A fresh seafood market at Pike Place
If life were to insist that I live full-time in a city and I could pick, Seattle would be at the top of my list. I wouldn’t say I’m in love with Seattle, but I am a bit infatuated with the bustling metropolis on the ridge above Puget Sound.
“Echo,” by Jaume Plensa, in the Olympic Sculpture Park.
I’d been there before, and was delighted when a work-related trip took me there again.
I suppose the Public Market at Pike Place could get old if I went there often enough, but its such a cultural hodgepodge that I haven’t gotten enough yet. Flower stalls and fish markets border booths where folks sell hand-made stuff ranging from obsidian knives and ceramic ocarinas to dried fruit and candied nuts. Across the street, ethnic restaurants and shops are far more appealing to me than the original Starbucks, which has a consistent line out the door. Every corner, it seems, has a resident street musician hawking tunes for tips. It’s a happening place.
The “Garden Room” at Chihuly Garden and Glass
We were blessed with good weather, meaning that it didn’t rain every day and the clouds cleared up just long enough to see Mount Ranier from the Space Needle.
The Chihuly Garden and Glass museum was new since I’d been there, and worth a visit, along with the Olympic Sculpture Park. The village on Bainbridge Island is also a lovely place to visit, though the best value in the city is the $8.00 ferry ride over, with its fresh air and amazing views.
There’s an irreverent edge to Seattle that’s fun to experience but leaves me feeling a bit too staid to really fit in there. I tend to pay more attention to parking signs, for example, wear quite ordinary clothes, and have no tattoos or piercings. So, while feeling a little infatuation for Seattle and a few other appealing cities, I’m happy to keep sleeping in the suburbs and calling North Carolina home.
Professor of Old Testament at Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and the Contributing Editor and Curriculum Writer at Good Faith Media.
