MARINERVILLE

We had flown into Seattle but hadn't touched foot in the Emerald City until Thursday, May 13. What a day we had!

First our weather was perfect. Every local we encountered talked about how blessed, lucky, or fortunate we were to experience bright sunshine and a 72 degree temp this time of year. But that's what we had and it put all in good moods.

One story and then a list. Edgewater Hotel in Seattle sits well at the edge of Elliot Bay which feeds into Puget Sound and/or the Washington River. It was to be built for the 1962 World's Fair, but its completion didn't meet the deadline. It suffered financially until a marketing campaign appeal to fishermen to stay and fish from their rooms.

Sure enough, the hotel gave out fishing rods and reels to their customers who like The Beatles who stayed there in 1964 fished outside their windows. And it worked for awhile.

Until people started wanting to keep their fish as pets. Some filled the bathtub and used salt shakers to try to simulate salt water for their salmon. Didn't work. Fish died. Fish stunk. Edgewater became Stinkywater as they found other lame attempts at keeping fish alive and covering them up, literally to cause the hotel to abandon its practice. However successful it had been, it must have turned the tide (another pun) because they're still in business today.

And the list--Space Needle is great with awesome views including Mt. Ranier; Pike's Market continuous since 1907 ditto--great sausage from Uli's; a city of 6 hills--maybe that's why I noticed some shapely legs on many female Seattlites; clean, clean city; Argosy boat trip through locks gives a great coastal experience of sights; Belltown and the historic district not to be missed; Qwest Stadium known for bad weather, but Seattle only gets 37 inches of rain per year; however, it drizzles from September to July 5 most everyday with temperatures in the upper 70's in the Summer down to 30 in Winter with 229 days of clouds, 169 completely cloudy days (no wonder they love their coffee); first Starbucks in 1971 on the corner by the Pike's Market, also headquartered there; big art city with a stainless steel tree and a big typewriter eraser piece displayed.

All in all, a city that I have more respect for that when I came. And I didn't hear one word about their statue to the Marxist Lenin, but Rev Mark Driscoll told me it was there.