{ Seattle Vacation } Day 1 of 8

We left St. Louis around 9:30 am on a jet plane on July 29. It was Miss A's very first plane ride. And wouldn't you know it we had a great view from the very last row of the plane...it was the view of the engine. But that didn't seem to matter to her. She was just excited to be flying in an airplane to Seattle to see her friend Miss J. We spent our energy keeping her entertained for the three and half hour flight. 

A highlight of the flight was listening to Daddy's iPod. 

When we arrived in Seattle, Miss A was ready to see Miss J right then and there, but first we had to get our luggage and make our way to the light rail. Miss A thought it was a train and kept saying, "Choo-choo!" 

Here she is enjoying the view from the light rail.

We then got off the light rail, had a bite to eat, boarded the 358 bus, then headed toward the "vacation house" as it would be dubbed by the girls. We had some excitement on the bus. A lady got on the bus whose perfume resembled closely that of a Budweiser product. She was very nice, very talkative. We learned her husband was in a "facility" and that she had lost her cell phone charger and found it in a parking garage two days later. She chatted with Miss A who kept asking her a gazillion questions. "What's that?" "What are you doing?" And then without warning, the bus came to a sudden halt. The woman's bag and all its belongings fell to the bus floor. She leaned over to pick it up and her pants came down enough to reveal a tattoo. Miss A immediately took note of the tattoo and pronounced in a loud voice, "She has writing on her bottom!!"  And then "Why does she have writing on her bottom?" Oh kids, they are so funny and honest! 

It wasn't until we took the short 1/4 mile walk from the bus stop to the vacation house that Miss A decided to fall asleep. So when we walked through the door of the our rental vacation house, Miss J was super excited to see her friend, but highly disappointed that she was sound asleep. We put the girls in their own bedroom with twin beds. While they napped, we unpacked and unwinded. When the girls woke from their nap, happy and rested, we boarded the 358 once again and headed to downtown. 

The bus was definitely a favorite for the girls.

When arrived in Pike's Place Market, the market was closing, but we still took in some of the sights. 

We couldn't decide where we wanted to eat, so after walking around for 45 minutes, we ultimately settled on the Hard Rock Cafe. 

We then headed to this little place to eat gelato (Italian ice cream). I failed to photograph this lovely establishment. It was delicious! After we devoured the gelato, we decided to check out the famous gum wall in Post Alley. It's a place where everybody and their brother has left their DNA. It was mesmerizing and gross but smelled very bubblicious. 

Mandy left her mark. An "A" for Amanda. :) 

 It was a good first day. 

We said goodbye to the market and headed back to the vacation house. 

Oh and did a I mention the weather was amazing!! Like in the 60s! Look for more pics from Seattle. I took too many pictures, people, so I'm posting them one vacation day at a time.