San Juan islands (Part 1)

So the trip starts, as it always does, with IAD.  Inconvenient, Annoying, and Depressing, Dulles Airport (IAD) is the worst airport.  I hate it.  But with a direct flight to Seattle, it was a necessary evil.  The flight was the routine cattle car fun and I got to Seattle in the mid afternoon around an hour before Dad arrived.  After his flight landed, we hooked up and made our way to the downtown shuttle bus which took us safely to the Sheraton where we were staying.  And where, as I was checking in, Dad realized that he had lost his wallet.  Yep, nothing like a bit of drama to start the trip.  I had the hotel clerk call the bus company and 20 minutes later, we miraculously had his wallet back.  We hit a brew pub that night for dinner and then went to sleep early.

Saturday we walked down to the famous Pike St Market.  It really is phenomenal.  So pretty with all the different flowers.  And so smelly with the different odors and scents, from flowers, to fish, to spices, to bakeries, to the bustling people.  Afterwards we walked around the water front area and we stopped by Ivars on the water to have a cup of their famous chowder and to get lunch.  After lunch, we went shopping.  Window shopping really.  And when I say “we”, I mean me.  But Dad followed long like a good sport.  I did make a couple of purchases at Nike Town.  The downtown Seattle shopping area is really nice and nothing like what we have in DC.  Afterwards we took the monorail to the Seattle Center.  But it washosting a huge performing arts show, so we didn’t get a chance to look around much.  Then it was back to the hotel for a quick dinner at a local restaurant and then back to the hotel.

Sunday morning we got dressed in our biking clothes, checked out of the Sheraton and made our way to the Alexis Hotel where we met the rest of the group and loaded up on a bus to head to La Conner Washington, our first night of the trip.