Victoria Day Weekend

It seems that after a lot of frustration and research I have figured out how to post a picture to the profile. Apparently more than one degree is required to do so. But enough about posting pictures...

Paul and I were fortunate enough to spend Victoria Day weekend in Seattle with close friends. For three days, we shamelessly became tourists. The border crossing took 2 1/2 hours on Saturday morning, which made us say nasty things about border officials. However, the freeway was moving smoothly all the way down.

We spend Saturday afternoon riding the Ducks. These are actually DUKW amphibious landing vehicles that were developed by the US during WW II. The tour covered a lot of ground - and water. We started by touring historical and other landmarks in downtown Seattle, then moved to Lake Union for a water tour of the cityscape. The weather was perfect, and it was a great way to see other things we might like to do on another trip to Seattle.

Christie booked "quackers" for herself and me (see photo). Our husbands were very forgiving.

After we finished the Ducks tour, we waited in line to go up the Space Needle. Apparently, we were in the running for being the 45 millionth (billionth?) person to go up. A trip for two to Paris was the reward for being that person in honour of the 45th anniversary of the Space Needle. The media were out in full force, so we knew we were in the running. We purchased our tickets sans fanfare. However, a pre-schooler several people behind us did win the prize. I wonder who he will invite? Mom or Dad.

We walked down to the waterfront in search of a restaurant, and finally found one up near the Pike Place Market. It was a cozy place called Baca and had exceptionally good pasta at a very reasonable price. We originally planned to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory, but there was a huge lineup and we were ready to eat. The restaurant we chose was quiet, had ambience and we could enjoy the meal at our leisure.

Sadly, Sunday was a very wet day. We started our day at the Museum of Flight, which Paul and I visited at Christmas. It is well worth the visit! My favourite parts are the WW I and II exhibits. They are full of history. Christie and I spent a lot of time perusing the video clips of personal stories and enjoyed many laughs at the expense of the commentator. I think the funniest thing was his pronounciation of "Champs Elysee"... The "champs" came out as "chomps". We spent most of the day at the museum. Paul took another several pictures of planes for future modelling projects.

We then made our way back to downtown Seattle for a very wet Argosy Cruise tour of the harbour. In spite of the low cloud, the tour was exceptionally well done. The fellow who provided us with commentary was passionate about his subject, and we learned a lot. Until now, I had no idea what the difference is between a "sound" and a "bay". Now I do... if you're curious, just ask.

We had planned to visit the Aquarium on Monday, before heading back to Canada, but the weather and freeway conditions caused us to change our plans. Instead, we drove up to Fairhaven, the old part of Bellingham, to peruse the "artsy" stores near the waterfront. We then went up to Bellis Fair Mall at the other end of Bellingham to look around, but really didn't see much to buy.

After lunch, we said our good-byes. Tony, Christie and the boys headed up to Vancouver International Airport, and we branched off to cross at the quieter border near Lynden, Washington. Thankfully, it was only a 15 minute wait to cross back into Canada! I wonder what our next adventure will be?