Our First 2 weeks on Capitol Hill

 Our first two weeks in Seattle were spent in Capitol Hill (a neighborhood of downtown Seattle) This is where Meghan's brother lives. Meghan and I shared  one bedroom and bathroom, rent free, for 2 weeks in exchange for our cleaning services. The house was in need of the novel idea of soap and water. It's a wonder that 4 boys couldn't have thought of that themselves! There was no need to share a "before" picture...no one needs to see that. Here is the "after" picture of our hard work...

 

 It's amazing what a little elbow grease can do.
Our bathroom was also in dire need of a good scrub so we got started on that project the second day there. We couldn't shower without a clean bathroom and we had plans to go out Friday night so priorities set in and we got that quickly accomplished. Within two days of sharing a small bedroom (living out of suitcases!) and getting ready to go out Friday night, our bedroom quickly turned to this.....

 I (Jen) can't live in such chaos for too long, so this didn't last.

Hula Hula is where we spent our first night out. It's in downtown Seattle. We met Meghan's friend Georgia, and their mutual friends from college there for drinks. It was a fun evening and before we left we were blessed to receive a karaoke rap done by a slightly drunk former football player from Colgate University. It was quite entertaining to say the least. 

We spent some time touring the city, getting familiar with the area, and seeing some of Seattle's best. Here are some pictures of what we did see and hopefully within the next couple months as the weather gets warmer, there will be more adventures to share of our explorations around Seattle.


Gas Works Park:   On the tip of Lake Union you can find these remains of a gas refinery that use to be here. (As remembered by most from the paintball scene from 10 Things I hate about you)

 They tore most of it down, but left some pieces and put in a surrounding park with some walking paths. People come to run, walk their dogs and enjoy the view of the water.

 Under a pavilion is where you can read about the history of the refinery and the machines that powered it. I guess it is interesting if your into that sort of thing. To me it was old, brightly painted parts of machinery. I was more interested in running through the park and people watching at this end of town. It was mostly rich folk walking their small dogs mixed with a few homeless people stashing their belongings beside the machinery.


Views of the Lake Union neighborhood across the water and of downtown Seattle.......

If you look closely in the picture above you can see the famous Lake Union house boats. It's that whole bottom row of brightly painted square houses!

  Pike Place Market:    There is so much to see and do here!  I loved it!
Pike Place Market is located downtown and lies right along Puget Sound. It is a 3 floor produce market known for their fish throwing. We were told to sample the Smoked Alaskan Salmon jerky. It was amazing of course and for the price ($40/lb) it had better be!
You can also pick up as many souvenirs as you wish. There are vendors everywhere selling postcards, local art, shirts, jewelery, etc. There is local produce, meat, fish, honey (which we sampled and bought),cheeses, beautiful flower boutiques, really just anything you could want.

 It is a busy place full of hustle and bustle, smells of good food; fresh and local, and people who come to show off their best handy-work. Bookstores and antique shops are downstairs where it's a bit quieter. That day we left Pike Place enthralled by all it had to offer, but not before a guitar player singing for tips gave us a friendly tune. We shall return......with more money next time

 There are walkways and crosswalks that take you right up to the water for views like this...

 And this...

 There will be another post of our first two weeks on Capitol Hill....I need an ice cream break first.
Jen