Pike's Place Market

Next up on my travel bucket list in Seattle was going to Pike's Place Market!  According to Wikipedia, "The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States."  I just had to go!  I saw the throwing of the fish, lots and lots of stalls of fresh food and the most beautiful smelling flowers!

It was a bit chaotic and busy so we didn't stay long, but I'm super happy we checked it off my to-do list.  With more than 10 million visitors annually, Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and is the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world.  AHHH so busy!!!!

Beautiful flower arrangements

And I was super surprised to see how cheap they all were!

And then we turned the corner and its the first Starbucks store ever!  It was created in 1971...well technically.  According to Wikipedia, While commonly referred to as the first Starbucks location, the current address is the second for the Pike Place store. The first Starbucks cafe was located at 2000 Western Avenue from 1971–1976. This cafe later moved to 1912 Pike Place, its present location (pictured above).

I didn't actually go in because let's face it, I was with my father and he does NOT wait in line. Oh well!  But if I HAD gone in, here are a few notable things according to the Starbucks website:

• The leather on bar’s outer facing was scrap obtained from shoe and automobile factories.
• The walnut used in the tables, doors and bar top was salvaged from a nearby farm.
• The signage on the bar uses recycled slate from a local high school.
• The community table is twice reused; it was previously located at a Seattle restaurant and before that, in a home.
• The restroom partitions are made from recycled laundry detergent bottles.
• The wall tapestry is made of repurposed burlap coffee bags from our local roasting plant.

Waving goodbye to the Pike Place Market!!!

Seattle, Washington

PHEW now that I'm finally home, I can catch everyone up on my whirlwind adventures.  Well, I'm home for a week and then I fly back to Dallas. But anyways, next up on my travel list was when I visited my sister and her husband in Washington State. My dad even flew in from the East Coast and joined us.  I had no idea Washington was so pretty....AND HOT!!!!  Wow, I was not expecting it to be 90 degrees!!

I flew into Seattle early (really early) to Seattle and my dad picked me up at the airport. Then we headed downtown to pick my sister up from the train station. She took the 90 minute train down from Bellingham (I think?) to meet up.

They had 2 train stations and they were BEAUTIFUL!! I always love to think about how trains used to be the way to travel and then I start to wonder what these walls would say if they could. How many people reunited with their loved ones or how many people had to say goodbye.

After we picked up Brandy, we headed down to the water and it was a beautiful day!

AND HOT, and I mean H-O-T! I wasn't aware that Seattle got so hot!  Thankfully there was a breeze near the water. Apparently it was record heat that weekend, its not normally so hot until later in the year...oh yay...

My sister and I being goofballs....gosh, I look at myself in this picture and all I see staring back at me is my mother!  Which isn't a bad thing, but sometimes pictures like that catch me off guard!

From here we boarded a tour boat, called the Argosy and did a tour of the bay!  It was really neat to be on the water and be able to look back to town and see everything that was going on and to see the sites.  The tour instructor was pretty cool too and told us all about the city...to which I promptly forgot everything he told me!

It was also pride week in Seattle!  Can you spot the gay flag? LOVE IT!

Oh hey there Seattle!

Those mountains out there in the distance is Canada. What's going on, eh?

Except for this guy's forehead (fivehead?) being in the picture, this is a really beautiful picture! The American flag and the space needle!

That's Mt. Rainier in the background. Apparently you don't see the mountain often because of the fog (dude, its just like home!) but today we had a crisp, beautiful day out on the bay!

Wave hi to Seattle everyone!!

I tried to do a panoramic picture

Another beautiful day on the water!

Aaaannnnndddd I'm back!

Well that was an exciting three weeks! I'm finally back and trying to adjust to the time zone change and its not going well :/  I'm getting to old to do this...my neck and my back are killing me.  Not being in a routine or sleeping in my own bed makes for a very unhappy body!

This picture was taken at the Westin in Dallas' rooftop pool. Its right on the flight path and literally every 1:30 there was a new plane on top of us. It was really hard to hold a conversation with planes shooting overhead!!

#DayintheLifeofaWorldTraveler

I'm taking a scheduled break on the blog as I'm too busy off having fun! I'm currently on my 3 weeks' adventures in the sun! I'm in Dallas for work this week, in DC this weekend, Rehoboth Beach the week following that and then down to Newport News to see some friends and then capping off my travels with a bachlorette weekend in Charlottesville, VA.  MAN, I'm going to be SO TIRED but so happy to see everyone!

Phi Mu Day in Fresno

In my un-ending travel packed summer, I've been able to experience a lot of new things!!  Last month, after a week in Dallas, I flew home and then drove to Fresno, CA for the California Phi Mu State Day held at the California State University at Fresno.  I was so excited because I have never been able to make it to a State Day before.

Little did I know that Cal State is about a 3.5 hour drive from my house....oops. I had to be up at 6 am (after my flight didn't get home until close to midnight the night before) to be out on the road by 6:30 AM.  Boy was I Le TIRED!!!

Anyways, I sucked it up and I'm so glad I did! I just love getting together with Phi Mus and there were Phi Mus from all over California as well as collegiates going to school in CA. It was a great day where we met some fabulous ladies and learned a lot from each other.

Always gotta get that swag :)

Beth Resigner came to speak with us from Charlotte, NC.  She spoke about the importance of Alumni and giving back, even after the 4 years.

This crest was a bit scary, but it still was pretty!

BIG Phi Mu letters at the Eta Zeta house.

This is Caroline, she got her 50 year certificate during this meeting!!!

Eta Zeta was founded at Cal State in 1951 and their house opened in 1996. I sure wish we had a chapter house when I was in!

They even had a piano and fireplace in their house!!  Not sure when you'd actually need to use a fireplace in California....

All of the lovely ladies who came to the event!

Selfie-ing with Maggie, Beth and Jacqueline.

The beautiful alumnae ladies representing!

Their chapter house was amazing!