Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!


Hello, my friends, I hope you are enjoying 
these 'Dog Days' of summer! 

It is certainly hot and dry, here in western Washington State. 
We've had no rain for almost a month and a half, 
and this week it has been in the 90's,
with hazy skies due to smoke from distant wildfires, 
 drifting down through mountain passes both in our state, 
 and all the way from British Columbia, Canada, in the north. 
The air quality is not good.  

I have been so busy watering my precious plantings 
by hand (we have well water and need to ration wisely)
which takes at least an hour or more every morning and evening. 
I feel so bad for all the native trees and plants, but 
they are remarkably resilient. 

In between, I am still pet-sitting my friend's cat and dog, 
for two more weeks, and watching my
 9 mos. old grandson 2-3 times a week. 

We will also be watching my 2 yr. old grandson 
this Saturday night while my son and his wife 
attend his 20th high school reunion! 

The time just flies along........... 


Speaking of time, we had the BEST time 
with my youngest son, Dustin and wife, Jennifer
at the Seattle Mariner's versus Boston Red Sox
 game at Safeco field in Seattle last week.

Ramblin' Man and I grew up in small towns south of Boston
 (which shared a high-school, where we met)
 and have a special love for our home team. 


Dustin arranged everything for a special day in Seattle,
with a trip to Pike Street Market on the waterfront, 
 and then on to the game. 



As you can see, it was a perfect 
summer day in our beautiful city of Seattle.


You can see both stadiums, 'Safeco' and 'Quest' fields,
where the Mariner's and Seahawk's play, 
our 'Big Wheel' Ferris wheel  
and of course, our beautiful Mt. Rainier, 
shimmering in the distance. 


Here, we are on a boardwalk overlooking
Elliot Bay and Pier 59, which houses
 Seattle's aquarium on the waterfront. 

The waterfront is along Puget Sound, 
which starts at the Canadian border near Victoria, BC, 
and ends south of Olympia - Washington's capitol.

Puget Sound is a deep water sound with major ports for 
military and west-coast commerce along its eastern shores

You can read more here:

Mt. Rainier is just out of sight to the left.


Our walkway was flanked by a pretty stone rail. 


Ferries are an important mode of transportation 
 for several populated islands and  
other ports on the sound. 


And off he goes......towards ports unknown. 

The Olympic mountain range lies on the horizon. 
This mountain range is mostly uninhabited
and lies on the Olympic peninsula. 


The glass entrance to 'The Market' from the waterfront, 
with the city rising above. 


I love the vintage feel of this fruit stand,
right down to the old, painted sign, 
table and wonderful wainscoting. 



Beautiful flowers, awaiting arrangement. 
If you look through the window, you can 
see the steeply sloped city streets. 
They are fun to drive down, 
but not back up! 


Although it was hot outside, the inside 
was cool and inviting. Tourists from all over
the world share their love of the market 
with seasoned locals. 

I love the beautifully carved columns. 



The market meanders in and out, on two levels, 
with lovely courtyards, hidden restaurants and shops,
and colorful displays and people. 



The low-slung buildings had lovely gardens along their 
roof-tops and cobblestone terraces.

The back of this little restaurant looks so wonderfully vintage.
Right down to the vintage car and beam of sunlight!  
xoxo
The front has views of Puget Sound. 


Street-side was lined with the most charming 
little shops, amid the historic beauty. 

This photo and the last, 
would make great subjects for watercolor.




This beautiful building caught my eye as 
we head to the stadium. 
I believe this was built with local sandstone. 

Don't you just love the windows?


The old and the new.....


And more under construction! 


The 'Green Tortoise'.


The Seattle Art Museum
with its Art Deco design. 
I've been waiting for a good exhibition so I can go again. 


The tower building and old hotel 
in the background are so pretty. 
The group crossing the street 
with the blue bundles are a curious sight. 
Homeless, perhaps? 

