Or - Under the Puget Sun...
On this trip downtown we wanted to watch the sun set on the Sound. We've seen the Noonday sun and the late afternoon sun but never the setting sun…on the Puget Sound. So, we headed downtown for another adventure.
Now, this one is going to highlight many of my favorite photo subjects in the City. So it'll be ferries, buildings, pergolas and such on this Photo Safari. Oh, and a setting sun, too.
I think I got some half-way reasonable shots of this little bugger. It's given me fits for years now but I'm becoming bolder in how I approach taking this one's picture. In other words, I'm standing in the street a bit more now.
That's me, living on the wild side. Hooah!!
This one kinda works. I think I'll need to plant myself and take several hundred pics to get the right one. I honestly don't know if I have the patience for it. I've become a, "See it. Shoot it" kind of photographer.
So, this time, I stepped out, zoomed in and 'shot' it.
Then I shot this walk. This is the sidewalk Carl Reiner and Tom Hanks walk down going to The Athenian Restaurant for lunch in, "Sleepless In Seattle".
It turned out OK, didn't it? Again, this shot requires you plant yourself and shoot a lot…at least I think it does.
Seattle is a City of Restaurants. They are all adequate and some better than others. I'm usually at the lower range of the restaurants, choosing the ones that are friendliest to my wallet. But it would be fun to have a chance to sample many of the exciting restaurants here. Like this one, just below the Inn at the Market.
It looks interesting and sometimes that is an important piece of the whole dining puzzle. There's a lot that goes into a five-star meal and it's not just all about the food. Like eating in a seashore restaurant that the floor slants, dramatically, and gives everything a tilt.
Looking up Pike Place, you can see another pig. Remember, we talked about them before. This one is set up on a roof and painted it. You can see the 'Farmers Market' sign just behind the pig.
It's a Seattle thing.
Here it is…the Pike Place Market. One of the neatest places around. Great food and some wild flowers, fresh fish and fruits and a whole bunch of whacky, beautiful and unusual souvenirs. Oh, and the cheese. Beechers, there on the left. Makes the cheese right there and it's good. A tad too expensive for me but really tasty.
The place hops all day long. And it's the home of the first ever Starbucks. But I've told you that before. But it's true. And they are the only National Franchise allowed in the Market. Cuz they were there before they were a franchise.
the Market closes and, boom, everyone working has gone home. Scrubbed the place down and went home. Like a ghost town, really.
But there's still a few, stubborn folk, like us, that want to wander around the empty stalls.
"Oh. well, this looks very interesting doesn't it, Sweetheart."
"Yes, dear."
And then there are those crazy nuts that pose in the empty Market.
Just behind me where I was standing in the picture above is a small landing and so we stepped out on it and got some pictures.
One direction there's a ferry rounding Alki on its way back home...
…and in another direction there's Century-Link Field with Mt Rainier in the background. Mind you, we're about 50 or so miles from Mt Rainier. Either it's real big or I have one heckuva zoom lens. Or, maybe, a small combination of the both.
Pretty impressive, eh?
Then, with a slight turn, there's the new ferris wheel on the Puget Sound. A huge thing.
Then, back in the Market, I spotted this pasted on a sideboard of one of the stalls.
Merry Christmas, ya'll!!
Woof.
Looking out over the empty stalls towards Pike Place.
I still can't believe they allow cars down that road. Ah, what do I know.
Oh, Hey!! There it is!! Starbucks!!
The very first one, ever!!
And always busy. Always.
Then we headed over to Vic's Park to watch the sun set on the Puget Sound.
We were not alone.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
This is my vague and vain attempt to get artsy.
I call it, "Sun Down on the Sound."
Hahahaha, I crack myself up, I really do.
Then, by the pergola at the North end of the Market it was Selfie time.
Sporting our Rat City RollerGirls shirts.
We are so cool.
And, yet another shot of a…ferry boat.
Ah, c'mon, there's so doggone many of them you can't help shooting them all the time.
Honest!!!
Oh, look!! A ferry boat AND the giant ferris wheel.
I never claimed I was original…just prolific.
(I just looked up 'prolific' and it means, appropriately enough, "producing a large amount of something.")
That's me to a tee!!
Hooah!!
The sun painted the Olympic Mountains for me. No filters, just what the camera saw and the sun painted.
It really was a nice afternoon. A wee bit too warm but other than that it was very nice.
And a great day for shooting. Vic's Park is in the foreground and a big, tall building is in the background. Pretty technical, I know.
Look!! The pergola at the North End of the Market.
This one is sorta PW, don't you think? Except for the stupid pole.
