Seattle Art Museum – Top Ten Exhibits

Over the holidays, many people will travel to Seattle to visit family, and to explore the various festivities our fine city has to offer. However, during these winter months good weather is hard to come by. It’s either the rainy season, or if you’re lucky and the sun is shining brightly, you may see crystal clear views of Mt. Rainier, Baker, and the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges stretching across the eastern and western horizons, respectively. The only problem is you might still feel like you’re walking on top of those cold mountains. Granted it’s not freezing Midwest winters filled with -1 degree highs, but this year’s December days have reached biting lows of 22 degrees. So, in the spirit of this warm holiday season, we thought we’d discuss one of Seattle’s greatest indoor attractions—the Seattle Art Museum.

SAM's famous hammering man

I visited the museum this past Sunday afternoon, and although parking was an absolute pain at 11am during shopping season, I managed to finally find an open spot after a good 20 minutes of turning down one-way streets! This was the perfect time to stop into one of Downtown’s many festive coffee shops for a cup of dark coffee, hot chocolate, or an eggnog latte.

Some quick facts about SAM:

• Located at east corner of 1^st and University
• Suggested donation is $15
• Hours – Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm; open until 9pm on Thursday and Friday
• Closed Monday and Tuesday
• No pens or cameras allowed!
• First floor TASTE Restaurant and SAM SHOP
• 1^st Thursday of each month is free
• Check SAM website for after hour tours and events

SAM lobby 'car-art'

When I visited, and through the 2009-2010 winter season, the featured exhibits were: Michelangelo Public and Private; and Alexander Calder: A Balancing Act. Michelangelo’s exhibit was especially awesome. Among the amazing art were preliminary sketches from his painted scenes of The Last Judgment, Expulsion from Paradise, and hand-written correspondences between him and aspiring artists of the age. Calder was the American artist who invented the mobile, and his exhibit features large and small, perfectly balanced mobiles he made with metal, brass, wire and paint.

Yet there was so much great art! Below is a collection of the pieces I enjoyed most from my SAM experience. UNFORTUNATELY, pictures aren’t allowed so I ended up just taking pictures of a few of the pamphlet hand-outs which I share below.

1.  Some/One, Do-Ho Suh, 2001.

Some/One, by Do-Ho Suh, Korea. Made with thousands of stainless steel dog-tags.

This warrior’s gown is made with rows of linked and shiny, stainless steel dog-tags and it spreads out in all directions across the floor. In person it looks to be fit for a 3-foot wide, 9-foot tall Goliath. This piece stands in the center of the Burden of History exhibit which showcases how artists have succeeded in creating something exciting and new in the present, while feeling challenged by an already extensive collection of art through the ages.  

2.  Esperanza, Freeing the Figure exhibit. I liked this painting because it was very soft and feminine. It’s a no-face nude woman lying on her side. The thick, impressionistic strokes of beige made me feel like I was at a beach.

3.  Imogen Cunningham photography; Everything Under the Sun exhibit, and other photographs. These collections were really great because they were all very touching and sentimental. Two photographs that stuck out for me were one of a 90-year-old man holding his walking stick and staring at the camera, and another black and white self-portrait of Imogen Cunningham lying nude on her stomach in a field of wildflowers.

4.  Sea Change by Jackson Pollock, This painting is supposedly based off of Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest. It was very exciting with a variety of color drips and splashes, and if you look closely you can see all of the different textures, layers, and dried blobs.

5.  Fishing Boats at Etretat, Monet, 1885. This peaceful impressionist painting is of colorful and large wooden rowboats resting safely ashore, while a teal green sea foams in the background.

6.  Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast, Bierstadt, 1870.

Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast by Bierstadt

Believe it or not, this piece was painted before Bierstadt had ever set foot in the Pacific Northwest; he painted by word of mouth. Yet still he captures the majestic beauty of the haystack rocks, a glorious sun breaking through the clouds, and an untamed wilderness spilling out over seaside cliffs.

7.  Wati Kutjara (Two Brothers Dreaming), Tjapangngka, 2004.

Wati Kutjara (Two Brothers Dreaming). By Tjumpo Tjapangngka, Australian Aborigine.

