Washington 2015:
Day 1

Bundlings.com: [Main] [Contact Us] [Events] [Family] [Fun] [Garden] [Misc.] [Photos] [Search] [Site Index] [Travel]

Washington 2015: [Day 1 - Friday] [Day 2 - Saturday] [Day 3 - Sunday] [Day 4 - Monday] [Day 5 - Tuesday]

	Friday, June 12, 2015: We flew into Seattle by way of San Francisco, arriving after midnight Thursday night. After not nearly enough sleep, we were off for a full day of sightseeing, starting with Woodland Park Zoo.
	We started at the penguin exhibit where we looked for our friend Marley's personalized anchovy in the ground.
	It took us a while to find it but here it is! It was a gift from Gena and Richard who we were going to see later in the day.
	After finding the anchovy, we took a minute to actually look at the penguins and sealions.
	Flamingoes! We've seen them in the wild from a distance, but it's great to see them up close.
	Here's a nice acanthus (bear's breeches).
	We saw zebras for the first time since our Africa trip seven months earlier.
	Bummer - we didn't get the name of these animals.
	Here's a tapir.
	Here's one of the orangutans.
	We stopped at the outdoor cafe and had our first clam chowder of the trip. There are many reasons to visit the Pacific Northwest, and chowder is near the top of the list!
	The meerkats were adorable, ...
	... and the Komodo dragon was huge, ...
	... and the snow leopard was elusive.
	The bird house was filled with parakeets, cockatiels, ...
	... and this pair of Eastern Rosella parrots.
	Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
	The indoor kangaroos were having naptime when we visited.
	We could have spent another couple of hours but we had many more places to visit and we were on a tight schedule. Next up: Scandinavian food ...
	... at the Nordic Cafe!
	Tom had the karbonadesmørbrød (open-faced sandwich with beef patty), ...
	... Debbie had the salmon smørbrød, ...
	... and of course, we had to have pølse (hot dog) wrapped in lefse with fried onions!
	A couple of strul finished off a delicious meal.
	The cafe is on one side of a Scandinavian store, and right behind us was a copy of The New Midwestern Table, a cookbook we own that was written by Amy Thielen, a fellow Macalester grad.
	Speaking of books we own, here's their extensive selection of Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books. Debbie's single copy of Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Go To Market is almost 50 years old and much less colorful. We bought a bunch of Scandinavian food, Dala horse socks, and birthday chimes, then were on our way.
	Next, it was time to get really Scandinavian and hit the Nordic Heritage Museum.
	They have a real Viking ship out front and everything, so you know it's legit.
	Just inside, there's a large Seattle-themed Dala horse statue, about the size of one that we saw in Sweden a couple of years earlier. Five years later, we learned that this is a twin to the Chicago-themed Dala horse at the Swedish American Museum. Both were part of a series of Dala horses created for SWEA International's 25th Anniversary to share with American and international SWEA organizations.
	We enjoyed an exhibit chronicling the experiences of Scandinavian immigrants. Here are some trunks used for the overseas crossing.
	On this floor, there were exhibits focusing on each Scandinavian country. In the neutral zone in the center was an adorable LEGO display.
	Of course, we went into the Swedish exhibit first, because we were on a mission ...
	... to find this: a photo of Debbie's Grandpa Normark. Her aunt Ruth promises that he is somewhere in this photo, but we couldn't figure out which one was him.
	Here's a photo from the Danish exhibit, ...
	... and here's Norway with its colorful bunads and rosemaling, ...
	... and here are Iceland's beautiful wool garments.
	This room featured native clothing from each of the countries. Our next stop was the gift shop where we picked up three children's books for our granddaughter.
	After we had seen all that we could see, we were off again, with just a brief stop to photograph one of the absolutely amazing dogwood trees in full bloom along the streets.
	Keeping with the Scandinavian theme, we went to Larsen's Danish Bakery next.
	So many temptations! We ended up with ...
	... a pair of almond pretzel pastries and cartons of milk that we enjoyed ...
	... on the sunny beach at Golden Gardens Park on Puget Sound.
	Debbie had to stand in the ocean (well, technically not the ocean, but since it's pretty much connected to the Pacific eventually by way of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, we're counting it).
	We were off to see the Fremont Troll next, in his hiding place under the Aurora Bridge. This photo provides few clues as to his size unless you look at the Volkswagon Beetle under his hand.
	This one provides the needed perspective.
	Our next stop was Schilling Cider House.
	Every single product on these cooler shelves had the name Schilling on it.
	We found a table in the back, started a tab, ...
	... and did a little shopping. The t-shirts we bought were a big hit at the Schilling Reunion three months later.
	Aw, man, so many ciders to choose from! We got a couple of samplers ...
	... and liked the Schilling Chaider so much that we bought a couple of bottles to take with us.
	The real highlight of our visit here was meeting up with lifelong friend Marley, her daughters Jennie and Gena, and their husbands, Peter and Richard.
	After we'd all had some beverages, we walked to the Sixgill for dinner and had a fantastic time. We sat at these very tables but didn't take a single photo of the experience because we were too busy talking and laughing.
	We were smart enough to get a group photo afterward though.
	We still had a couple of stops left before we could call it a day. Traffic was a little backed up but the view was great.
	We made our way to Gasworks Park.
	At the edge of the park, there's a wonderful view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle across Lake Union.
	Parts of the park include equipment from the Seattle Gas Light Company, some of which is now brightly painted.
	By now, we were exhausted, but we were just down the street from an Ivar's, so we had to visit.
	Hello, Ivar's Fish Bar! That's another one added to our collection.
	We got an assortment of deliciousness, ...
	... and headed to the outdoor seating behind the building for another view of Lake Union and downtown Seattle. Day 2 >