I have lived in Seattle for most of my life, but I still delight in riding the ferries across Puget Sound. The only negative is the horrendous traffic in Seattle, which seems to get worse every time we return. We decided to drive our car from Sammamish to Eastgate and park in the Park and Ride lot, then walk the short distance to I-5 and catch an express bus to downtown Seattle. In less than 15 minutes we were walking down toward the ferry from downtown.
While we've ridden on public transport all over the world, we have rarely done it in Seattle. A young woman at the bus stop shared an iPhone app for the Metro bus system that showed your location and exactly when the bus would arrive. Pretty cool. I now also had my Senior Pass that lets me ride the bus for 75 cents. Such a deal.
It was one of those rare crystal clear, hot summer days in Seattle and the waterfront smelled of salt and the sea. We were allowed on the ferry after the Washington State Patrol anti-terrorist police determined we were not Al Qaeda operatives. The ride was wonderful and brought back fond memories of our sailboat trips to Blake Island and Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge Island.
Our friends Patsy and Steve Larson met us at the ferry on the Bainbridge side and drove us to W-H Autopilots, just down the road. Our autopilot had some hiccups at times and we wanted the factory gurus to look it over. We met with Will Hamm, (the W and H in W-H Autopilots) who casually mentioned that just about every 20-year-old autopilot in the world seemed to have died that week, not a good sign for us getting a quick repair. He promised he'd do his best and as a boater himself, he truly understood the importance of things working correctly "out there."
We then drove out to Patsy and Steve's incredible new house on Port Madison bay. For Meryl and I, who have been living in a 440 square foot space for the last two years, Patsy's immaculate house with not a thing out of place was almost culture shock for us. They did a fantastic job of designing their dream house to be highly functional, but it was as much a piece of art as a dwelling.
We enjoyed a wonderful brunch out on the deck and shared stories about our kids and grandkids. It was hard to leave but Patsy had a busy work schedule that day and we appreciated the time she set aside for us.
Approaching Seattle on the ferry I remembered back to the 70s when Meryl and I first moved to Seattle. The skyline then was nothing like today. In someways I like the pre-Microsoft Seattle better. It was a kinder, gentler, more outdoorsy Seattle with less emphasis on how expensive a car you drive or how big your Mac-Mansion is. Being from Seattle meant something and I could always pick out Seattleites around the work when we traveled by their courtesy, politeness, slight reserve, and their REI fiber pile jackets.
While we've ridden on public transport all over the world, we have rarely done it in Seattle. A young woman at the bus stop shared an iPhone app for the Metro bus system that showed your location and exactly when the bus would arrive. Pretty cool. I now also had my Senior Pass that lets me ride the bus for 75 cents. Such a deal.
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| Sailors like the wind in their face. |
It was one of those rare crystal clear, hot summer days in Seattle and the waterfront smelled of salt and the sea. We were allowed on the ferry after the Washington State Patrol anti-terrorist police determined we were not Al Qaeda operatives. The ride was wonderful and brought back fond memories of our sailboat trips to Blake Island and Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge Island.
Our friends Patsy and Steve Larson met us at the ferry on the Bainbridge side and drove us to W-H Autopilots, just down the road. Our autopilot had some hiccups at times and we wanted the factory gurus to look it over. We met with Will Hamm, (the W and H in W-H Autopilots) who casually mentioned that just about every 20-year-old autopilot in the world seemed to have died that week, not a good sign for us getting a quick repair. He promised he'd do his best and as a boater himself, he truly understood the importance of things working correctly "out there."
We then drove out to Patsy and Steve's incredible new house on Port Madison bay. For Meryl and I, who have been living in a 440 square foot space for the last two years, Patsy's immaculate house with not a thing out of place was almost culture shock for us. They did a fantastic job of designing their dream house to be highly functional, but it was as much a piece of art as a dwelling.
We enjoyed a wonderful brunch out on the deck and shared stories about our kids and grandkids. It was hard to leave but Patsy had a busy work schedule that day and we appreciated the time she set aside for us.
Approaching Seattle on the ferry I remembered back to the 70s when Meryl and I first moved to Seattle. The skyline then was nothing like today. In someways I like the pre-Microsoft Seattle better. It was a kinder, gentler, more outdoorsy Seattle with less emphasis on how expensive a car you drive or how big your Mac-Mansion is. Being from Seattle meant something and I could always pick out Seattleites around the work when we traveled by their courtesy, politeness, slight reserve, and their REI fiber pile jackets.
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