Greetings,

    Yesterday flying from Orlando to Minneapolis, our hub to change planes, the weather was pristine and you could see the ground clearly.   It looked as if the land was neatly cut into squares with mostly one set of buildings per square. I am pretty certain that the gridded patterns were mile squares; at least that is how it was in Nebraska. Oh, if the Chinese farmer could see that sight, they would be in total amazement knowing that in China they only have one-sixth of an acre rented from the government.  Their miniscule plots of land would hardly have been noticeable from 10,000 feet. The flight from Minneapolis to Seattle was cloudy, so my thinking of the Chinese farmer and people crowded into tiny spaces was over.

    When we arrived at out hotel, the first thing I noticed is that the air here was not Florida or China.  The Seattle air was crisp and clean. It was one of the rare days here where the sun was actually shining. Today we do not leave for Sitka until around 3:00 so we are going to head off to Pike Place Market. The market was established in 1911 and is among the oldest public markets in the United States. Situated along the waterfront of magnificent Puget Sound, the market offers a variety of wares, from local produce to market-fresh Pacific Northwest seafood.

   We rode the Central Link Light rail that runs from the Sea-Tac airport where we are staying to downtown Seattle. The trip is eighteen miles and gave us a good view of the surrounding area. We were on our way to the Pike Market to see them throw fish. We had seen it on the Discovery Channel, and so had to see it in person. I am sure the custom started when someone bought a fish and the person in front who picked out the fish, threw it back to the person behind the counter to wrap it up. There was an unbelievable amount of fish being sold. But this is Memorial Day weekend and in the market there are numerous restaurants. It was a remarkable sight and there was absolutely no fish smell at all.  I have never been in a fish market with absolutely no odor of fish. Although the fruits and veggies took back stage to the fish, they looked so good and to know that unlike so many places that Tom and I have traveled too, we could eat it. There was a meat market selling prime beef. We can only get choice as our best grade of beef. There were poultry vendors too, but no chicken feet. The stores around the market were just as amazing.  There was a cooking store that I am quite sure had every cooking gadget known to man. Since we are on vacation, we each had a doughnut with fresh maple frosting. Oh, sinful.  Another very interesting stop was Beecher’s where they were making fresh cheese. We were able to watch the process of cheese making.  Ok, had to stop there and pick up a tub of cheese and homemade crackers to bring back to the hotel for lunch. Too bad we had quite a hike back to the train because I would have had one of their grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh did it look good.

   We are now going back to the airport to fly to Sitka where we will board the ship, the Sea Lion.

“Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

More to Follow