Christie and Pete Visit Seattle, July 13-17, 2014
  
 
Sunday, July 13
 
july_2014_017.JPG (2750305 bytes) july_2014_018.JPG (1598119 bytes) july_2014_019.JPG (3960872 bytes) Sea-Tac, WA... at the Cell Phone Lot, waiting to fetch Christie and Pete... 5 day visit straight ahead... I could see the Cascades to the east and Mount Rainier to the southeast...
 
july_2014_020.jpg (2398518 bytes) Sea-Tac, WA... Christie and Pete, having just been fetched at Sea-Tac Airport...
 
july_2014_021.jpg (4054259 bytes) Bellevue, WA... this being my guests first visit to the Seattle area, I couldn't resist pulling in here and telling them this was "home sweet home"...
 
july_2014_022.jpg (2269682 bytes) Bellevue, WA... at the Silver Cloud in Redmond / Overlake, where Pete presented me, ceremoniously, with gifts from North Carolina... Duke's and Texas Pete...
 
july_2014_023.jpg (2072851 bytes) july_2014_024.jpg (2215838 bytes) Bellevue, WA... I introduced Pete to some of my friends at Crossroads...
 
july_2014_025.jpg (2187950 bytes) july_2014_026.jpg (2325471 bytes) Bellevue, WA... Pete and Christie also met Iguana Bo at the Trailer Inns RV Park in Bellevue...
 
july_2014_by-christie_001.jpg (224725 bytes) Bellevue, WA... Christie's shot, which she captioned - "Steve and the Bigfoot Armada"... at the Trailer Inns RV Park...
 
Christie and Pete being a bit weary from the long, cross-country flight from Charlotte, the bulk of this day was spent lounging about, catching up on the last 5 years. We had dinner at Monsoon East in downtown Bellevue and then walked in the Bellevue Downtown Park. A very pleasant reunion day...
 
 
Monday, July 14
 
july_2014_027.jpg (2421398 bytes) july_2014_028.jpg (2523580 bytes) july_2014_029.jpg (1506899 bytes) Redmond, WA... at Microsoft... After a brief early morning visit with my workmates Tsehay, Shirley-Nita, and Meiru (Kathy) Sun in the Houston room at Studio A, we had our breakfast at the Microsoft Commons...
 
july_2014_030.jpg (2166889 bytes) Redmond, WA... at the Microsoft Museum... Christie and Pete paused for a photo with Paul Allen and Bill Gates and the gang...
 
july_2014_032.jpg (2752164 bytes) july_2014_031.jpg (3052248 bytes) july_2014_033.jpg (3242590 bytes) Redmond, WA... Victor's Coffee Co. in downtown Redmond...
 
july_2014_034.jpg (2193053 bytes) Redmond, WA... in downtown Redmond at Redmond Vacuum... Pete stated that his favorite vacuum cleaner attachment is the power wand. Frankly, I'm partial to the crevice tool. Christie declared "no comment." I have no idea what that monkey was thinking...
 
july_2014_035.jpg (2387640 bytes) Redmond, WA... in downtown Redmond at Redmond Western Wear... Christie, Steve McQueen and Pete...
 
july_2014_036.jpg (2000404 bytes) Redmond, WA... lunch at the Matador in downtown Redmond...
 
july_2014_037.jpg (4316138 bytes) Kirkland, WA... at the Kirkland waterfront, where Pete and Christie had to hold off a throng...
 
july_2014_038.JPG (3903286 bytes) Kirkland, WA... downtown Kirkland...
 
After dinner at Bai Tong in Redmond with Kay Kay and her daughter Sasha we drove over to Sunset Hills for the sunset...
 
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Tuesday, July 15
 
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Bellevue, WA... breakfast at the Silver Cloud. The 2nd shot is Christie's...
 
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Bellevue, WA... downtown Bellevue... on the way over to Seattle...
 
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Seattle, WA... in the old Nihonmachi section of Chinatown, and the Panama Hotel Team Room... where Hiromi once tickled the ivories (Photo-Journal)...
 
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Seattle, WA... at the Uwajimaya in Chinatown... Pete shopping for a new nón lá...
 
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Seattle, WA... at the Ballard Locks...
 
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Seattle, WA... in Ballard at Golden Gardens Park... three feet in the waters of the Pacific...
 
