Sightseeing in Seattle

Tuesday morning we got up bright and early, boarded our plane and flew to Washington state. My cousin Jeri and her family live near Seattle and she was very gracious to put us up for the night and play tour guide for us.

We went out for fish and chips for lunch and ate them on a floating pier on the lake. It was a beautiful day; the weather was just perfect.

Here are their cousins: the lovely Riley,
soccer hero Nate,
and the inimitable Lance.

We went downtown to the Seattle Center to check out the sights there. It's this really great park-like area that has the Experience Music Project, the Sonic's old arena, an amusement area, a children's museum, a science center all around the Seattle Space Needle.

The highlight for us was this great fountain. It was tons of fun. We tried to run up and touch it without getting wet. Some of us were more successful than others. I cut it a little too close and ended up with a wet shirt and water up my nose! Miles and Lisette both got completely soaked and Ian got fairly wet, too.The kids had a great time playing with their cousins.

Saffy loved climbing up and down this humpback whale sculpture. While she was playing I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" being pumped out of the sound system; it was such a perfect moment, right in the center of the city that Nirvana built. Awesome!
Here's the whole gang waiting at the monorail station. The Experience Music Project is in the background.
We got off the monorail and walked a few blocks to the famous Pike Place Market with fish tossing and everything.

We had a great time at the market, even though the kids got tired of walking after a while.
We went back to their house after the market and had a little rest. The kids all bonded by playing with toys and watching a movie. They fed us a delicious dinner of ceasar salad and boiled crab. Yum! We got to hang out with Jeri and her husband Shawn, who we're both great. We had a lot of fun. A very good start of a vacation.