Can’t you see it? They’re hunting, pitching a tent, and sleeping!? This particular exhibit was great because many of the pieces told stories using dots, lines and designs. Still there were other less abstract, intricate pieces, like Regina Willon’s, Sun Mat, which brings colorful weaving patterns to a painted surface. 

8.  A Celebration by Georgia O’Keefe. The blue and white clouds and spirals in this painting is said to capture the feeling of rapture, and may have been painted after Georgia’s marriage to Alfred Stieglity, who was known for his photographic cloud studies.

9.  Michelangelo

Study of a man's face for the Flood in the Sistine ceiling, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

This was a great exhibit, which really gives viewers an insight into Michelangelo’s private life and practice. I also saw how he was truly a master of the human figure and movement, as all of his sketches even show ligaments and muscles.

Along the walls there were a few personal quotes. Here are a couple of them:

“The money spent on preliminary drawings pays off a hundred to one.”

“I’ve finished that chapel I was painting. The pope is quite satisfied.” Letter to father regarding Sistine Chapel.

This was from a different part of the museum but also from him: “A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”

Supposedly, Michelangelo considered himself divinely inspired and his talent God-given. Yet finding his preliminary rough sketches (most he burnt) shows how much work Michelangelo actually put into all of his pieces as well. You can learn more on the SAM website as their art historian gives a small lecture on the exhibit and an informative tour.

My favorite parts of this exhibit were: models of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment paintings; his many rough sketches; and a very stern and sensitive, life-size print of The David.

10.  Adoration of the Shepherds; and The Last Supper, Light in the Darkness exhibit. In the spirit of Christmas and all, these paintings were cool to look at.

That’s it for my Top 10! Vist SAM to check out these great paintings and more. Maybe your favorites will be the porcelain plate room, the Native American totem pole collection, or costume designs made from thrift-store sweaters!

Theo’s Chocolate Factory Tour in Fremont

Fremont is home to: giant rock trolls, blue bridges, ivy hedges shaped like a brontosaurus family, colorful boutiques, book stores, restaurants, and a high-energy nightlife. As I snack on a Chai Tea Milk Chocolate bar, I am pleased to mention that this fun-filled, artsy neighborhood plays host to a red-bricked chocolate factory as well—Theo’s Chocolate Factory.

Theo's Chocolate Factory used to be the old Red Hook brewery.

Inside the chocolate shop. $6 tours are offered every day at 2 and 4 PM.

The scientific name of chocolate, Theobroma, literally translates into ‘Food of the gods.’ Everybody loves chocolate. Seinfeld star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, placed chocolate as number 3 on her list of “Things I can’t live without,” right behind number 2, her family, and number 1, her husband. And chocolate probably comes in second only to wine on the Lord’s “Earth: Top 10” list. Chocolate is said to have originated in South America, and like an Israelite’s fruitful grape vineyard, seed-filled cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility to ancient Mayans.

Cacao is a fruit (!) that grows on tree trunks! Each heavy pod is about the size of a squash.

You’ll learn more facts like this during the informative first half of the tour. But before going on here’s a brief background of this special company. Theo’s Chocolate Factory was launched in 2006 by founder, Joseph Winney, whose first job was drying cacao seeds on a chocolate farm in Central America. Although the company is technically still an infant, Theo’s has already achieved nation-wide prestige and garnered numerous culinary awards.

Theo’s achievements.

Theo’s has been featured in numerous magazines including ‘O’, Food & Wine, and Bon Apetit; it was also mentioned as the “Snack of the Day” on The Rachel Ray Show, and was the winner of Time magazine’s first-ever “Conscientious Chocolate” Eco-Epicurean award. In addition, Theo’s flavored chocolate bars can be found in Whole Foods throughout the country.

Yet despite high demands, Theo’s still operates according to the ethics that made it stand out in the first place. Theo’s is the only chocolate factory in the United States to make certified fair-trade and organic chocolate, meaning that the chocolate farmers in Central America who they buy from are paid well, and that all of their various cooking ingredients are 100% natural, containing no synthetic agents.

Theo's Orange Chocolate samples.

