Aug 5, 2010: Pike's Place, the Boardwalk, and the Gum Wall

On the way to the restrooms, we stopped and watched taffy being pulled.  Good thing we were on a tight budget because I love candy, and we would have ended up with more than I needed.

While the kids took a break, then men played around with their cameras.

After the "Square," we decided to walk down through Pike's Place.  I love these open markets, but I would have loved them more if I'd had money to spend on them.  It was packed like sardines, and I felt like salmon swimming upstream most of the time, but we made it through. 

 Some of the ways we entertained the kids included

drooling over this bear made of gummy bears,

getting a picture with the World's Tallest Man and paying to look at his shoes

Playing in the fountain

and letting them all contribute to the Gum Wall

Very NASTY, but you haven't been to Seattle until you've seen it.

Aug 5, 2010: Seattle's International Fountain

(I have some serious back blogging to do. . .)

When our friends asked us what we wanted to do while we were visiting in Seattle, my response was, "Whatever is free!"  Did you know that Seattle is expensive to visit?  Parking is stinkin' expensive!!  However, it helps if you have friends with a 12-passenger van, even if the driver can't remember where all of the one-way roads are and how to avoid them! (We had many good laughs about Seattle's crazy, narrow, odd one-way streets!)

Above:  The noise patrol aka, the kids

Below:  The Driver

But, notwithstanding the outrageous parking fees, we still found many free things to do.  First up, the International Fountain.  If you go to  Seattle, you HAVE to see it.  I wish I had taken a change of clothes because it was so hot that I wanted to play in the water.  Instead, I got to watch Jackson almost get wet!  Watch the video to see what I mean.

The water shot up in the air to music playing,

and the kids LOVED it, even "Baby" who is screaming in the picture loved it. 

We also watched the Blue Angels do some practice runs,

and wished we could afford to eat in the restaurant to ride up in the Space Needle.  Instead, we just took pictures in front of it.