Finally to Day 3 of our 8-day adventure in Seattle. Today we started out the day at the Seattle Aquarium. The girls absolutely loved the aquarium. At the entrance is a huge tank. While we were there, a diver was feeding the fish and seemed to get quite friendly with an eel.
We then entered by far the coolest part of the aquarium (at least for the girls). It was an area the aquarium called Life on the Edge where you could actually touch the sea life. And also in this area was a huge tank with an octopus. It was very amazing to watch it swim from one side of the tank to the other, all the while moving those amazing arms (or are they called legs). Beside the octopus was an aquarium made into an arch. It contained jelly fish. Miss A was quite intrigued by the jelly fish and still talks about them (as well as the giant octopus).
We moved on from the Life on the Edge to an area where they were offering free (donation) face painting. Miss A chose a penguin, and Miss J chose a seahorse. It was Miss A’s first face painting. To our amazement, she was quite still during the whole procedure, but she looked very nervous the whole time. It was adorable to watch, really.
After the face painting, we all decided that it was time for lunch, so we went to the front to have our hands stamped so we could return to the aquarium once we were done eating. The guys wanted to go to The Crab Pot. It’s an apparently famous place to eat seafood. I wouldn’t know. I adamantly detest seafood. The guys ordered two different seafood feasts. It was crazy. The waiter brought out these huge bibs for them to wear as well as tiny forks and wooden mallets. When the food arrived, I thought I might hurl. It came in a huge stainless steal bowl which the waiter immediately emptied the contents out in the middle of the table. While the sight and smell of it initially turned my stomach, I did bravely take a bite of crab. And I must say, it wasn’t all that bad. Shrimp…not so much. Miss A even tried the shrimp. She nearly begged to eat it, but once it was in her mouth, she very quickly spat it out. (That’s my girl!) But while she didn’t enjoy eating the shrimp, she sure had a lot of fun playing with it. I couldn't hardly stand the sight of that large pile of seafood, but at the same time, I couldn't stop photographing the gruesome scene. Finally Tim asked me if I was going to eat or if I was just going to spend the entire lunch time taking pictures. Ha!
After the guys had gorged themselves on the mass of seafood, we went back to the aquarium. We started where we left off, which was at an area with multiple fish aquariuma with all different kind of species. We were meandering through when all of a sudden Miss A started hollering in an animated voice, “Nemo, Nemo, Nemo!! There’s Nemo!” Sure enough there was Nemo. He didn’t seem to care to be photographed though. I stood for a while with camera ready waiting for him to come out of his semi-hiding place, but alas, he chose not to so we moved on.
The remaining part of the aquarium was just as cool. We walked through a large globe looking aquarium. I didn’t get such great photos because I had on my 50mm lens and that just didn’t get enough of the aquarium in the frame to get a great shot. So alas I will just have to tell you, it was cool. So many cool fish. The seals were cool to watch swim. One little guy was swimming like a mad man. Miss A had fun watching him swim around and tried to talk to him, “Ar, Ar, Ar!” Another cool attraction was the Salmon Ceiling. You just looked up, hoping that glass would hold those hundreds of salmon! The last animal we saw in the aquarium was some baby sea otters. They were sleeping and cuddling with one another. It was absolutely the cutest thing.
The Seattle Aquarium was built right at the water's edge so the views it offered were absolutely spectacular.
The Seattle Aquarium is located just below Pike’s Place Market. So we walked back up to the market. I gotta tell you. I think I could spend days at the market.
After seeing the fresh fruit, I decided I just had to have some. I’m glad I did. The peaches and plums were mouth wateringly delicious.
Our next stop in the market was The Confectional. We stopped to get a shot of chocolate for 75 cents. Upon request you could have cayenne pepper in your chocolate shot. No, thank you! But of course my spice-lovin’ husband said, “Absolutely!” It was interesting to say the least. My favorite part of this store was a sign that said, “We will be happy to help you when you’re off your phone.”
Next to The Confectional was a store that was closed...due to food poisoning.
The name of this store seemed humorous to me. I believe I will have me some pastry. How about you?
The guys decided they needed to try out a Piroshky, which was a pastry of some sort. They had every variety of Piroshky that you could possibly want. And while the guys stood in line for a Piroshky, Mandy took this time to sit down and take a break with the girls, and I went to the original Starbucks to try to get a few shots. It was jam-packed that day! I could hardly get in and then when I did, taking pictures proved to be difficult.
Just a bit more scenery from the Pike's Place Market.
Aaron entertaining the girls while Mandy and I used the ladies room.
People gathering to watch these guys sing and throw fish. If you look closely, you can see a fish flying through the air.
We left Pike's Place Market with the intent of doing some shopping. Our first store was a store that carried Marimekko. Super cute clothes, fabric, handbags, and home decor, but extremely pricey!
As we were walking along, I noticed Seattle's Best, and I really wondered who serves the best coffee in Seattle. St. Louis is a baseball town...Seattle is a coffee town!
We went to a few more stores and then ate at a little sandwich shop. We were just finishing eating when a firetruck rolled by carrying a load of pirates. A parade was going to be starting a few hours, and they were clearing the streets. I really wanted to see the parade, but I was vetoed.
So we headed back to our bus stop.
This day marked the 17th week of Mandy's pregnancy, and all day long, we had tried to figure out a way to take a creative picture that she could post on Facebook to announce the new addition to their family. While we were standing there waiting on our bus, I saw this trash receptacle that said, "Big Belly." Not too long ago, we found out that Mandy is having a boy. I cannot wait to meet my new little nephew. I am so super excited for her, Tim, & Miss J.
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