In our last post, we'd just ridden our bikes approximately 30 miles from Pacific, south of the metro area, to downtown Seattle. Now we were in the city, and there was so much to see, especially since this was our first visit. We started at the waterfront. From Waterfront Park just south of the aquarium, we had a great view of downtown skyscrapers. The Space Needle looks pretty big here in this zoomed-in photo. ...but in full context, it looks downright dinky next to all the taller downtown buildings. Still, it's cool to finally see it. We soon figured out that this was Pride Week in Seattle and the annual Pride parade was going on downtown. The Space Needle as well as other establishments were all decked out in rainbows for the occasion. This event meant that downtown was more crowded than usual for a Sunday, but we were kind of excited to be there for it, even though it meant heavy traffic and many, many blocked off streets. This made getting around on bikes even more of a challenge, especially since we were first-timers to the city. Nothing like an adventure, right?! Barry wanted to make sure to get to Top Pot Doughnuts, so we rode around with our map trying to determine how best to detour around the parade route to get there. There are a lot of one-way streets downtown, making getting around a bit more challenging as well. As we pedaled about looking for a street we could take, we especially liked this flipped inside-out umbrella sculpture. We eventually determined that with so many streets closed off for the parade, it was not going to be easy to get to where we wanted to go, so we might as well enjoy the parade for awhile and go through once it was over. The Pride parade was incredibly upbeat and joyful, with loud music and dancing. It reminded us so much of the many parades in Belize with the spirit of the participants and great audience support as well. It was just lots of fun to see everyone dressed up flamboyantly and openly celebrating who they were. I held onto the bikes and watched from a bit back while Barry stepped up and took some photos of all the action. I was both surprised and heartened to see the large Microsoft contingent highlighting all the company had done to support diversity over the years. The times they are a'changing! Not to be outdone, "GLAmazon" got in on the act as well... Even though the parade was supposed to be over at 1:30 pm, it wasn't even close to finished by then. After watching for awhile, we were starving and really ready to find the doughnut shop. We kept riding and riding, only to run into yet another closed street. Finally, we asked a traffic officer, and turns out it was okay to cross in the staging area where the marchers were lining up getting ready to perform. There, we saw more colorful parade participants as we finally crossed over to the streets we needed to be on to get to the doughnut shop. Heading west and away from the flat part of the city at the waterfront, we had to go up a very steep climb with no momentum. I finally gave up and walked the top of it as I just didn't have the gears (or the lungs) to get there by pedal power. Finally, at 2:30 pm, we rolled up at Top Pot Doughnuts. Was it worth the wait? Oh yes! (Thanks Teri for the recommendation!!) Barry went in first, while I sat outside and watched the bikes. I guess they were trying to get rid of doughnuts since it was getting late in the day, so when he ordered six doughnuts, they offered him six more free! It goes without saying that he couldn't pass up a deal like that. My jaw dropped when he walked out with this box full. And these were not small doughnuts.
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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