In addition to being ethic-based, all-natural, and public-friendly, Theo’s makes delicious and inventive chocolate. Classic flavors include orange, mint, cherry-almond, and chili; while Theo’s fantasy flavors include Coconut Curry (rich and spicy), Coffee and Vanilla, Nib Brittle and Fig Fennel Almond. There’s also the 3400 Phinney Bar (named after the factory address in Fremont), which is milk chocolate liquor mixed with toasted and salted bread bits sourced from a local bakery. Much of Theo’s chocolate is extra-dark, and some bars contain as much as 91% cocoa. Typical store-bought candy bars only have around 12%.

Confections like Big Daddy’s or Rose Caramels, and seasonal chocolates such as Ghost Chili chocolate caramels sprinkled with red and gold chili flakes, or Gingerbread Spice chocolate bars (which we noticed were in the works during the tour) are only sold in Theo’s Seattle store.

Big Daddy confections: handmade graham cracker crust, with buttery, vanilla-infused caramel. Topped with either peanut butter praline or fluffy marshmallow, and enrobed in dark chocolate.

In-store seasonal treats.

Our friendly tour guide, Nicole (right), has been with Theo’s for 2 ½ years, and shared with us her knowledge on chocolate geography and production during the first half of the tour.

The second half of the tour takes you into the actual factory where you get to see which machines do what. It’s a 16-step process from bean bag to the shop, but there are a few steps pictured below:

This machine cracks each cocoa seed into antioxidant-rich nib bits.

Barrels of nib bits are eventually granulated into rich chocolate liquor.

A chocolate river flows out of this pipe and into rectangular, candy bar molds. You don’t have to worry about getting sucked into this slender chocolate pipe like poor Augustus.

For the finale, we taste-tested savory confections in the kitchen, and watched as workers painted on the faces of chocolate-covered marshmallow bats and ghosts.

Here Nicole is passing out taste-test confections filled with spearmint-flavored chocolate cream.

More Halloween treats.

This tour is perfect for kids and adults. Even the information session is fun because it’s filled with questions that kids can answer and chocolate samples to taste. Nicole was very energetic and liked hearing from all different ages. This is one of the best tours around, and at $6 it can’t be beat. Plus, if you’re like me, this pleasant tour will help you to finally overcome “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” nightmares!

Theo’s 'living room' where special events and classes are held.

Click here to reserve your spot on a tour, or to check out special in-house “theonista” events like Chocolate University, Friday night movies, and other seasonal gatherings.

Ride the Ducks Seattle – Many Hats…

How many feet deep is Lake Union? Where can you find a cigarette-burned guitar originally owned by “Layla”’s Eric Clapton? In what part of Seattle did the first pioneers settle? What are the names of the sculptures decorating the Space Needle’s lawn? And where in Seattle can you find the country’s largest butterfly exhibit? You’ll find out all of this, and much more during one of Seattle’s “Ride the Ducks” sea and water tours—and all to the tune of The Bee Gee’s, MC Hammer, Frank Sinatra, and more.

He's wild and crazy!

Thousands of these diesel-run, amphibious land and water cruisers were used in WWII.

The smell of newly-chewed bubble gum was in the air as Captain Clam Chowder boarded our amphibious vessel and introduced himself. “Raise your hand if you had dinner before getting on here,” he said to a less-than-energetic crowd. It was the last tour of the day; the sun was starting to set; the fall air was beginning to turn crisp. As I was seated in the far back, he put me in charge of the safety-donut and fire extinguisher. He also had us all hang our hands outside the open-air “windows,” and then informed us that these were our emergency exits. He mentioned life preservers, put on his trusty hat, and we were off…

Nothing like peace and the American flag to get you excited about a tour!

“Check out the legs on that one!” he said as we passed by the Space Needle. Needless to say, our captain was a funny guy, although as it was the end of the day, we took some warming up. We passed by the Seattle Center, the Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum, and the 9-acre sculpture park near 1^st and Western. Thankfully, Captain Clam Chowder pointed out a large silver, aluminum tree, so I now know where not to stand during a lighting storm. Ba-dum-cha!

