The day started with us rising early. We soon connected with Dondrea and agreed to watch Pike Place Market open on this holiday Monday, President’s Day. We met in the lobby, walked a few blocks to the Market, and entered The Crumpet Shop. I had a ricotta and lemon curd-covered crumpet, while everyone else selected savory crumpets. We all had tea, and I had an excellent Irish Breakfast blend.
We then walked through the Market. Deborah missed the one chance to see the fish being thrown —she just missed it—but she did hear their call; they only throw fish they sell. The holiday Monday was getting only a limited bunch of well-heeled tourists. There was limited fishthrowing today.
We wandered down to the magic shop—one of my favorites, The Market Magic Shop—and Z got to be their first audience for a few tricks. They also pointed out she could acquire one of their fake tongues, record it licking the gum wall, and have some horror reactions. This could be edited into a video and shared for fun and profit. Z demurred.
We did visit the disgusting gum wall.
Dondrea and I bought a bottle of mead from a local seller at the market, and Deborah and I bought spices at the Souk. We looked through many shops and enjoyed it as the market started at about 10 and late opening shops at 11. One of the late opening places is Athena, and soon, we had a lovely table looking over the bay there. Deborah had fish and chips with salmon, and Dondrea and Z had cod. I had the Market Price Crab Louie Salad. It was fantastic. I like our local crab, Dungeness, cold and plain, and Maryland blue crab hot and drowning in spices. Softshell in a sandwich.
Everyone loved their dinner, and Z discovered Malt Vinger on her fries. We soon headed out of the Market and put our purchases with checked bags at the hotel. We had all checked out of the hotel, and they held our bags. The desk clerk directed us to the old Monorail, and after a few blocks, we boarded and took it to the Space Needle. I had not been on the Monorail in years and it was fun.
Dondrea got us discounted tickets for the Museum of Pop Culture, and soon, we were in the SciFi Hall of Fame and looking at some interesting relics from SciFi, Rock, and even horror. Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, Dracula, Dungeons and Dragons, and many others (and their respective writers) are honored with impressive displays. I did not get many good pictures, including Captain Kirk’s chair (from the original TV show), that I did not know still existed. Next time!
(Me scared too death in Horror)
(Captain Picard’s uniform)
(Lost in Space)
I can recommend the museum.
We soon returned to the hotel with more purchases. We also tried the hotel restaurant Ben Paris for Happy Hour appetizers and drinks. We had credit for our stay. We ordered fried Brussels sprouts, and they shaved a fish over them that seemed to wave and move. It was good but disconcerting at first (see previous museum).
We toured the closing Pike Place Market but just missed the deli for sandwiches to return with us.
We took a real Uber after resting in the Hotel Lobby (after they opened the doors for us again now that we were checked out). The driver parked in the street (not the curb), and we had to avoid the car in the street to board. I gave him a large tip, which I thought did not go through (it was a short trip for four people). I ended up paying the tip twice. Now I wait until after the trip to tip!
We were soon at the Amtrak station. Amtrak accepted my offer of $16 each for the business class seats—you can bid on seats—and we learned that there was no steward for us. We were comfortable and alone for most of the trip. Dondrea and Z got hot dogs. I had a grilled cheese and Deborah some oatmeal. We were all happy. After the three-to-four-hour trip, we arrived at 11:35 in Portland.
Our Uber drove by us, and I watched as it circled and returned; we were early. The guy told us he had another fare before us when he returned. We were a bit surprised to wait for the same Uber.
We arrived at Dondrea’s house without issue, and Air VW the Gray got us home at about 1AM.
Thanks for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 