O Fest -- Five and a Half Months

Playing "Uncle" Seattle Edition

Flew up to Seattle the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we took J to the Seattle Aquarium.

Nemo!!!

I forgot how much Onions loves fish as well, most of the photos from the aquarium I took off of his phone!

I could spend HOURS watching sea otters.

After the aquarium, we drove up to Discovery Park and walked (well for a few minutes as we got really cold....Seattle is COLD) along the beach.

630AM "moonset" over the Olympics on Thanksgiving Day 2015.

Mom getting Thanksgiving ready!

Appetizers

It was Onions and J's first American Thanksgiving....we had the Carras family over, so it was a table of 9 and O rolling around on the ground.

Can't forget dessert.

REI closed on Black Friday and we also decided to "Optoutside" and drove out to Mt. Si and hiked Little Si.

Next time, Mt. Si itself.  Afterwards, Black Friday was spent at the Elliott Bay Bookstore and seeing a movie with Carlos.

Saturday morning was spent at the Arboretum and more time at the bookstore.

In the evening, after Red Robin for dinner, Onions and I attended the Washington Women's Volleyball team match against WSU.

The place was packed...probably because the Huskies are #2 in the country.  Onions loved the pep band.

So every time the Huskies were awarded a point, the crowd shouts "Point Huskies" (after awhile, annoying) and the point before a game win, it's W's up!  Huskies won easily in three.

Playing "Uncle"

My colleague from my Italy years has a daughter who is going to boarding school on the East Coast. So instead of flying back to Europe, she's visiting the West Coast for the week.  So, we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf to see the sea lions.

J is all grown up!  I met her when she was 9, now 15 and a 10th grader.

We were down by the pier's because we spent the afternoon on Alcatraz

Looking up from the dock.....the lighthouse is still functioning.

Inside the prison itself.

J chose French for her audio tour, so I chose Italian.  Turns out, I was able to understand about 80% of the tour.  That was exciting.

The outdoor recreation area....probably the best view of any cement courtyard in the Bay Area.

Solitary.....

The prison was shuttered in the early 1960's....this is one of the remnants of the Indian (Native American) occupation of 1969.

Next stop....Land's End.

The ruins of the Sutro Baths....the closest thing to Roman ruins I've seen in the States.

The Marin Headlands at sunset.