A late afternoon drive along Alaskan Way as the sun shines along the water with a breeze in your face is a delight. We passed the Edgewater hotel, made famous by the Beatles claiming they could fish from the windows of their hotel suite. Fisherman’s Wharf was bustling at this time with after-work comradery; we passed the Seattle aquarium, and the ferry  and Canada/Alaska cruise terminals. All the while being inundated with fun-filled Seattle facts. We even started to play an interactive Starbucks game.

As we drove by Qwest field, Chowder started to blast the Monday night football theme music , which made the new stadium seem even more massive. After leaving the “sports district,” we drove through Pioneer Square, where we passed the entrance to Seattle’s underground tour, and where I saw the prettiest Quizno’s sub shop I’ve ever seen. MMmmm,  Sammie’s. An umbrella of maple trees shade these streets, and older brick buildings line them. Meanwhile, I believe in Miracles, plays over the speakers, and MC Hammer is next…

As we passed by the Seattle Art Museum’s “Hammering Man,” and America’s longest-running Farmer’s Market, Pike’s Place, the bus started to get more energetic. Maybe it was the fact that our little land-boat was maneuvering its way around towering glass skyscrapers turned golden from the sun; or was it the moon-walking pedestrian who waved to us? Nah, I think it was because “Ah, ah, ah, ah, Staying Alive” came on.

That’s called a Quacker. Yours for only $2!

After a rock-n-roll , 31 MPH drive along Highway 99, and a glorious view over the Aurora Bridge, it was time to test out our sea legs. The Gilligan’s Island theme song played as we neared the boat launch. It was a quick and easy transition, and as our vessel began to float, Captain Clam Chowder passed back a drain stop, asking the passenger behind him to, “find out where this goes for me?”

So what, the University of Washington’s crew team was moving faster than us, all the better pace for us to soak in the ride, and take pictures!

Captain Clam Chowder’s sequin-covered fish hat.

Gasworks Park skyline at sunset.

St. Mark’s Cathedral, otherwise known as “the box on the hill,” has some of the best acoustics in town. Located southeast of Lake Union.

The green house toward the bottom-right is where Tom Hanks and Jonah lived in “Sleepless In Seattle.”

After watching the sunset fade behind the Seattle skyline we headed back toward home-base. Not without playing a lively, Name-the-Seattle-Connection trivia game first. When we returned we were greeted by more staff who offered us prints of the photos we took before boarding. I didn’t buy one, but definitely good memorabilia for those that did.

What a great night for a tour!

And if you’re wondering: 34, EMP, West Seattle, Black Lightning and Moongate, Pacific Science Center.

Activities and Parkour at Seattle’s Gasworks Park

The first of a Pacific Northwest Fall day can be just as beautiful as the first coming of a refreshing spring. The other day I went jogging. I was wearing long sleeves but all in all it was a very nice day. Yet there came a brisk wind and all of the sudden dried and crumpled orange maple leaves started whirling around the paved street, and helicopter leaves twirled down from the sky. This year Seattle has enjoyed one of its best Indian Summers. Practically all of September was sunny which is saying much. Now at the beginning of October, purples, reds and oranges are starting to mix with our Evergreens, slowly easing us into the spirit of carved pumpkins, spiced cider, and Thanksgiving. I thought before I picked out Halloween candy, now was a good time to visit one of Seattle’s most popular weekend parks.

In 1962, a massive gas plant went out of business on the north end of Lake Union. The city of Seattle purchased the 19-acre plot, and 13 years later Gasworks Park was opened to the public. It was genius. The boiler house had been turned into a picnic shelter, the exhauster-compressor building masterfully became a children’s play barn of painted pipes and machinery, and the remaining components sprouted out from the lawn like giant pieces of urban park-art. Today, Gasworks is one of the most popular parks in Seattle. Thousands of people gather here to celebrate Seattle’s annual 4^th of July celebration, featuring an elaborate fireworks display set off from a barge in the middle of Lake Union. Still thousands more arrive throughout the year for picnics and Frisbee, stunning views, and on windy afternoons to climb the Gasworks kite-flying hill.

These aged remnants of an abandoned gas plant make Gasworks one of the most unique parks in the country.

Surprise, surprise, I had never actually been to Gasworks, making this park all the more spectacular for me. When I first arrived I was drawn to the colorful play barn I’d read so much about.

The painted machinery in the children’s play barn… or spaceship… I mean control center.