So many people are homeless these days. 
There is so little mercy......
we take every little thing for granted,
but are merely one disaster away from the same fate.  
'There, but for the Grace of God, go I'



We arrive at the stadium early so we can enjoy 
a bite to eat and get settled into our seats. 
Heavily shadowed high-rise buildings
and Quest Field peek over the wall.


The Mariner's Moose mascot performs before the game.
The 'Moose' mascot was chosen for the team
 through a contest for children. 


The game begins. It was a Tuesday night 
and the stadium was full! 


Here we are with happy smiles :) 
Dustin bought us these great Boston Red Sox hats. 
So excited to see this game! 



Mariner's won in overtime! 
The game went on into the wee hours......
we didn't stay. 

It was a great game, in a great place, with 
3 of my favorite people! 

Thank you, Dustin and Jen for such a fun day! 


We left at sunset to go get a burger. 
(Burger Master - an iconic burger drive-in, 
best known as Bill Gate's favorite treat)



And as the sun sets and the crescent moon rises, we take one 
last look at the beautiful Olympics silhouetted against the 
embers of this wonderful day. 

xoxo









28 comments:

  1. Dear Karen,
    this looks, like you all had a lovely and wonderful day at the Ballgame! Thank you for all the great pictures from this trip!
    Have a lovely and wonderful weekend ahead,
    sending Love and Hugs and Blessings,
    Claudia xo

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  2. What a lot of fun you had! I really enjoyed a good look round Seattle, admiring the views and the buildings. X

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  3. What a marvellous day you all had and thank you so much for sharing. I loved seeing the architecture, the shops and the hustle and bustle of people shopping. It is a very sad that more and more are homeless.
    Your Ballgame looked like great fun and the selfie was fantastic!
    Enjoy August Karen with hugs from us xx

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  4. Great to go exploring further afield with you, glad you had a great time!

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  5. Grandsons and ferris wheels and that sunset at the end. What a great day!

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  6. It's funny you posted today because I stopped by yesterday. :). Guess I put the vibe out there. lol

    I want to visit your neck of the woods someday, especially that market.

    Living in Massachusetts people think we're Red socks fans but we're actually New Yorkers so it's funny sometimes to see the reaction when fisherman wears his yankee hat :).

    Hope your drought ends soon!

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  7. What a fun day you had! That market looks so fun to explore. Thank you for taking us along!

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  8. Looks like you and your family had a wonderful day!! There is a lot of lovely places to go. We are a bit more limited here in ND. So nice to see a photo of you and your family Karen!! Beautiful family! May the Lord bless always!!

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  9. Thank you for this great tour! I do want to visit Seattle someday as all I hear about it intrigues me! Now with these visuals, I really want to visit.

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  10. Here in Oregon City we are suffering with temps in the 100's and smoke from fires as well! It has blown all the way down here.No rain in a LONG time!

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  11. What a fabulous post.
    So nice to hear about your visit, and see all of your photographs.
    The market looks a wonderful place, but my favourite picture is seeing all of your happy smiles ... lovely day, and lovely memories.

    All the best Jan

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  12. What a beautiful day!!....It reminds me my visit to Seattle...

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  13. Karen, what a fun day at the ball game, and spent with your son, even better. I've heard of Pike Street Market, as the girls went there when they visited Seattle. They said it was fantastic with all the flowers and produce. I like the picture of the worker with the orange hair. His hair matches the fruit. : ) So glad you had a lovely day spent with family, and then burgers afterwards, YUMMY!

    ~Sheri

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  14. Karen, what a delightful day in the big city! All the lovely blue caught my eye (sky and water!). The market looks like a wonderful place to wander around and those flowers!!! What fun to go to the ball game. xo

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  15. And...did you get a shake with that burger? Looks like a great weather day for Seattle. I've only been downtown for soccer games this summer. Maybe when the weather cools down we'll have to head down for lunch. Stay cool the next several days!

