Seattle August 18

 Debbie, Joe, and I headed out for Starbucks around 7:30 am and then returned for our complimentary breakfast by 8 am.  We met up with Steve, Jennifer, and George.

My swollen hand is from my bee sting.  I do think that it is slightly less bothersome today.

The view from our window

A dog park on the roof of the building next to us.  It is nice that they put in a fire hydrant for the dogs.

Nathan joined us at about 9:30 am.  Steve, Debbie, and Joe came to our hotel room, where it was quiet and we could actually carry on a conversation.  

We went to the Metropolitan Cafe for lunch.  It was a build-your-own-sandwich kind of place.  Jennifer went looking for an ice cream place.  She was unsuccessful.  Then we told her that there was ice cream at the Cafe.  So she came back.

I guess today was window washing day.  This was the reflection of the window washer.

Finally came to our window.

I had to wait for the window washer to come to our window before we could head out to connect with Madeline and Ivan.  

Our hotel

We got a little sidetracked talking with Steve.

Debbie and Steve

Siblings

After lunch, we went down to Lake Union where we met up with Madeline and Ivan (Roman was at work).  Steve and Jennifer did not join us.  Joe decided to go to the Museum of Pop Culture.

The Banana Stand, free bananas for whoever wanted one.  I guess it is famous. The Amazon Community Banana Stand in Seattle is a place where anyone can get free bananas, regardless of whether they are an Amazon employee or not.  It is a popular spot near the Amazon headquarters in the South Lake Union neighborhood.  The stand gives away 3,000 - 5,000 bananas daily. The stand is a community-focused initiative, aiming to provide a free and accessible resource for anyone in the area.

 Once we got to the lake we decided to rent a rowboat.  We chose a rowboat for 2 rowers because it was large enough for 5 people.  

We piled in.  Debbie decided to not join us.

Nathan has it all figured out now.

We all took turns with the rowing.  We decided that it was better to row one person at a time instead of 2 people together. It was too hard to get in sync.  See the space needle in the background.

Ivan is having a good time.

Making a dug-out.

We headed back to the hotel.  As we were walking back to the hotel, we saw a vehicle parked in a no-parking spot.  The lights were on, but no one was in the car. The streetcar came by.  Honked, but the owner of the vehicle did not return.  The streetcar driver wasn't sure if she could make it by.  

It barely squeaked by. 

Madeline and Ivan came up to see our hotel room.  Debbie and Joe were sitting in the lobby, so I joined them.  They "made" me get some ice for my hand!!  Argh!! Well, I did think that it helped some.  We gathered there and started playing a round of 10, 9, 8.  Soon Steve and Jennifer joined us, so we started over.  When we were done, we headed to the Tidal + restaurant.  We had tried to make a reservation, but we were unsuccessful.  Luckily, they were not busy, so we were seated right away.  

Nathan had his first oyster.

I ordered a Hugo.  It was delicious.  They added a sprig of sage.  That was different. 

Table decoration.

I had a filet and asparagus.

Joe, Debbie, me, George, Nathan, Jennifer, and Steve.

We set up the time for meeting in the morning. We went back to our room.