Seattle

All it took was three days…three days of Seattle’s legendary ‘come in from the rain’ weather combined with an overabundance of great coffee shops more than willing to accommodate us with a place to come into, to get me hooked. Throughout our stay, as we enjoyed the sights, sounds and mocha houses of this beautiful city, there was a sinister java worm coring its way toward that little comfort seat deep inside my being. By the end of our stay, that worm had not only taken up residence on my comfort chair but had established a roaring business serving up tall double shot americanos. So there you have it, I have developed an insatiable appetite for the simple combination of fresh muffins and good coffee. While some individuals sharing my predicament may suffer from moments of hopelessness and defeat, I have decided to don my mocha coloured glasses and assume a positive outlook on my present state. The way I see it, I have the exclusive distinction of being the only backhoe operator in the city of Victoria bouncing down the road while consuming gourmet muffins and tall double shot americanos.

During our time in Seattle, we enjoyed Bethany’s wonderful hospitality as she let us stay in her studio apartment. This view of the city can be found a few blocks from her home in beautiful Queen Anne.

When we weren’t grooming our coffee addictions we occupied ourselves playing “Where’s Waldo” TM.

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to Pike Place Market. This historic market boasts many attractions including a seafood stand whose gimmick is to throw the to-be-purchased fish from the iced display racks through the air to a waiting employee behind the counter where it is weighed and wrapped. A rough estimate of the ratio of actual paying customers to tourists waiting to snap a picture of an airborne salmon is about 1:200. If flying fish (or taking pictures of flying fish) isn’t your thing you can visit the original, and I repeat, the original Starbucks complete with shoulder to shoulder people clamoring to purchase a piece of Starbucks memorabilia emblazoned with the original Starbucks logo and a stamp signifying that the item was indeed bought at the original, and I repeat, the original Starbucks. And finally if soaring seafood or frenzied merchandizing aren’t your thing you can spend many hours wandering in and out of countless unique shops and ogling the bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables offered in the farmers market section.

Or you can just goof off…..