Boppin Around Seattle in Fogtober

We have a small Gym in our Condo building but I prefer taking a fast 40 minute walk down the water front and back, down to the Ferris wheel and back.

A bit of History noted on the waterfront

Click on the pic and you will See Mount Rainier in the background, on a clear day he comes out to play.

The Arab Fest at Seattle Center, it is always interesting participating in another culture.

It's a small world for sure

This is a Lebanese  Chicken Kabob top and Kofta (Lamb) on the bottom

Then we went inside and enjoyed hearing Maurice Sadar Rouman. He is known as the Father of Modern Arab Music, he is 92 years old and his fingers glider over the guitar like Arab instrument like a Segovia or at times like Carlos Montoya

We saw several  Arab Dancers, everything from this to a woman dancing with a small chandelier on her head and one with a huge Dagger...Look Out!

The Admiral attended this poetry reading, I was over looking through some of the Arab Literature, these people have led very horrific lives in many cases and it is announced in their culture. Then there were the obviously very rich in the mix, I am sure from oil profits.

There were several tables where there were groups of adult men and women smoking these giant Hooka's, we asked what they were smoking and it is some type of Flavored Tobacco.

We saw women in all manner of head coverings from this to women dressed in modern clothing with no head coverings, There were no Burqa's. All of these ethnic Fest are Happy occasions where they celebrate both their culture and the diversity within the culture.

The good news is that all cultures love Food and they have their own unique way of making it taste GOOD!

My First Croatian Beer

Song and Dance for everyone

When is the last time you had a pastry where Buttermilk was served with it?

Thought we should catch one more Earshot Jazz Festival Event http://www.earshot.org/

Can not explain it...if you are lucky they will come to a venue near you.

These two very creative artist stand alone in the world of Jazz.

The Best Damn Happy Hour hands out great door prizes, usually it is just a drawing but in this case the best Twerker won. Yep that is the Admiral collecting her prize, A coupon good for up to 12 people for the Seattle Pacific Science Center http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/

This was our third round at the monthly Happy hour

We volunteer at the Seattle Symphony, This day was spent with children making creatures for Mud Mountain

A lot of very unusual creatures inhabited the mountain. After this we all wne in to see "The Composer is Dead"

After the children's Symphony Day we walked south of downtown to visit the International District, behind the mini Pagoda is a Ping Pong Table and the Admiral beat me again. 

Always Stop for Dim Sum!

A weird 12+ days of heavy for in Seattle and South Puget sound, Never seen like this in the Fall, even in the winter the fog is blown out by the passing cold fronts. October was named Fogtober and Fogamendon. The constant gray is wired.  

Sometimes we could see the water and other times less than a block away.

Finally the fog broke for a few hours and the sun came out, we went to Seattle Center to take a walking tour. We have been there so many times but thought the Tour could tach us a few things. 

The Tour started and ended at the Armory

Shortly after we took this pic the fog started rolling in again, That is the EMP Museum http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/ in the background.

The tour guide took us to this point where he thought was the best spot to take a pic of the Space Needle with the International Fountain in the foreground going off. ...see the fog returning?

Fall Leaves create a whole new Environment

The fall colors are super, we took the long way home to go through this part of Seattle Center to check out the fall colors

We went back to Dia De Muertos and check out these Tamales...Huge. I had a Rainier Beer since I knew this was the Lone Star Beer of Washington State. 

The Real Deal from Central Mexico

They were good but I have heard better in Texas

A long way from Mexico, Seattle is way ahead in celebrating all the cultures in the U.S.

Mexican's Honor the dead, heck we hardly honor old people!

Tbhe fog is long gone and I saw this sailing ship heading North, it said Green Peace. Turns out it is the "Rainbow Warrior" and it had been in Seattle several days, If I had known about it I could have gone aboard and checked it out. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/A-new-Rainbow-Warrior-sets-sail/

They come in  and or leave nearly every day

Port of Seattle, I can see all the action as I am feeding Baby Drew or Rocking him to sleep. 

Even when it is busy in the Harbor there is plenty of room for sailing.

One of our neighborhood favorites Macrina Bakery http://www.macrinabakery.com/

After a volunteer sint one morning at the Symphony we discovered they had a fine Brunch on Sat. and Sunday's http://www.macrinabakery.com/

We earn Sympony tickets almost every time we volunteer at the Symphony so we have accrued several, this night was a date night so we enjoyed the Wine and Baroque.

I have instructed at least 14 or people so far in two hour on the water sailing lessons. I had to take a Pic of this new vessel at the CWB named "Cutty Sark" of course the real Cutty Sark is on Exhibit in London, England. We got to see it in Dec. 2000 when we over there visiting our daughter. 

I was standing on the dock preparing to assist this sailboat coming in from a "Public Sail" when a small rain cloud cleared and a rainbow over Lake Union popped into the scene. 

Watch Out Seattle, Baby Drew is out Boppin Around Seattle now!

I always thought nothing could beat the Sun worshipers in Florida, They don't hold a candle to Seattleites! If the Sun breaks out for just 15 minutes or so all of a sudden the sidewalks fill up with all around to just gets a even a few minutes of the revered Sunlight. 

Even on the rainy days the clouds often break up in the afternoon and you get some fine sunsets. Florida holds the prize though, they celebrate the Sunset Every Day, especially in the Keys where everyone on the Atlantic side has an excellent view and those on the Gulf side just have a few blocks to walk to find a great view or they just get on a second floor balcony. 

Bopping Around Seattle in Fogtober

We are engaged daily in caring for our third Grandchild. The first two grandkids are girls back in Texas. We spent over 8 years helping our kids care with those two. In fact both sets of grandparents lived in he same town so there were 6 core family adults raising them. When we got the call that we had a third on the way we did not hesitate to get up here as fast as we could to be a part of this Little Skippers world. Believe me he definitely has the helm, he is efficiently teaching 4 intelligent adults how to behave. We exit the Terrariums (as our daughter calls these glass surrounded condos) as often as we can to Bopp around Seattle. We have volunteered several times at the Seattle Symphony and know our way around he huge Benaroya Hall (the building takes up a full city block) and I try to instruct sailing twice weekly at the Center for Wooden Boats.

Baby Drew's room looks out on to South Puget Sound and Elliot Bay so I have a great view of all the vessels coming and going around the area and all the way into the Port of Seattle. Being 11 floors up you can watch all the incredible weather systems come in often resulting in awe inspiring sunsets over the Olympic Mountains. The almost weekly Ethnic Festivals and other free events at Seattle Center are a easy 10 minute walk away. The Admiral and I both have our Seattle Walking legs tuned up now and we can walk straight up steep hills without even thinking about it. Their are several things that we do that require a mile or two walk each direction in Seattle Weather, no problems we are both outfitted for what ever weather happens, we each carry small backpacks with extra clothes just in case. Our car never gets out of the garage, maybe once every two weeks.

There is is small gas fired fireplace in our condo for heat but we do not use it but for just a few hours a day, even on the colder fall nights we keep a window open, not sure if that is the result of living on he top floor and everyone else's heat keeping our unit warm or what? Right now the low temps stay above the low 40's so it is no big deal yet! 

Day light savings time just ended so the nights are definitely getting longer now. We discovered that the true sun worshippers are in. The PNW! If the sun so much as comes out for a few minutes these people find a way to get outside to enjoy those moments. In the elevators they talk about he sun, how awesome it was or when it might come out again. I'm sure we have a lot more to learn in December and January....time will tell but so far the weather here has been anything but normal. In Fact I am sure just about anywhere you go in the world now you would hear from the locals that the weather is not Normal.