and Monika had never seen any of his work before so it was especially nice for them. We spent a long time there even though the exhibition is not particularly large. Two of his boats in one room, one of his gardens, one ceiling (Persian one), one room of chandeliers, lots of the colored pipes in the garden in assorted colors and one lovely display in a greenhouse. Lunch in the cafe was good if pricy. Each table has a glass top and is a display case of Chihuly’s collections. Pen knives, toys, bottle openers. 20-30 accordions hang from the ceiling.

Next Roberta, Janet and I went up the Space Needle. Brave me. The views were okay but not great. Fires in British Columbia are generating smoke that is blanketing Seattle in a haze.

We next decided to divide and conquer. I had suggested we buy food at the Pike Street Market and cook dinner. Monika, Roberta and I took the monorail across town  to shop for dinner. Sandy, Pat and Janet headed home to buy wine and get off their feet. At the market we got salmon and vegetables and went to the Antheniem bar for a drink. The kitchen was not fully equipped but we made do and prepared a lovely meal of broiled salmon, baked sweet potatoes, asparagus, and roasted onions. Yum.