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  16. Karen, thanks for this fabulously detailed post about an area I'd love to see! I feel like I've just had a mini-vacation!

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  17. you captured the essence of Seattle so well! Have you ever ridden the big wheel? We have talked about doing it but never seem to take the time!

    You have a sweet family. Looks like the day was one to remember :)

    ~Emily from So Sunny Day

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  18. What a fun post Karen! And brought me down memory lane as several years we visited WA to see my brother and his wife and spent time in Seattle. I just loved it there!! We did the market place too. And my Hubby and son went to a mariners game. ;) WE also went to a Seattle Sounders soccer game. Have to get back there one day!!

    Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

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  19. What a great post, Karen. I love that you were able to go to the game and had so much fun. You have been a busy girl with pet/grandbaby sitting...and watering! Even I have to water here and we have had the most rain this summer ever recorded (in a certain amount of days). The last two days it has rained ALL DAY LONG but the sun is shining right now. Whoo Hooo---feel like I won the lottery. xo Diana

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  20. WOW...looks like you had a day packed full on fun and adventure. Been hot dog days here in Nashville TN also...until today. I will be sure and take a pic once the quilt block is hanging on the barn.

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  21. Looks like you had a great fun filled day out with the kids, how fun!! I was so sorry to hear about your lack of rain, the high temps and the smoke from all the fires, I sure hope you get some relief very soon! We had temps in the 100's for most of July, I guess are temps were only normal 3 days out of the whole month but August is coming in with some much nicer weather.
    I did love the architecture in that one building that's for sure. I love the buildings with carvings and cool doors and windows :) Wishing you a nice weekend ahead too!

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  22. I want to ride on a Ferris wheel. Have a nice weekend.

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  23. What a fun, jam-packed day. I have never been to a Seattle. We don't get to that side of the states. Don't know why. I love the old buildings and the market looks great.
    We have had so much rain, lots and lots of storms ( flooding, tornado type weather) that the mosquitoes carry you off the minute you step out! Seems like a lot of pop up storms. I hope you get some relief soon.

    Cindy

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  24. No rain here either for as long...and we broke 100 degrees! Just when Russell and I headed to the kids's house to dog and cat sit while they are in Tucson...and all they have is a small window unit! But, anyway, loved this visit with Seattle! I have been but was so young I don't remember. My sister was born there. I loved seeing what it looks like, and especially that beautiful "day is done" shot at the end. Looks like you had a great time!

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  25. Dearest Karen,
    What a thoughtful treat by Justin and Jen for both of you!
    Indeed, your weather was picture perfect in many ways for this entire outing.
    We have had a very wet summer so far. Hard to plan out biking trips as I hate to be rained upon when we're making a ride of about one hour...
    Just got back from Florida, a combination of relaxing time and friends visit but on our 3rd day a Tropical Storm got there together with us. My driving time was perfect; no rain but our pool and relaxing time was WET! Luckily I did bring my crochet work with me so I completed half of my side window's curtain. Need one more side window and half of this to complete.
    But we did get some pool time as we had early breakfast and used the perfect mornings for that purpose. Almost every afternoon it pours down in south Florida. No wonder they can grow so many things there for harvesting! To both of us it looked a lot like Indonesia with its wet monsoon where every afternoon it pours down. So hard that you could not even enjoy music or whatsoever.
    Sad to read that the entire west coast is struck with a prolonged drought and it makes wild fires so critical.
    Sending you hugs,
    Mariette

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  26. Seems like a wonderful day out and a nice treat indeed, very thoughtful. The photos are really nice. Warm greetings and best wishes.

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  27. What a wonderful outing, Karen! My favorite picture was the one with the four of you at the ballgame. My late beloved and I had a brief stop in Seattle after our Alaskan cruise, and we did get to Pike's Market. Hope you have a lovely week!

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  28. You had wonderful time! I've never been to Seattle, but I'll try to visit it when I'll be on my US trip!
    Thanks for sharing wonderful photos, have a nice day!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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