Stupid pole.
The sun coloring the apartments along the Pike Place Market. These guys have got some great views.
Selfie Time!!
Wait!! Pay attention!!
The sun's setting, Buddy!!
Evidently, mine was not an original thought.
Ratz.
There she goes…another day in the books.
OK, let's call it a day and go home.
Interesting colors. One of the tankers moored in the Sound.
And the pergola at the North End of the Market again.
And that stupid stop sign. What's more important!?! Safety or Art!?!
The Olympics again.
And the obligatory ferry reflecting the sun's last rays.
They're a kick, really.
Same boat, different angle.
A view of Vic's Park. We were getting ready to go but plenty of folks were going to stick around. Well, it was a Saturday night. Party time for the fun folks.
And a final shot of the day ending over the Olympics.
And a ferry.
They're everywhere, really.
Hey, let's do a Selfie by the pergola at the North End of the Market.
Ok!! Let's!!
I'm still working on getting ONE good shot of this sign.
Bear with me…cuz I couldn't think of any way to use 'pig' in a sentence.
All closed up but still lit up.
They block everything off with chain link fence and leave little walkways to the important stuff…like restrooms and restaurants.
Lookit!!! In EVERY picture I've taken of this sign near the front of the Pike Place Market, the first five letters have ALWAYS been dark. I always thought the bulbs burned out and they were, like me, too lazy to change them.
I wuz wrong.
They work!!!
Whoda thunk!?!?!
Angles make all the difference. These two pictures of the same subject were taken within five minutes of each other. Big difference, eh?
I don't know why so don't ask me.
I just take the pictures and I'm only capable of that because it's such a simple camera.
Right there, in the entrance to the Market, is Rachel. She's the piggy bank they put in back in '71 to help raise money for low-income folks and our Valued Homeless.
It's a popular spot for shots of your visit to Seattle and the Pike Place Market…and we're not different than any of the other touristas prowling the area with cameras slung around their necks.
No different at all.
A friendly passerby offered to take this picture and I took him up on it.
The big building you've seen in two other previous blogs but without the sky and clouds reflected from its windows. And also from a different angle. And a different time of the day.
This was taken from near the front of the Pike Place Market.
What're we known for? Besides our ferries? Coffee.
This sign sorta wraps up the whole thing…
Seattle Coffee Works.
Ah, Smith Tower. Someday, I promise, I am going up and take in the view of my City. Someday.
In the heart of Pioneer Square, Smith Tower has stood for 100 years providing the Southern bookend to Seattle's skyscrapers. Once the tallest building on the West Coast, Smith Tower offers a grand view of our beautiful city.
Annnnnnd the ferris wheel again. The gondolas are huge and hold 20 or so people.
Oh, look!! The ferris wheel AND a ferry.
Que original!!
Walking down to the Link at Pioneer Square, we caught this view of the traffic on 1st Avenue.
And this big boy.
I'm a sucker for Irish Pubs…and corned beef sandwiches.
So I grab nearly every opportunity I can to combine the two.
This is the Owl and Thistle. A faux Irish Pub down near Pioneer Square.
It wasn't too busy then but after the game let out, the Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, it got a bit busier. And they had a bouncer who was carding nearly everyone.
Hmmmmm, no one carded us.
Wonder why?
We got the corned beef and they were gracious enough to serve it to us on two plates. It was on a marbled bread that was more pleasing to the eye than to the taste bud. The fries were OK. Hand-cut, though.
The game ended about the time we finished our sandwich so we saw a lot of people heading uptown as we made our way down.
This shot if of the crowds walking alongside Pioneer Square. You can make out the Pergola if you're looking for it.
And, across the street from Pioneer square, is the Merchant Cafe. Haha, even at night it looks its age.
And the Smith Tower. It's a beauty, you should see the elevators and the wall paneling inside the lobby. Very impressive.
My last shot downtown was this one. We were crossing 2d and I decided to grab a shot of the Space Needle. Hahaha, I thought I was as steady as a rock.
More like a pebble…rolling downhill.
Ah, what the heck. You can still recognize it, right? As long as someone tells you what it is.
"EARTHQUAKE!!"
The Pioneer Square Link Station.
Pretty impressive. And very empty.
We talked to a guy earlier that commented it was a clean station…since there was no using it it must have been easy to keep clean.
And our final treat…the moon was exceptionally large and bright like a big pizza pie.
I got this shot from our front yard.
Not bad for a hand-held little ol' camera.
Love the City and love the opportunities it affords me to explore and enjoy.
It's my kind of town…
and it adds to making life good.
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