Seattle

Last night we met up with Cara's mom and dad after their three-day drive up the coast. (That must have been quite a trip—four adults and two children under the age of 5 packed in a van for three days.

Well, maybe I won't put on the pounds so quickly when I've spent the last two days doing so much walking. When we looked at where the sights were, we decided to forego a car and just walk and use public transportation.

We looked online and found a couple walking tours. Both started at the Space Needle, but we unfortunately couldn't get reservations for lunch or dinner at the SkyCity restaurant. Busy place!

Speaking of dining, we've enjoyed very much the food we've had so far. Last night we ate Asian cuisine at Dragonfish, just a block down the street. Asparagus beef, carmel ginger chicken, Jasmine rice -- it was all very tasty, and we managed to use chopsticks without flinging food everywhere. We had the leftovers for breakfast this morning (oh, Cara was very impressed that the restaurant labeled the to-go containers with the date).

After the bus ride, however, things were looking up. It was a short, four-block walk to our hotel, the Camlin.

Built in 1926 and recently (2005) remodeled, the hotel is across the street from the Washington State Convention Center and the Paramount Theater. We found everything very accessible to us, from dining to shopping to entertainment.

Well, we made it to Seattle! We're here to start off our summer vacation. Actually, Cara's just rounding out her summer vacation; she'll have to start school as sson as we return.