22 December 2006 by ben.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle is the Pike Place Market. It a thriving public farmers market that first opened in 1907 and includes a variety of fish, cheese, vegetable and flower vendors plus an array of artisans including photographers and painters. Along the main brick street one can find delicious bakeries, the original Starbucks store, a wine merchant, several restaurants, and great gift shops.

And on the first afternoon of winter, I had a chance to see the market with the additional adornment of holiday lights. It was a fairly dark afternoon, with a terrific rain storm only an hour away, but for a while, it was simply elegant and charming.
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21 December 2006 by ben.

On Thursday, 21 December 2006, my Aunt Sallie passed through Seattle on Amtrak on her way to spend the holidays with my cousin/her daughter Margaret in British Columbia. When I’d spoken with Aunt Sallie over the Thanksgiving break, she mentioned that she be taking the train to Bellingham, about 80 miles north of Seattle, with a train switch in Seattle. When I found out her layover would be two full hours and in late afternoon, I told her I would be coming down and perhaps so would Dan and Kim as well. It turned out to be more complicated than expected, but we all did finally meet up for a nice visit.  Above, left to right:  Dan, Aunt Sallie, Ben.
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17 December 2006 by ben.

Scott started attending the University of Washington this quarter, but before classes started in late September, he auditioned for the UW Husky Marching Band and made the cut! In late August, he attended the intensive marching band camp and put in about 70 hours in 7 days. The camp including a lot of physical conditioning since the band frequently runs all over the field while playing instruments at the same time.

Kim and I were fortunate to score some free tickets to his first home game so we could see him in his debut with the band during their field show at halftime on 16 September 2006 in a football game versus the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Huskies pulled out an exciting win, but the more important part of the game, the halftime, allowed us to see Scott playing trombone in the field show.

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