Washington Game Night

Seattle is a great place to visit, but one story before any comments on the gam

Cindy, Greg, and Lauri took an Uber for breakfast to try out a local eatery. I stayed at the hotel because my feet were sore, and I knew it would be a very long day. Cindy has a special bag she one of those cross-body purses she likes to use on our trips. To buckle her seat belt, she took the bag off. Yes, she forgot the bag when they got out of the vehicle. For drivers, forgetting things is common, but for riders, it can be pretty scary. Greg booked the ride, so he could contact the service, and the driver located the bag and shared a photo so everyone knew it had been found. Getting it back was a challenge and took over three hours. Although they had a phone number, Greg couldn't reach the driver. It all made sense afterward. The driver didn't understand English, so trying to communicate by phone was useless. At some point, Cindy sent a text message and this brought responses, sometimes in Chinese. Both Cindy and the driver were relying on their phones to translate and that was productive. Another part of the experience: Cindy had an Apple tracker in her purse. So we all could watch the driver move about the area in real time. Hopes would rise when he was close to the hotel and sink when he headed off in a different direction. Eventually, he indicated he was on his way and the purse was returned. 

The trip to the game was unique. We went by boat and spent several hours on Lake Washington. Tailgating near the stadium is evidently a theme. Part of the tour included a pass by of the homes of the rich and famous - Bezos and Gates.

It turns out not all stadiums are built like the ones we have experienced. This one was not that old but a real challenge. It was huge and you had to trek up what amounted to a road that wound back and forth just to get to your level. Then there were the very steep stairs, with gaps between sections where there were handrails. The rows were separated by very little room, and getting to the middle of the row to our seats was tough. People's shoes extended nearly to the next row which made getting past even friendly people a challenge. No leaving at half time for a hot dog.

The trip home was quick compared to the trip out - jet stream makes a big difference. The plane was even painted in recognition of the U of Minnesota. Game score - Minnesota 24 Washington 21 in an upset. 

Seattle - Gopher - Washington Game

 We are in Seattle with Greg and Laura to attend the Gopher vs Washington game. The charter was for Thursday through Sunday so we had a full day to explore which provided me to take some photos and have some new experiences.

We split our free day visiting the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass. We have been in Seattle quite a few times with convention trips and I know I have seen the Space Needle, but maybe not spent time at the top. The Chihuly Garden is new to us and quite spectacular. 

Space Needle

Chihuly

Chihuly was a famous artist who fashioned his from blown glass.  Large and spectacular this exhibition has influenced Seattle and you see images referencing his work in our hotel. The garden area also included glass blowers demonstrating the complicated process of making even smaller pieces. For the larger pieces, the weight of the glass alone could require modifications of the building if the structure was to appear as part of the ceiling or suspended as a chandelier.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stretches for more than 40 miles along the shore of Lake Superior. The area was established as the first National Lakeshore in the United States in 1966. 

The park's name comes from its colorful sandstone cliffs. Over thousands of years, mineral-rich groundwater has seeped through the rock, staining the cliff faces with vibrant streaks of red, orange, green, blue, and brown. 

We had viewed the colored walls on a previous visit, and this time it was from the water, which allows a closer and more varied view. A 40-mile trail runs along the edge of the water, and hikers were often visible. Four days was reported as the typical time frame for those willing to make the effort. 

Hundreds of kayaks followed the shoreline as this is another popular way to view the walls and caves.

This formation, consisting of multiple extensions from the shoreline, is called battle ship row. 

This tree is interesting. It grows on the rock without soil. If you look carefully, you can see the root system stretching to the left across the open area to the soil on the shore. The limestone is continually giving way, creating the caves and arches that attract the attention of folks like me looking to collect photos.

The contrast between the green (shallow) and blue (deep) water is evident here. This color change may indicate a steep 40 foot difference. 

Pasties

 No trip to the U.P. would be complete without a pasty (pronounced "pass tee"), gravy, and cold slaw. This is not an original topic, as I found a post from 2019 on the same subject, but from a different location. The longer you travel, the fewer novel topics there are.

The pasty (or pastie, depending on the sign) always reminds me of a chicken pot pie. According to Wikipedia, my definitive source, it originated in England, but I always associated it with the Finnish miners of the northern areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Michigan makes a strong claim advocating for the "home of" and "pasty capital". 

The miners, at lunchtime with dirty hands, found the pastie they had carried in was still warm, and they could hold it by the crusty edge and discard the crust when finished. I kind of like the crust the best. I believe the part about retaining heat, as I remember from my youth, burning my tongue on the potato chunks in my pot pie. Wikipedia claims it is not just potato chunks, but also rutabagas that provide the starchy chunks. Both Cindy and I prefer the chicken option. 

Muldoons, the store where we found our lunch, claims beef was the original. This makes some sense because I read about many with a preference to top their pastie with ketchup and that makes little sense to me with chicken. 

Grand Marais Splash-in

You can't plan for all of the interesting things you should see. Sometimes you are just sitting in a small-town restaurant, wondering why all the planes are flying overhead, and the waitress tells you it is the Grand Marais Splash-In. Float planes - I heard the word seaplanes too and am not sure if they are the same thing - are important here. After some online research I learned that a seaplane can land on water and a float plane is a version with floats. There are regular flights to Island Royal, remote fishing camps, and some medical emergencies. 

The planes gather yearly so the owners and families can socialize and engage in some friendly competition. The events included a balloon drop, landing accuracy, and water rescue. 

The water rescue was the most entertaining. There is a weighted dummy in the water. The pilot is alone in the plane and must circle, land, turn off the prop, and life the dummy from the water. It is a timed contest with the time starting when the plane touches the water. About half of the participants were successful, with the challenge of overshooting the dummy before the pilot could hop onto the float and grab it. One of the more amusing attempts involved a pilot who had everything lined up perfectly, but he landed into a headwind, and his plane started to float backward when he was a yard or so short of the target. He struggled trying to paddle forward without luck.