The Day of Rest

Day 13
Kilometers Traveled; None! For the first time on this trip we were not in the car once today!! We walked every where.

As I write this blog entry I am finally completely up to date. Most of the time I have been a day or two behind; but, I had enough time to get caught up on all our days today! As I type I am sitting in a very dark hotel room hoping that two boys are fast asleep. Today is exactly what we needed. For the past few days we have all been feeling a bit road weary but two nights in a very nice Hotel do wonders for the spirit. We all slept until 8:30, this in itself is a minor miracle. We got up and started the search for a great breakfast spot as our last two meals of the day yesterday left a lot to be desired. We were headed to the Pike place market so we kept our eyes open for something that looked fresh and delicious. We finally found a great little spot one block before the market. It may have been the most expensive breakfast we have ever had but the omelet I had was full of the vegetables I had been missing from the day before and the lattes were fantastic. Once our very hungry bellies were satisfied, we continued on to the market. Ken and I visited Seattle for our Fifth wedding anniversary. At the time, I was pregnant with Nate, we both remember this trip with a great deal of fondness. It was a great time for both of us. At this time in my pregnancy I was feeling like super woman and my hair and skin gleamed like no other time in my life! Ken and I talked a lot about a time in the future when we could bring ‘the boys’ back to this city. It is unbelievable to me that we are here, back in Seattle with a three and five year old, ready to show them all the things (well, some of the things) we love about this city. The tour began with the Pike Place market. This is a place of great colour, life and freshness. We toured a few stalls and then headed down and across the street to the Seattle Aquarium. Will had acquired a cold along our journey and I actually wasn’t sure he was going to make it. He was leaning on me and we had to drag him through most of the market. Thankfully, when he saw the massive tank at the entry of the Aquarium he rallied. The Seattle Aquarium is one of the coolest places I have ever been. The mix of glassed in and out door exhibits is fantastic. Our time there began with brilliant touch tanks where Nate and I toughed live star fish! Ken took pictures and Will just watched. In the exploratory area there was a giant ring aquarium filled with jelly fish! When we walked on the out door docks we saw real jellies swimming in the oceans, so fantastic! While we were intently watching the jelly fish bob their way through the water, Will said, “look Mommy, a war ship.” I immediately looked up, sure enough there was a great, grey Naval ship making it’s way into the Port. As it got closer we could see all the decks lined with white flecks. As the flecks got bigger, I realized that they were sailors lining the decks watching as they returned home after what I can only imagine was a long tour at sea. That sight brought me out the idyllic world I have been living in for the last few weeks. It reminded me that not everyone gets to go on adventures with their family. Some must leave their families behind, I am ever grateful for the life we live in Canada.
As we continued through we saw interesting and odd fish that none of us had ever seen before. Nate looked up at one tank and with great excitement said, “Look, look, that’s a Lion Fish, it’s just like in my book.” Ken and I looked at each other with blank expressions because neither one of us remember a fish book with Lion Fish in it but Nate later explained that Jan and Jim have that book. We traveled through exhibits of sea birds, seals, and sea otters. On our way out we saw that one of the Aquarium workers was scuba diving in the gigantic entry tank and was giving a lesson about the variety of fish in the tank. Will and Nate watch, completely engrossed for a long time. Eventually, they had had their fill and we left the Aquarium. We headed back to the market to pick up some fresh fruit, bread and cheese for a little lunch picnic. That lunch is exactly what I had been craving. All three boys then snuggled into the plush, white beds for an afternoon nap and I caught up on my blog entries. When the boys woke up from a much needed, long nap we headed up to the hotel pool. We had a great time swimming and splashing until Ken threw Will into the pool one time to many and he threw up all over me. That brought our swimming time to an abrupt halt and we headed back up to our room so that I could shower, and we could all change for dinner. This day was exactly the day of rest we all needed. We are feeling refreshed and ready to take on Mount St. Helen’s tomorrow before beginning our long drive home.