In the barn, I also noticed a group of young guys, agile-as-animals, leaping from some of the machinery. I had an inkling as to what they were practicing—I had seen the opening chase scene in Casino Royale, and a news special on this sort of thing in Chicago. So I started talking to them, and asked if I could take some pictures. “He’s who you should video,” they said, pointing to Alexander, of the strong and humble type, who had recently moved to Seattle from Russia.

It’s called Parkour, and it turns out that Gasworks Park is the Seattle groups’ favorite place to hold practice. It also turns out that I had arrived on a special day for them—they were participating in Parkour’s first ever “Global Climate Jam,” and were holding a 2-hour public training session, as were hundreds of other Parkour groups in other vicinities throughout the world. To learn more and see a map of world participants visit: Parkour Generations, and be sure to check out Parkour on YouTube to be amazed.

Tyson (right) was one of the Parkour leaders, and showed off the matching blue and white t-shirts promoting the event.

As I walked down to the lake, I noticed couples picnicking, and others enjoying books on a blanket of grass. Once I reached the pebbly shoreline, there was no one around except a group of geese preening and basking in the sun, and there seemed to be a hundred sailboats out on the lake.

Girl and her purple bike; play barn in the background.

Seattle skyline from the Gasworks Park shoreline.

North Lake Union—kayakers cruise under Magnolia Bridge and enjoy the beautiful houseboats and hillside estates.

The next place I checked out was the famous Gasworks Park kite-flying hill. There was already a crowd gathered at the top, and I could see a colorful butterfly and pterodactyl soaring high overhead.

Families and friends gather at the top of the Gasworks Park kite-flying hill

Who knew pterodactyl started with a “p” ?!

There is also a sun dial lying flat at the top of the hill. And to save you from inner-turmoil in trying to figure out how to read it, there is an instructional plaque in the southwest corner of the platform. The easiest way to start is to find the current date in the innermost oval and look in the direction of your shadow (cast by either the sun or the moon). Aside from a few dates where you have to make adjustments for daylight savings, it’s perfectly accurate!

Imagine watching a fireworks display from here...

The wind was blowing around 15 mph that day, and there were about 7 families who managed to get their kites to ride the breeze while I looked on. This (more than The Kite Runner, even though I loved that book) made me want a colorful kite to fly of my own, and brought back nostalgic memories of flying kites on the beach at Ocean Shores. I think I’m going to go to Gasworks Park Kite Shop in Wallingford. They’ve got kites of all shapes, colors and sizes, and a very friendly and knowledgeable staff, so says Yelp.

Aside from these colorful kites, sea planes flew overhead. Most likely they were toting passengers to and from Vancouver, B.C. or the San Juan Islands, and probably were out for some aerial sightseeing of Seattle and nearby mountains as well. What a beautiful day for it!

Pike Place Market – Golden Rays

The Seattle sun blessed the worried Northwest with its presence again, but the forecast predicted heavy rain for Labor Day weekend. Since the weather wasn’t good my last trip, I decided to head over to Seattle (while I still had the chance) so I could write about what Pike Place Market really has to offer. Summer-time Pike Place is the greatest, even though colder days can always be warmed, literally and figuratively, with a visit. I drove this time, and when I parked a friendly man offered me his window ticket so I didn’t have to pay the meter, and so his hour and a half of extra minutes wouldn’t be wasted. I gladly accepted—how nice! As opposed to the first intake of my last visit (coffee in hand staring at frozen fish), this time my first sight was of a police-horse munching on some grass in Victor Steinbrueck Park. There were even some pigeons nesting in the warm grass nearby, which is unusual because they’re usually scavenging near the benches and picnic tables. This park is on the north end of the Market, and it’s so great to eat fresh produce here, read a book, or take a quick snooze. Many days there are musicians playing up front by the tables and water look-out. There’s also a friendly man selling Kettle Corn and lemonade.

Pike Place Market flowers and lunch veranda in the summertime.

