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<\/a><\/p>\nWait, that\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n
We had just left the Ballard Locks when we saw this wonderful restaurant.\u00a0 It was just outside the gate to the locks.\u00a0 I did not take a picture of it, but remembered a sign saying \u201cworld famous\u201d.\u00a0 I googled around and found this picture on the Internet.<\/p>\n
I know this is the right place because I stepped into that phone booth and made a call.\u00a0 I can even show you what I had.\u00a0 Remembering the fluffy cod Joni and Eldon had the day before, I ordered this fish & fries basket.<\/p>\n I also got some clam chowder.\u00a0 The chowder was good but not great like the chowder I had yesterday.\u00a0 We got some deep fried pawns.\u00a0 They were delicious; like little balls of cod.\u00a0 So go ahead and eat pawns on your Seattle trip, but don\u2019t eat mussels.\u00a0 YUK!\u00a0 Eldon had the same thing I had and I don\u2019t remember what the kids ordered.\u00a0 This little restaurant is well worth the stop.<\/p>\n We got back to Fremont on the bus and I\u2019ll tell you, people, we were all shot!\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it was the excitement at the Locks or 3 days of touring, but it caught up to all of us and we needed naps.\u00a0 Eldon and I went over to the Hotel Hotel and I slept for 2 hours; 4pm-6pm.\u00a0 Then I was ready to go again.<\/p>\n The kids walked over to our hotel at 7pm and I had my mind made up!\u00a0 We were going in here.<\/p>\n The Blue Bird Ice Cream shop was on one side of the Hotel Hotel and the Dubliner was on the other side of the hotel.\u00a0 So in we did go.\u00a0 Will and I each had a Guinness, Eldon had Coke, and Joni had something sweeter tasting.\u00a0 I was a bit disappointed in the Dubliner.\u00a0 It was Monday evening and there were not many people in there so it was devoid of the usual loud visiting, dancing, and singing of old Irish tunes you would normally expect to see\/hear in an Irish pub.\u00a0 On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening the pub was hoppin\u2019.\u00a0 From our beds in the hotel, we could hear muffed voices and music coming from the Dubliner well into the night.\u00a0 Something woke me at 2:00am Monday morning.\u00a0 It was a collective groan from a large group of people.\u00a0\u00a0 I concluded it must be the \u201clast call\u201d at the Dubliner.\u00a0 I suppose that noise would have bothered most hotel guests, but to me it seemed normal.\u00a0 You could play pool and old Atari games in there too.<\/p>\n We walked down a block to a Thai restaurant.\u00a0 It was quite fancy and very large; would seat a lot of people and there were a lot of people in there.\u00a0 Since this was the kids\u2019 first visit to this restaurant, we decided to sit at a table instead of sitting on the floor, which you could do.\u00a0 Or maybe it was just wise planning on the part of the kids.\u00a0\u00a0 Lifting two old people up off the floor is not an easy task.\u00a0 We soon discovered that we were still very full from our 3pm lunch so we had to have lots of the food packed in those little white cartons oriental folks use.\u00a0\u00a0 We were also too full to go back to the apartment for dessert as planned.\u00a0 Will was lining up a special dessert.\u00a0 All I know is that it involved an ice cream maker and whipped cream.\u00a0 I was looking forward to tasting what he had in mind, but maybe we can get him to insert the recipe <here>.<\/p>\n Editor’s Note: Nutella Frozen Dessert: Mix 2 cups of whipped cream, 1 cup of milk, and 6 Tbsp of Nutella.\u00a0 Freeze it to have popsicles or throw it in an ice cream maker for an ice cream like dessert.<\/em><\/p>\n It was about 9:30pm so we all had to return to our sleeping places, get packed up for the trip home tomorrow, and get some sleep.\u00a0 Besides, I was really getting sad to think about leaving tomorrow! \u00a0But ya know what.\u00a0 Our kids are happy, healthy, successful, and lovin\u2019 it in Seattle.\u00a0 And making friends.\u00a0 The first day, we had just gotten to downtown Seattle when we ran into a colleague of Joni\u2019s.\u00a0 What are the chances of that happening in a city that size?\u00a0 All of that has to count for a lot.<\/p>\n Tuesday morning Will and Joni walked over to our hotel at 7:30am.\u00a0 We had to say our good-byes to Joni, who had to get home and prepare for a 10:30am German certification test.\u00a0 (Earlier I had offered to help her study for the test but sie war damit nicht einverstanden.) \u00a0Will, Eldon, and I got on the bus for downtown.\u00a0 Will walked us to Westlake Station, we said good-bye, got on the light rail, and Will walked to work.<\/p>\n We got to the airport with lots of time to spare\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..and it is a good thing we did! The security line was long, really long; woven 6 lines deep back and forth.\u00a0 It took more than 30 minutes to get to the front of the line, but again, everyone was most pleasant about the long line.\u00a0 Nobody was pushing and shoving, angry at the officials, etc. \u00a0One guy was saying that the most he had ever experienced was 5 or 10 minutes in the security line.\u00a0 I suppose everyone had the same idea we did; fly out the day after the holiday.<\/p>\n We got on our non-stop flight to Minneapolis arriving at 4:45pm. \u00a0\u00a0Here we are almost to Helena, MT.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Eldon took the picture with his Iphone which pinpoints and stores the exact location where every picture is taken.\u00a0 SCARY!<\/p>\n We had left the pickup parked at the airport so it was easy to get on the road for home.\u00a0 It was a beautiful evening to drive home too; not dark, not pouring rain.\u00a0 Everything was fine at home.\u00a0 The dogs did not even get off the front step to greet us.\u00a0 That ended our wonderful trip to Seattle and I know it\u2019s the end because I\u2019m out of pictures.<\/p>\n Odds and Ends<\/span><\/p>\n MEMORIAL DAY – We did not see one indication that Seattle even knows what Memorial Day is.\u00a0 There were no parades, flags flying, groups of people gathering for programs, people in uniform, etc.\u00a0\u00a0 Won\u2019t you think we would have seen something at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (named after an Army guy, operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers) to commemorate the day?\u00a0 We did not watch any TV, but no newspapers or people on the street spoke of Memorial Day.\u00a0 At the airport the next day, we saw one airplane pilot wearing a red\/white\/blue flag-looking tie instead of his usual black one.\u00a0 And that was it!\u00a0 Maybe Memorial Day is just a rural, Midwestern thing?<\/p>\n THE FIRST DAY \u2013 The picture of the Aurora Bridge was taken the first day we arrived.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n