Pike Place Market

Another highlight of our field trip was definitely our hike up to Pike's Place.  The girls each chose a princess crown as their souvenir, and as they were posing on the brass pig for their picture, they caught the eye of another photographer who was shooting for a tourism magazine insert that goes in the local hotels.  We couldn't say no, so she shot about 100 pictures of them on the pig and getting their balloons from the ever present balloon man. (I couldn't believe that guy was still there!) At the fish throwers, one of the men working there commented that the fish he was throwing was almost as big as Amarra, and held it up for comparison.  He started talking to the girls about the Monk Fish, who they did not believe jumped all by itself when people touched it, so he let them all go behind the counter and take a turn pulling on the string to make it move.  Elora and Amarra, amidst the shrieks of joy, even did the sound effects, imitating the noise the fish thrower did when he pulled the string.  They received quite an ovation from the crowd of onlookers! (I forgot how much nicer people are in Seattle than in Portland.  Even the homeless men bowed to the girls as they walked up the street with their crowns on.  Elora curtsied back at all of them.) Next we, of course, took the girls to the *gasp* first Starbucks ever before heading to get ice cream.  From there we moseyed back to the train station.  Elora commandeered Annette (Danielle's grandma) and held her hand for a mile or so, talking her ear off about everything under the sun.  Amarra was such a trooper she didn't even need to hop on Daddy's shoulders until  3 blocks before we got back to the train station. We couldn't have asked for a better day!!