Victor Steinbrueck Park

Strolling down the outdoor sidewalk of vendors there were a few that caught my eye. One was a Chinese man who makes signs in 15 minutes, translating anything into beautiful Mandarin characters using black calligraphy ink. Sample signs hung on the chicken-wire wall that read, “Mike Loves Julie,” or simply, “Jessica.” One artist had compressed glass wine bottles, and turned them into kitchen ornaments. Each had a unique logo and was garnished with a hay bow around its neck. Other vendors were selling leather handbags, wooden garden signs, and unique jewelry.

Outdoor Boulevard

Wooden signs; Park and Puget Sound in the background.

I got to chatting with another artist who had watercolor prints and originals on display. He said he specialized in painting nude female figures, and also liked to challenge himself with water scenes. One vibrant print was of a crowd of rowboats floating atop the ocean at sunset; and his latest piece was a collection of colorful, Coy fish swimming underwater.

Inside there were a lot of delightful booths. The first stand I stopped at featured home-made, painted light-switch covers made of clay in all shapes and colors. Some had intricate designs carved into the borders, and others looked like Red Alder leaves, and were painted in rustic, fall colors. There was a professional spoonmaker, and Market penmaker. There was a table laden with inscripted stones. Some had funny sayings on them like, “YOU ROCK!” and “At least you’re not as old as this rock!” Others had inspirational quotes, and still there were larger rocks with more practical engravings like, “Please remove your shoes.”

Friendly craftsman.

Walking through the open-air promenade of Pike Place there’s a couple things you’ll always see—fresh produce and flowers. But farmers also bring their home-made spreads to sell, such as berry jams and honey; another vendor packages up dried snacks from his hazelnut orchard. I stopped by a Honey Farm booth and bought 4, 25-cent honey straws—one each in rootbeer, peach, pink lemonade and honey clover. There were also   whole jars of wild blackberry, rum spice, espresso, and spiced apple honey.

I spoke with a young flower arranger from Maika’s Garden about her family-owned flower farm in Carnation that has been selling flower bouquets at the Market for the past 19 years. She said that some of the senior flower arrangers had been there for more than 20 years.

Maika's Garden

Unlike my last trip, today was a great day for peach and nectarine samples from Sosio’s Fruit Produce. I also chatted with one of their produce experts and he explained that orange and red-crusted lobster mushrooms are on the harder side of mushrooms, so their rich, meaty flavor does well in soups. In addition to the great fruit samples and friendly staff, Sosio’s always has a wide assortment of unique produce, such as purple cauliflower and raspberry beans.

Fresh produce at Station No. 7; chili pepper bunches for sale hang from the ceiling.

To refuel, I stopped by the Athenian Restaurant, famous for being the bar in Sleepless in Seattle where Tom Hanks and his construction friend sit and discuss current dating trends. You might remember the friend saying, “Hellooo, Diane! Take a look at these swatches!” Anyways, since they offer beer and food, and are one of the restaurants in the market to offer widespread views of the sound, I stepped on in. I tried the Athenian Gyro, which features lamb sausage from Uli’s Famous Sausage stand (which I sampled from on my previous trip), and washed it down with Manny’s Pale Ale—a delightful, hoppy and crisp micro-beer brewed in West Seattle.

Manny’s Pale Ale and the Athenian Gyro from the 2nd story of Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar.

For dessert I sucked on a clover honey straw and stared out the restaurant’s second-story window watching a parasailor in the sun. The faint silhouette of the chiseled and snow-capped Olympic mountain range served as a backdrop, and the boats left sparkling, saltwater wakes along the Sound.

Pike Place Market – Silver Days

Foggy view of the Seattle skyline from the top of the Eastgate parking garage.

I got off the metro bus at the University Street underground tunnel stop, and grabbed a hot mocha in Benaroya Hall’s lobby-Starbucks for my 3 block walk, and beyond. Although the weather’s still cloudy when I arrive, the sight of the Market is always refreshing, especially in the summertime when all of the adorning plant-life is full of colorful blossoms.  

Famous 'Public Market Center' sign and clock.

Walking up to the market there’s an expected crowd around the famous fish stand that features 8 (15 at Christmastime) men in fishing waders and hats. It’s so fun to watch these guys toss seafood around in the air. Walking by I hear a low-baritone, “4 King Crab legs,” bellowed in unison after some lucky patron places an order. What’s even more awesome is that when a whole fish is bought and flung behind the counter to be wrapped in newspaper, whether or not the slippery King Salmon or Red Snapper is actually caught (I mean, it usually is), the mood never changes; the air is always thick with big laughs and camera flashes.  

