Casey at the Bat

For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain, and they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow, but there is no joy in Mudville-mighty Casey has struck out!

Nathan (aka Casey) is a fierce competitor at age three!

Dresser Before and After

The finish of this colonial style maple dresser was in bad condition. The drawers worked fine and it was solid so I thought I would just paint it to bring it back to life. It was purchased from a college student years ago for $20 and has served my girls through college and even my mom used it for a time. This is how it started...after a little sanding. And this is the finished product. It is a very deep chocolate brown and I am happy with the result.

We also had an end table that had been passed to me by Shauna and Mark. They had told me that they did not want it anymore so decided to paint it as well. It had some deep scratches on the top, so we sanded it well.

This photo of the painted leg below really shows the deep chocolate color.

And here is the finished end table.

All this only took one full afternoon...with help on the sanding from Steve.

Final Night in Seattle

We spent our final evening in Seattle with the Strongs. They came up from Olympia and we went out on the town and then they spent the night with us at our hotel in downtown Seattle. We visited the Crittendon Locks in Ballard, Washington north of Seattle. This is where yachts and other boats go in and out of the Puget Sound by passing through a canal that is regulated. It is amazing how the boats go up and down the canal to get into Lake Union. During the salmon season (April), thousands of adult salmon swim against the current to get into the fresh water to lay their eggs.

Then we went to Lake Union (passing through a gate that said "no trespassing"!) and went to see the "Sleepless in Seattle" houseboat. The photo below shows the front of the houseboat that faces Lake Union.

We ate dinner at "Ray's Boathouse" which is a very popular restaurant famous for fresh Northwest seafood. It was great to relax and eat a leisurely seafood dinner with a postcard view of Puget Sound. Crouses and Strongs pictured below on Ray's deck.

Steve and I had a memorable week in the Pacific Northwest. We would love to spend a summer there someday....but it is always good to get home to Texas and our family.

More Seattle Sites

Even though Steve was attending the American College of Sport Medicine Conference, we visited as many sites as possible during our week in Seattle. The Space Needle a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair. It is visible from most parts of Seattle. The photo below is of the Smith Tower in Pioneer Square. This area was once the heart of the city.

The Smith Tower is the oldest skyscraper in Seattle. Completed in 1914 and containing 42 floors, it was the tallest office building west of the Mississippi River until 1931. It remained the tallest building on the West Coast until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962.

Above is Quest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and Safeco Field, home the Seattle Mariners (MLB) with Mt. Rainier in the background. This was taken from King Station, where we caught the Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver, B.C.

This photo is of the original Starbucks store, which opened in 1971 in the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.

Steve and I ate nothing but seafood the entire ten days we were in the Pacific Northwest. We had shrimp, calamari, Dungeness crab, king salmon, halibut, seafood chowder and our very favorite - Copper River salmon. Copper River salmon is only available for about 3-4 weeks a year, from mid-May to mid-June. It is very high in Omega-3 oils and has been heralded as among the richest, tastiest fish in the world. We would heartily agree. This salmon is absolutely delicious. The photo above is from one of our dinners at Ivar's Acres of Clams at Pier 54, one of Seattle's historic and famous restaurants.

Bremerton Ferry

While in Seattle we took the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton one evening about 8:00pm. It was about a one hour ferry ride to Bremerton and one hour to return to Seattle.

As we left the pier we enjoyed view of the Seattle skyline with the Space Needle being the prominent structure.

The view of Mt. Rainier at sunset was spectacular. It looked like a giant pink and white cupcake. Mt. Rainier is 54 miles southeast of Seattle and stands 14,411 feet above sea level.

We arrived at Bremerton where we were instructed to disembark the ferry, but we just turned around and got right back on the ferry for the trip back to Seattle. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard shares the inlet with the ferry dock.

The return ride gave us the opportunity to see the Seattle skyline lit up at night. It was a beautiful site and so peaceful and quiet with just the hum of the ferry motor as we approached the city.

We were so glad that we took the late evening ferry...it was a special way to see Seattle and Mt. Rainier.

Pike Place Market

The Pike Place Market is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftsman and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place is one of Seattle's most popular tourist destinations.

We visited the market several times while in Seattle and were welcomed to the area by several iconic signs.

The fruit and vegetables looked delicious and I particularly thought the raspberries and the Rainier cherries looked fabulous. The vegtables were varied and looked so fresh.

Fresh flowers were everywhere in the market. Merchants were arranging bouquets behind their booths and all around the streets of downtown Seattle people were carrying recently purchased fresh flowers...in their hands, sticking out of their backpacks and purses.

At the Pike Street entrance is the famous fish market where when someone buys fish, the merchants calls out the kind of fish and they throw the fish behind the counter to be wrapped for the customer. Great fun to watch.

Dungeness crab was stacked and displayed to tempt buyers. They were huge! We did have Dungeness crab one night for dinner and it was delicious.

While Steve attended the conference I went down to the market a couple of times by myself. The place is very entertaining with street musicians and entertainers.

Capitol City of British Columbia

The city of Victoria is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is the capitol of British Columbia. Metropolitan Victoria is home to around 600,000 people, is a major tourism site and a cruise ship port. The photo above and below are of the Inner Harbor and the Parliment Buildings.

A statue of Queen Victoria on the front lawn of the Parliment Buildings.

Victoria is a very quaint city with a British flair. It reminds me of a European city.

The Fairmont Empress (most commonly known as The Empress) is one of the oldest and most famous hotels in Victoria . Located on Government Street facing the Inner Harbor, the Empress has become an iconic symbol for the city itself. It was built between 1904 and 1908.

We had dinner, traditional fish and chips, at this restaurant which was located in an historic building.

After our Butchart Gardens tour we took a Victoria city tour to see all the sites of the city. We stayed just a couple of blocks from the Inner Harbor and enjoyed walking along the streets facing the harbor, watching the boats and seaplanes landing.

Butchart Gardens

Pictures can show you better that I can tell you about the 50 acre Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. The gardens are a "don't miss" in Victoria. We were blessed that all the spring and most of the summer flowers and trees were in full bloom. We were a couple of weeks early for the rose garden as they were not quite ready yet.

Around every corner and down every path was a new garden with gorgeous blooms. It is something that you just must see to appreciate. I know both of our mother's would have truly appreciated the landscapes as they both love to garden. So...if you are ever in Victoria, be sure to visit Butchart Gardens. My camera got a good workout that day!