Urban Wanderers

While Phil was dealing with train delays and missing the planned beer festival with his son, I was wandering downtown Seattle with my daughter M and son W, having taken the 8:30 a.m. Bolt Bus from Bellingham to its 10:15 a.m. drop point in Seattle's International District.

The Bolt Bus arrives just a block away from Seattle's beautiful Chinatown Gate, and our first stop was a Chinese bakery, with a dizzying array of pastries, cookies, sandwiches, cakes, and more. We each picked a tasty treat, caught a downtown bus, and after a brief stop at a swanky indoor mall, went to W's apartment for a wonderful fresh ginger/lemon drink, made locally.

Revived, we walked to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, where we meandered through the Broadway Farmers Market, buying ginger/strawberry drinks from the same vendor who made the ginger/lemon blend, munching fresh strawberries, and enjoying the relaxed, multicultural, urban scene and brilliant sunshine.

After perusing the wares in a small shop specializing in culinary salts, olive oils, gourmet chocolates, and other treats -- and buying a few things -- we had a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We walked back to W's apartment and spent a couple of hours talking about the past, present, and future, before they escorted me back to my Bolt Bus pick-up point and we hugged goodbye for now.

It is such a joy to spend time together like this!