Seattle Day 2

Another exciting day! We got up this morning and ate a hearty breakfast at Denny's. I haven't had a grand slam in ages.

We drove to downtown Seattle and parked at Pacific Place. This is a fantastic mall with all the best stores. We took the Monorail back to Seattle Center and did our day visit to the Space Needle. We apparently timed it just right because the Blue Angels were taking off for their Saturday show at Seafair and they buzzed by the Space Needle several times while we were up there. Quite amazing to hear and see them so close in the air.

The Monorail was experiencing technical difficulty so we took a taxi back to Pacific Place where we caught a 2 P.M. Grayline City Sites Tour of Seattle neighborhoods. The driver was 800, but fortunately had years of interesting stories about the city. We did downtown, Pioneer Square, West Seattle, The Waterfront, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard, University District, Capitol Hill, and South Lake Union. Not necessarily in this order, and I may have forgot some, but it was well worth it! One of the highlights was watching Salmon in the Salmon Ladder at the Lake Union Locks. Whitney had never seen a working lock before so she was quite interested in seeing the boats go through. We saw the most amazing views of the city from every imaginable angle and captured some very memorable snapshots. Despite the fact that our schedule has been too packed to experience the ship tours, (part of Fleet Week,) we did drive by Pier 91 where the US / Canadian Navy ships are docked this weekend to snatch a photo out the bus window.

We sat outside on the roof deck for dinner at Mexico Restaurant on the very top of Pacific Place. The food was absolutely perfect and our waitress just the cutest little thing. Despite our readiness to leave, Whitney wanted dessert and chose the Lava Cake. We questioned the 15 minute bake time and the cost of her selection, but she reminded us that it was a very 'reasonable' price for a princess. I gave in to the cake, but I did not give in to the bracelet she wanted at Tiffany's. The princess line, yes she tried it there too, does not work every time.

We did our own drive through the heart of Capitol Hill and then realized we were too exhausted to get out and walk around so we came back to the hotel. It is not even 10, but Timmy has crashed, Whitney is ready for bed, and I am next to brush my teeth and fall over.

We plan to spend all day tomorrow at Seafair. Chandra and the kids are joining us for dinner tomorrow night! Very excited to see them.