President Obama's Visit

Okay, I was off to Grand Central Bakery for my daily croissant and coffee when I noticed a lot of police officers and yellow police tape. Was this a scene of a crime? No, silly, the President of the United States of America is coming for a turkey sandwich. No, really. I must say if I knew this ahead of time, I would've called the White House warning President Obama not to order the sandwich on their artisanal bread. As much as I love the bakery, the bread is very hard and difficult to chew. Get me through to the president. He must get the potato bread instead!!!


Alas, alas. I didn't get through. Actually, I didn't even try. They might have thought there was something wrong with me. Maybe, I'm too hard on the bakery? Nah, Many people agree. Maybe if you order soup with the bread, you could dunk it and eat it that way. Just stick with the pastries and coffee. While you're there, you can take in the historic building and the park.






Crowds were gathering and it was beautiful, sunny day.


















Right at 11:4o AM, a motorcade arrives, President Obama gets out and the crowd starts to cheer. Most everyone is waving or gently jostling try to get a picture. He waves a little and goes in for his turkey sandwich. This is SEATTLE, Washington. Not Washington, DC, okay? Is this like Oprah making a run for some of Ezell's Fried Chicken?







Just like that, he was inside, but everyone was still happy. Maybe they were waiting for him to come out. Maybe they were wondering what he ordered or if he liked it or not. Who knows?










I'm not worrying. Everything will be back to normal and I'll get in line for my pastries and coffee and people will ask if I saw the president and they will tell their friends if I had. I'll just eat my pastry and sip my coffee and I'll be glad I was able to get in.

Seattle Founders Day

Somewhere along the way, I walked into a time warp. The last normal thing I saw was the information booth for the 1st Annual Seattle Founders Day. The next thing I knew, people were walking around in full, period costumes in the long, hot day which peaked at 95 degrees.








Here is someone right now. The umbrella helps in so many ways.

















Here's Doc Maynard. No, not the actual Doc Maynard and not the establishment either.

















I got there in my contemporary clothing drinking an Italian Soda from Bedlam Coffee.












It's not even close to Halloween so you can imagine how the bar denizens just waking up might feel.











I'm not sure if they are supposed to be in period costumes or if they are just people off the street in Belltown.











And here are some Chinese dragon dancers. The Chinese have been around these parts for many generations. So these costumes go along way during festival season.

Rappelling Down Rainier Tower

Rainier Tower, that architecturally interesting skyscraper, usually catches the eyes of tourists. However, the day I happened to walk by, it was more interesting than usual. They were holding a fundraiser where participants got to rappel down the building.














There were times where I thought this person wasn't going to make it. His feet were not even touching the side of the building. I'm sure the window washers really appreciated that. Imagine showing up at work and discovering someone had tracked mud all over the place.














I guess I don't understand the logic of this. You pay other people so you get to rappel down the building. Me, I'd take the elevator down or if the elevators were broken, I'd walk down. Now, if they paid ME, I'd consider it.















Imagine if you were attending a seminar on getting over hallucinations and this guy shows up outside your window. At least he wasn't dressed like a clown or something like that. At least, right?

Bocce

So, this is the first time I ever witnessed people playing bocce (bah-chee). I can't really say I understand it, but it reminds me of bowling mixed with shuffleboard, maybe? All I know is that as I'm watching it being played, 'Volare,' a popular standard, back in the day, pops into my head for some reason.







Now, this reminds me of planets or meteors, if they vaguely resemble Skittles. I have no authority talking about bocce, but I do know my candy.










Here's the scoreboard. It looks like the game just started. For some reason, it reminds me of one of those carnival games where you pound a hammer that pops up a piece of metal that you hope will ring a bell so you can get a cheap, stuffed animal and walk away proud as if you really accomplished anything and hoping the entire time that you won't feel anything the next day because you usually do. For some reason, I have a hankering for cotton candy.











Did she carry the ball ten yards? Not quite. Third Down and Goal? Okay, I'll shut up now. If you know how to play, please tell me. We can meet there and play or get some coffee. I have nothing to prove.

Belltown at Night

If you happen to be hanging out in Belltown late at night on a weekend, you will see hot dog vendors out. For the hungry, the smell of grilled onions wafting in the air is enticing. Then again, you would probably eat most anything that late at night. Heck, I remember a time when I took a trip to 7-11 for those things that pass as a microwave burrito. I don't even want to know what's in that. Or a late night craving for apple pie led me to McDonald's for what should've been apple pie, but looked more like another burrito. Or a late night craving for Taco Bell led to a few hours sitting on the toilet. Not to say that I wouldn't go back . . .

Hanging out near the parking lot are some club-goers next to another hot dog cart. Here, there is a black sports car with the door open and the car stereo blasting, that is, until a policeman approached and the volume went to zero and the car quietly drove away. The car left before I could take a picture, but trust me, it wanted to be seen, for awhile.






Here is an example of an overzealous cabbie. He must be from Las Vegas. The most insane cab ride I ever took was going from the airport to a hotel on The Strip. What was the rush, dude? I found an empty bottle of alcohol in the back seat. I'm sure it wasn't the driver's.








Here is an arrest in progress. Their friend is in the back seat of a police car and they are wondering what is going to happen to their friend. That's what you get when you're caught drinking and driving. However, if you're stuck here late
at night, make sure you have enough money for a cab ride because there is no public transportation. Don't waste your last dollars on a
juicy, tasty hot dog or otherwise.