Final Day in Seattle

With an early start on the day we quickly packed up all our gear and prepared to check out of the Red Lion. With our van at Aunt Irene's home and our final ticket from the City Pass yet to be used, we left our bags with the bellhop and walked down through Pike Place Market to visit the Seattle Aquarium. This stop on our tour was probably one of my most anticipated. I really wanted to do the harbor tour and the Aquarium prior to coming to Seattle. The harbor tour was OK, it would have been better without the rain, and the Aquarium certainly lived up to the hype.

Dropping down through Pike Place Market we purchased a bag of freshly made doughnuts for breakfast, and then viewed some of the shops. While I stood in line for the grub, Shanda and the kids walked over to one of the fish shops and watched as the guys working with the seafood were happily working tossing large salmon through the air.

The Seattle Aquarium was full of all kinds of exhibits. I think the kids were sort of tired at this time, though they all said they had a good time. The aquarium was about the right size and we spent roughly 3 hours viewing the fish. After the aquarium we walked down the waterfront to a great little lunch spot the Alaskan Sourdough Bakery. We enjoyed a couple bowls of clam chowder in sourdough buns, and some great oatmeal raisin cookies and chocolate brownies. After lunch we connected with Aunt Irene as she was awesome and helpful by bringing our van to us. After she picked us up, we returned to the hotel and picked up our bags, then on to Aunt Irene's home. We are SO VERY greatful to Aunt Irene for helping us this week. She welcomed us to the city with open arms and opened her home up to us, where we spent several hours talking and getting to know her better. She took time out of her busy day to help make sure we made it in to our hotel OK, and also she helped us by bringing our van to us Thursday afternoon, which allowed us to maximize our time in the city and maximized our chance to see as much of Seattle as possible.

After leaving Aunt Irene's home, we drove a few hours in to Kennewick to spend the night with Uncle Charles and Aunt Bette. We were warmly accepted with a wonderful dinner and very nice accommodations. It was fun to visit with my uncle and aunt. We have great respect for both of these guys and were again impressed by them.

The meals prepared by Aunt Bette were wonderful! After eating out for a week we all felt like a home cooked meal was the perfect end to the week. I was VERY excited that Shanda was able to get a digital copy of Aunt Bette's cookbook. It's always fun for Shanda to try something new.

Here are some more pictures from the day...