Food

Oh, I forgot to mention that we took grandma and grandpa to one of mom and dad's favorite restaurants when we were all in downtown Seattle.  It is called Pan Africa Market.  They ordered two dishes between the four of them and shared.  The dishes were Chicken with Apricots and Dates and Chicken Groundnut.  The first dish's ingredients are pretty much self explanatory.  It is mixed together in a sweet creamy sauce.  The Chicken Groundnut has Chicken and yams in a peanut sauce.  All the dishes are served with a yummy salad that changes quite often.  This time it had spinach, strawberries and oranges with some sort of sweet mustard dressing.  Grandpa thought the combination of flavors were 'different' but they grew on him.  Grandma thought it was quite yummy.

For dessert we bought some chocolate dipped macaroons from a vendor in the market.  They waited to eat them until later in the day.  I have heard they are some of the best macaroons around.  Mommy would like to find a recipe that is similar to these so she can make them at home.  

Fish, Boats and Water

The theme for today:  Fish, Boats and Water.  Grandpa has been wanting to have some good fish and chips so today we drove over to Alki Point and ate at Spuds.  They have some of the best fried fish in the area.  They don't skimp on the cod and it isn't dripping with grease like some.  After lunch we hung out on the beach and listened to the water lap up on the shore.  It was really relaxing and it made me sleepy.  We had fun watching boats go in and out of the sound.  We also watched people put kayaks in the water and paddle around.  

It was a pretty and sunny day.  We were able to see Mount Rainier as we drove over the West Seattle bridge back towards Seattle.  It was still a little hazy, but this was the first view of the mountain that we have had since they have been here.  

Our next stop was the Ballard Locks also known as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.  This is where boats can move between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of Lake Washington.  The locks also have a fish ladder where salmon come to spawn.  We arrived at the viewing room just in time to hear the park ranger give a talk on the Coho Salmon that are spawning this time of year.  We saw some big 30 pound fish swimming against the current in the viewing windows and we saw little salmon (called smolt) being pushed back out of the ladders so they can live to grow big and return again in a few years.  

The last thing we did before we left was watch boats come into the locks and travel from the sound to the lake.  The boats drive into the locks, the gates close and water floods into the locks.  This makes the boats rise to the level of the lake.  Then the gate on the lake side of the locks opens and the boats drive away.  Given the size of the locks and the amount of water that goes in and out, this all happens surprisingly quick.  It was another fun day playing tourist with Grandma and Grandpa.  

Downtown Seattle

Today we explored Downtown Seattle.  We parked our car in the garage under mommy and daddy's office building and took grandma and grandpa on a tour of where they work.  They got to see daddy's desk, but mommy doesn't have a desk there right now since she spending time with me.  They got to see the view of Puget Sound from the reception area.  It is a spectacular view.  

From the office we walked to Pike Place Market.  This is the place famous for throwing fish.  We watched some fish fly, ate some slices of fresh fruit and looked at all of the wares for sale in the booths.  Grandpa bought grandma another ring.  This one is made from twisted silver wire.  It has a pretty stone on it, but they can't remember what the name of it is.  

Next we walked to West Lake Center so we could take a ride on the Seattle Monorail.  It runs between the mall and Seattle Center.  Once at the Seattle Center grandma and grandpa went up in the Space Needle.  Mommy was going to go, but the estimated wait was too long and she didn't want to be away from me for that long.  So, while grandma and grandpa were in the Needle, the rest of us went into the food court to wait for them.  We ran into our backyard neighbors and they invited us to go the the Children's Museum with them.  They are members and they took us in as their guests.  It was a fun place and I can't wait to go back once I am big enough to play.

After grandma and grandpa came down from the Space Needle we met back up with them and went over to the International Fountain.  Lots of people were playing in the sprays of water.  I liked watching the water spray into the air.  It looked like all of those people were having a lot of fun.  It was a little cool for me today, but one day I intend to play in that water myself.   It was another full day for us during grandma and grandpa's vacation.

At the bottom of the falls

A nice man at the bottom of the falls offered to take a picture of grandma and grandpa and it turned out really nice.  Let me know what you think about this picture.  

Snoqualmie Falls

Today we spent the day at Snoqualmie Falls.  Before we left mommy packed a picnic lunch and took it with us.  We drove out there during my morning nap and I slept the whole way.  I wanted to be awake to enjoy the water fall and all of the trees and flowers in the park.  

We parked in the 90 minute lot and took a short walk to the upper observation deck which is near the top of the falls.  Grandma and grandpa didn't stay there long once they found out that there was a 1/2 mile hike that would take them to the bottom of the falls.   Mommy and I stayed in the park and waited for them to come back.  We set up the picnic blanket and had the food and water waiting for them when they came back up.  Grandma said the kid in her was stronger than the adult because once they got to the end of the boardwalk they jumped the rail and climbed down to the big rocks at the bottom of the falls.  Grandpa said that was really fun because they were close enough to feel the spray.  

Grandma and grandpa were both really sweaty when they met us back at the top of the trail head.  Mommy moved the car to another lot so we could stay a little longer and enjoy our picnic.  This is a picture of all of us as we sat under the trees.  

On our way back to the car we stopped at the gift shop and grandpa bought grandma a pretty stone necklace and a ring carved out of wood.  Her ring had little flowers painted on it.  It was really pretty.  I took a really long nap on the way home because I was exhausted.  It was another fun day.  

Where has Grandma and Grandpa taken me today?

Another exciting adventure with Grandma and Grandpa.  Today turned out to be a beautiful day.  The morning started out kind of cool, but around noon the sun came out and the sky turned blue.  It was a perfect day to take a ferry ride and spend some time at the beach.  

Around lunch time we hopped on the Kingston ferry and took grandma and grandpa to the crepery that mom and dad ate at a few weeks ago.   They got grilled chicken crepes and a veggie crepe and then for dessert they split a chocolate, coconut and almond crepe with a scoop of ice cream.  I napped while they ate.  Afterward we walked around a little.  Grandpa pushed me in the stroller, but the walk didn't last very long.  Sounded like they were all sore from their long walk yesterday.  (Six miles, up and down hills, my goodness!)

On the ferry ride back grandma, mom and I went upstairs to the solarium deck while grandpa watched the cars and trucks drive onto the ferry.  (As we were waiting to catch the ferry on the way to Kingston we watched three full logging trucks and a few other large trucks along with many cars get off the ferry.  I think grandpa liked watching to see how they can get so many vehicles onto those ferries)  The solarium deck was nice and sunny.  We could see the outline of Mount Baker to the north and Mount Rainier to the south.  It was windy up on the top deck so after watching the water over the side of the boat for a while we  stood under the sun roof and enjoyed the warm temperatures for the rest of the trip.  

On the way home we decided to stop at the beach again so grandma could take her shoes off and walk in the sand.  All three of them ended up taking their shoes off and wading in the water.  There were some kids actually swimming in the water but it was too cold for me so I kept my socks on.  The tide was coming in and grandpa had to keep moving his shoes away from the water so they wouldn't get wet.  At one point a wave snuck up behind grandma and grandpa and splashed them.  Mom caught grandma's reaction with the camera.  That was funny.  Where oh where will they take me tomorrow?