the parental files: day 3

Fast forward.  It’s later in the day this time, but that’s what happens when your car rolls in to the apartment at 10:30pm after a full day in the Olympic sun.  And then, of course, by the time you unload and watch the Olympics themselves on TV, it’s late and no one wants to get up on time.

Just as well since today has been designated as a day to knock around the city of Seattle.  To soften the blow of being a tourist when most citizens of the city are secretly annoyed with them, we’ve opted for a weekday adventure to mitigate the madness of camera-toting heards of hayseeds and foreign tourists scrambling to capture shots of the ‘real’ city.  It’s a guy throwing a fish, people, not a tapdancing Sasquatch.

[In a grizzly movie voice]: “In order to become the tour guide his parents so desperately need, Bryan Rivard must become…a tourist.”

I was of course happy to do it, doing my best to quash my displeasure of crowds and all things goofy.  So of course our first stop after parking downtown was at Seattle Duck Tours to buy a ticket for a later time, but since they had room we opted to depart in 6 minutes.  After a brief detour to a set of porta-potties that likely violated the Geneva Convention, we climbed into the back of the WWII era amphibious vehicle and took our seats as the guide began giving a shpeel about safety while intermixing a number of canned jokes and crowdpleasers.  Rarely have I felt so painfully Seattle as I did when I leaned over to my brother and whispered something to the effect of “this has so been done before.”  Also, that I knew the Space Needle before it was big.

someone enjoying her duck call prior to confiscation

The tour was generally informative, painfully goofy but also rather comprehensive in that it took us around a fair part of the city in a time efficient manner.  Harassment of pedestrians by means of quacking at them made me feel like a scab crossing the picket line, and I was fearful that someone would recognize me as a native and report me.  The threat of a Hannah Montana soundtrack for the remainder of an uncooperative tour, however, is a powerful means of persuasion.  We played along; Mom thought the guide was hilarious.

scooting around Lake Union

Seattle skyline from a Duck

gasworks from the water

Back at the Duck load zone we deboarded and tipped the guide; both Kevin and I have an appreciation for being in the service industry and while the guide’s style may not have been our flavor, it was clear he was working hard.

The next stop was the Space Needle, which Kevin has free access to as an employee.  After a short wait in line (where we met a young woman and her grandmother–who happened to have been born in Waterbury, CT, of all places) we packed into a bullet-shaped elevator for the 40-second ride to the observation deck.  Moderately crowded, the deck offered a chance to observe the city under the clear blue Seattle sky (rare phrase).  We were less impressed with the viewing scopes than we had been at the Elwa Dam, but we were able to spot Kevin and my work buildings so Mom could take a picture to document the place of my mental atrophy.  We were lucky to have such a clear day and eventually tore ourselves away from the view of ferries criss-crossing the sound under a towering Mt. Rainier.

puget sound facing northwest

ferry on the sound

lake union

 

A lunch at Pike Place Brewery fueled the walk through Pike Place Market, where we were unsuccessful in seeing a fish thrown, but did get to see the vendors in full swing with a stifling–rather than crushing–crowd that would be there on a weekend.  Hot spots included the Pike Place Fish Market, Pike Place Bakery, and the overlook at Victor Steinbruek Park.  It was a short trip since we were looking to come back on the following Sunday after our trip to the Seattle Aquarium.

Back outside the city we parted way with Kevin and I packed my car with scuba gear and took Mom and Dad to West Seattle to do an evening walk on the beach while I dove with my dive group.  Unfortunately, Seattle traffic crushed my foolish desires and I arrived the divesite just in time to see my group–John, Jeremy, and Guillaume–finishing their swim out to the marker buoy and drop down.  With at least an hour to kill, we opted to get some dinner at Dukes, a local seafood place with a second story deck and an expansive western view of the setting sun over the Olympic mountains.

skyline from west seattle

mom in front of Cove 2

dad doing his David Caruso on the deck at Dukes

 

After dinner we walked to Pegasus Pizza to join the dive group and give Mom and Dad a chance to meet some of the people I explore Cove 2 with.  It was an interesting experience for me to introduce the friends I dive with to my Dad, who had gotten his diver certification (recertification, technically) with me 14 years earlier.  Next trip, we’ll get Dad down there to spot some Octos with us.

 

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