Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Pending Trip to Portland, OR and Seattle, WA

Bright and early tomorrow morning, my friend Karren will be picking me up to take me to BWI airport for my NWA flight to Portland, OR (arriving ~1:15 pm local Portland time). Nephew Dan (wife to Wendy and father of Elliott... all of whom may be seen here) will be picking me up when I arrive. Even before going to their house, Dan and I will be visiting Powell's Books. If you are ever in Portland, it is a MUST SEE destination... a truly amazing place where one can while away HOURS of time. The biggest problem with going there is that I'm a bookaholic and must constantly remind myself that what I buy, I must carry home or pay for shipping it!

My first two nights will be spent with Dan and Wendy so I can get acquainted with my great-nephew Elliott who arrived on Nov 3, 2008. I'll also be spending time with Larry and Chris (brother and sister-in-law, parents of Dan and grandparents of Elliott) the first couple of days and then will head out to their place in Wilsonville (suburb of Portland) on Saturday morning.

Early Sunday afternoon (approx) Larry, Chris and myself will drive up to Seattle, WA so I can meet my niece Lauren's fiancé and his dog as well as most (or maybe all) of her house mates. Sunday is her night to cook for the occupants of her group house.

I hope to capture Elliott on camera (maybe get some REALLY great shots with my Nikon D90) and and also hope to get some lovely shots of the beauty of the Portland and Seattle areas and places in between. We plan breakfast at Pike Place Market on Monday morning before heading back to Portland via some other stops along the way. Abstracted from Wikipedia: Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street, and remains one of Seattle's most popular tourist destinations.

The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill, and consists of several lower levels located below the main level. Each features a variety of unique shops. Antique dealers, comic book sellers, small family-owned restaurants, while the area contains one of the few remaining head shops left in Seattle. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls operating in the covered arcades. Local farmers and craftspeople sell year-round in the arcades from tables they rent from the Market on a daily basis, in accordance with the Market's mission and founding goal: allowing consumers to "Meet the Producer."
... (go here if you'd like to read more about it)

Depending on time and photo opportunities, I may post while on travel or MAY wait until my return.

1 comment:

Dan said...

See you soon. Make sure to buy lots of books at Powell's, I heard their sales are down.