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Seattle, WA... in the Fremont neighborhood at the Statue of Lenin (a man responsible for the deaths of millions of people). Notice the red paint, signifying blood, that has been added to that communist dictator's hand. I liked that addition, and I liked Fremont a little more because of it!
 
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Seattle, WA... in Freemont... a Cold War era rocket... I forgot to take Christie and Pete by the Fremont Troll...
 
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Seattle, WA... Kerry Park, atop Queen Anne Hill...
 
july_2014_062.JPG (3904067 bytes) july_2014_063.jpg (2601654 bytes) july_2014_064.jpg (3379001 bytes) Seattle, WA... Pike Place Market... on the Seattle waterfront...
 
july_2014_065.jpg (643919 bytes) Seattle, WA... on the Seattle waterfront... hmmm...
 
The Tillicum Village Salmon Bake Cruise... from the Seattle waterfront to Blake Island...
 
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july_2014_072.JPG (2727842 bytes) A Bald Eagle port side with the West Seattle Bridge in the background...
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july_2014_083.JPG (3928854 bytes) Upon arriving we were greeted by raccoons...
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july_2014_096.JPG (410736 bytes) As the boat pulled away from Blake Island a MicroLight contraption flew by about 200 feet above the water, the likes of which one does not see on just any Tuesday evening...
 
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Back on the Seattle waterfront... Pete and I took a spin on the Seattle Ferris Wheel... Christie was a fraidy cat and watched from below...
 
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... Man what a day!
 
 
Wednesday, July 16
 
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Bellevue, WA... breakfast at the Lil' Jon... over biscuits and gravy we planned our day... Roslyn, the Yakima Canyon, and the Columbia River crossing at Vantage...
 
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Kittitas County, WA... facing back to the west from the I-90 / Bullfrog Rd. overpass that one takes when going to Roslyn...
 
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Fording the Cle Elum River...
 
Roslyn, WA...
 
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Roslyn, WA... Christie finally makes it to Roslyn!
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The horse riders were part of a group from Montana, riding the John Wayne Pioneer Trail from Ellensburg to North Bend...
 
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Christie's first step at The Brick...
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Chris Stevens stepped over to our table and sat down for a little talk... sort of...
 
july_2014_146.jpg (2352897 bytes) july_2014_147.jpg (3159305 bytes) july_2014_148.jpg (2403738 bytes) The KBHR studio where Chris Stevens held forth in Northern Exposure...
 
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 With Christie, hanging out at a custom car show in Charlotte with our pal Chris Stevens of the "Chris in the Morning" show (Northern Exposure)... I mean John Corbett...
Cle Elum Lake... northwest of Roslyn...
 
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Pete's shot at Cle Elum Lake...
 
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Ronald, WA... northwest of Roslyn, between Roslyn and Cle Elum Lake...
 
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From I-90 at Indian John Hill... the Stuart Range of the Cascades... smoke from the Chiwaukum Creek Complex Fire, near Levanworth, can be seen...
 
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In the vicinity of Elk Heights Road... the Kittitas Valley Wind Project...
 
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Ellensburg, WA... rodeo town...
 
The Yakima Canyon...
 
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I had to save Christie from a stick snake...
 
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Nearing the Columbia River crossing at Vantage... Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility...
 
Above the Columbia River, having made the crossing at Vantage...
 
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Wild Horses Monument, above the Columbia River at Vantage...
 
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We had our dinner in Issaquah, at the Issaquah Brew House (Rogue Brewery)...
 
 
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Thursday, July 17
Sea-Tac, WA... at the United Airlines departure curb, Charlotte bound... the final moments of four wonderful days together. We'll meet again, my dear friends, a little further down the road...
 
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Sea-Tac, WA... after dropping Christie and Pete off at the airport I parked beside a green space and watched a rabbit getting about its morning...
 
PS...
 
july_2014_180.jpg (669540 bytes) july_2014_181.jpg (1083254 bytes) Monday, July 21
Redmond, WA... This is the Bigfoot Country coffee mug that Christie gave me a few days prior during the "Christie and Pete Visit Seattle" trip. In the 2nd shot, I'm in the Microsoft Studio A Houston room, about to take my first sip from the new mug... as Meiru (Kathy) Sun, Tsehay, and Shirley-Nita look on...
 
Back to July 2014...