A few days in Seattle

I’m in the US for a few days of corner to corner business meetings – Atlanta, Seattle, Jacksonville – mostly  planning for next steps with our surgical monitoring device.  The news is dominated by the Boston Marathon bombing, I kept one eye on developments while spending the wet weekend moving and re-provisioning.

It’s been a big milestone for my daughter, who has moved into a new apartment with her BFF and her hondje.  It’s really nice and they are gathering together the things that make it function and make it home.  There’s a knickknack shelf with souvenirs from their travels: Dam Square’s Darth Vader gets pride of place at the top of their UN.

  

I took a page from European life and ventured onto public transit for the first time in decades: into the city then on to the airport.  It was surprisingly good: fast, comfortable, cheap, well crowded.  Unfortunately a ride requires $2.75 exact change, but the driver let me on free when I got caught with only a $20 bill.  For all the moaning by the talking heads against electric buses and light rail, the busy usage and clean carriages speak overwhelmingly to the success of the project.

  

It was a rare sunny day along the waterfront, the sort of blue sky on blue water on green trees and white mountains that makes Seattle the best place on earth in good weather.  I wandered the Publi Market, sat in Olympic Park, taking care of a bit of business and enjoying the people and the views. 

   

That dark riffle just offshore indicated perfect sailing weather, but I had to fly instead.  ‘’beautiful day from any angle.