Pike's Place

I actually debated about whether or not I was actually going to take the journey to Pike's Place. As I perused the bus routes, I became increasingly confused and almost gave up. My adventurous nature won me over though, and I set off with my camera, purse and bus route book in hand.

I calculated that I would need to walk about 1 mile to get to the bus stop that would make the trip easiest. I just needed to get to 45th street. I found 47th street and then found 44th street, but I never passed a 45th street. I kept looking over my maps, which showed a 45th street intersecting with the road I was on and could not understand what I was missing. Stress set in, which means I immediately became hot within my abdomen and started sweating.

Then, I happened to look up. High, high, very high above me was a street - 45th street, with no possible way to get up to it. So, I began to make the trek up into the University of Washington campus. And I don't use the word "trek" lightly. Many stairs, lots of uphills, and paths that curved in and out of buildings. Keep in mind that you can only see until the next tree or hill. Basically, I pointed myself in the general direction I needed to go, and I went.

Forty-five minutes later, I had maneuvered myself to the desired bus stop, which I actually thought would be a train station. Slight mishap. Panic set in again. What if I didn't have enough money? The buses only took cash and I only had $2. Thankfully, the fare was exactly $2. I was on my way to downtown Seattle, unaware of the soreness of my feet due to the high of my adventure.

When I got off the bus, I pointed myself towards Puget Sound and began walking downhill. Then I saw this sign:

I was there! From then on, I just walked and took in my surroundings. First, I noticed the fish:

 Whole crabs, if you are interested. Or, they also had live ones if you really want them fresh.

 Random sea life that I would never eat.

This poor guy doesn't look so good. I think they thought the sunglasses would help.

And they would fillet these whole fish for you right there. I didn't stay around to watch.

 Hey, and if you were from out of town, no biggie. They'll ship it for you! I didn't purchase any seafood.

Next came the beautiful produce:

 It was so colorful and it looked delicious. It was my dream grocery store!

 They gave out samples along the way. And there were so many different vendors.

These were very popular arrangements made from peppers.

Finally, there were the flowers:

Bouquets and arrangements everywhere. They were beautiful. And since I love fresh cut flowers, I would be tempted to buy one each week if I lived anywhere near here. They even had bouquets in hollowed pumpkins. So beautiful.

 These was the just one of the bouquets that stuck out to me. Look how beautiful for only $5. The $5 bouquets at Dillons are no where near this beautiful.

There were so many other things. Cheese, pasta, cheesecake, books, trinkets, clothes, novelties, and more. Level upon levels of shops and booths. I just walked and walked until I had seen enough. 

Then I just sat in a park and looked over Puget Sound sipping my coffee.

Nasty picture, but it's all I've got.

Speaking of coffee, I have left out one of the best parts about my trip to Pike's Place. 

To be continued...