Blogging and Bainbridge Island

My first day in Seattle was a rainy Sunday and probably a better day for a museum, but I had made plans to meet Linda and take the Bainbridge Island ferry with her. Not a lot of people on the deck that trip over, and the view was a bit gray and gloomy. OK. And wet.The ferry was a recommended thing to do to get a feel for Seattle, and something relaxing to do with a newly met friend. You see Linda is the Bag Lady. THE Bag Lady from Thoughts from a Bag Lady In Waiting, a blog I've followed on my sidebar for a while now. Check it out. I think you'll find something to relate to here and there. She writes about her life after retirement, family, and travel. We've shared a few comments back and forth and got to know each other like pen pals did in the "old" days. She lives a bus ride north of Seattle and picked me up at the hotel for our day out. And so I began my discovery of Seattle.

I didn't have any real shopping desires, but I did see a sign for... ...on the map, so we had to stop in. For a small place, they had a fantastic collection of fabric. Fabric that I had never seen before.
I found a souvenir to bring home. Goat fabric. Well, some goats anyway, and chickens, and more farm stuff.Oh! How I wish I lived closer.

If we had come a day sooner, we would have been able to join in the Tour de Coop. Some great coop pictures and story here: The Tour de Coop ScoopPart way through the trip Linda reminded me of how many steps we had walked, and I think it was about four miles. We were still on the island, so I imagine we clocked eight miles by the time we both got home. A coffee here, soup there, and a cookie for the ferry home, and we had shared our life stories, and some advice for each of our latest challenges.On the ferry back to Seattle, we were surrounded by the most elegant violin music the whole way. It was like being in a scored life. It warmed the conversation as we wrapped up our day. As we were all lining up to get off, the musician was still playing to himself, totally immersed. When he momentarily looked up, I silently clapped and he looked around to realize he was alone. With a nod of his head he appreciated the gesture and packed up to leave with the rest of us. Another hilly, gasping walk back to the hotel, and our day was over.

What a great way to get to know Seattle and surroundings. Thanks Bag Lady!

P.S. In case you were wondering, Dave was busy playing golf in the Make A Wish tournament.