Seattle and Surrounds...

Seattle.  I saw a bit of it - and what I saw I liked.  To me it was completely unique - full of an old salty dog influence - old ship yards, marine industry, the ever-present logging within the Nor West, and a never ending pattern of bays, harbours and islands. Water was everywhere.  And houses, tucked into nooks and crannies and special spots. Looks like a nice place to live.

These old ship cast iron moulds greeted us on entry to an amazing Oyster Bar - The Walrus and the Carpenter (too cool and intimate to photograph inside the restaurant if you know what I mean).

The tourist trap was best seen at night - with fishermen hosing it down.  Pretty. And Iconic.

Wild flowers (bliss) as part of the SAM Sculpture Park on the foreshore downtown (with that crazy space needle behind).

Evidence of all that wood coming through the city. And impressive cone-like mountains in the distance with snow on them. 

Seattle Art Museum. 

This is part of the SAM Sculpture Park, and when visiting (and sitting pretty much IN a fountain to cool off) we listened to a guy play his trumpet. He wasn't busking. He looked like an 'office worker' who biked down to play at lunch times.  Pretty generous and memorable.

A swamp seen on a 2 hour walk only minutes off a city highway (where you would have no idea the highway was there).  A recreational heaven.

And my amazing hosts took me to their cabin and hour out of the city - where we parked up on these banana loungers that had been raised so we could see over the grill - to get the 'perfect' view of complete serenity and calm.  This view is common of the whole area. Just beautiful bays of water with trees growing densely down to the edge.