Starbucks coffee; whole Salmon for sale.

Dungeness Crab on ice.

Since it was a bit dreary outside, I decided to avoid the main open-air promenade, and venture down the aromatic hallways and explore the lower levels of Pike Place. I pass a flower shop, and today they have a doorway-stand of blue roses. There’s a table packed with rows of packaged dried apricots, papayas, strawberries, and bananas. Jewelry cases are filled with a wide variety of accessories. From matching tin-man earrings, or sterling silver cross-pendants and chains, to unique owl and butterfly rings filled with colored stones of peridot, amethyst, onyx, and amber. I continue perusing, and wherever I am it seems I can always hear the faint sound of music in the breeze.   

Musician playing the Blues.

Banjo Player

In an airplane I once watched a special on “bizarre bazaars,” and remember the baskets of milled, exotic spices that filled the city-center market of Istanbul. Walking along the corridors I see MarketSpice; this great store has been selling ground spices, teas and coffees since 1911. 

Jars of ground spices line the shelves of a MarketSpice window.

 The lower levels of Pike Place are packed with great shopping. There are book stores, candy shops, antique and curiosity trade stores filled with everything from pink glass swans and old clocks, to framed bats and butterflies. There’s a busy barber shop, with old-fashioned red, white and blue-striped columns trimming the doorway. Penny Pincher machines stand outside the Pike Place Magic Shop. You’ll also find vintage clothing and jewelry, and parfumeries filled with medicinal teas and incense sticks. 

A collection of Where's Waldo books in a storefront window. These make great childrens' gifts.

There was a pig, too; the woman at the cash register said she left work smelling like Gummi Bears.

Window outside F n J Great Western Trading.

At this point, I definitely needed something to eat. I had tried a sample wedge of sausage from Uli’s, smelled chocolate pasta noodles at station No. 8, and walked by canned pickle stands and a few oceanview restaurants. Now I needed to eat the sustenance! Luckily, a stool opened up on an R & R platform, and I was able to eat my packed lunch on a wooden counter overlooking a very gray Puget Sound. It had started to rain, and through the streaming window I could see burnished-orange cranes standing off the southern shore of the industrial inlet, and white ferries looked like legos as they toted passengers to and from the islands. 

If I hadn’t packed a sandwich, I would’ve loved to eat at Crepe de France. "Crepe Au Salmon" and "Crepe Au Chocolat" looked especially enticing.

Back on the top floor, I could see many people grievously prop open their umbrellas, while some kids seemed to be okay walking around with balloon hats. As I weaved around the faded-teal columns propping up the roof of the upper floor, I was feeling a bit glum that it had started to rain as I was expecting the sun to break through. All of the sudden, I heard someone very energetically singing: “Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer.” As I got closer, I could see a couple of long-haired, smiling musicians standing atop plastic crates, dancing around, and belting that Monkeys tune out while cars sloshed over the glossy cobblestone street behind them. Rocky Raccoon came on next, and I had to give them 50 cents in dimes. Although they were lacking John Lennon’s fantastic harmonica for this song, they did boast an accordion. On this note, I headed for home.

Make Seattle’s Alki Beach Your Living Room – wtF?

Alki Beach Party in Seattle

It was a beautiful Sunday at Seattle’s Alki Beach.  I was enjoying sunshine and a good Stephen King book, when I noticed a woman and her gang of assistants unloading about 25 chairs onto the beach.  This was followed by about 5 tables – all at the front of the beach blocking anyone’s view.  You can see in this pic they had no trouble setting up right on top of other beach goers.

Now we’re all in favor of fun at the beach and a good party – but where does this cross the line?  Basically – this was a full stop catered party – taking up a huge amount of space (and no people for hours – watched by a “sentry”).  This was a 25 person party – is a 100 person party ok too?  Public beaches are precious – and we’d encourage everyone to be considerate and realistic in what makes sense.

This woman seemed to be going a bit too far.  Note the umbrella going up too at one of the many tables.   wtF?