Friends and Family

When I restarted writing my travel adventures this go around, I mentioned that we on the PNW (Pacific Northwest) Friends and Family tour post cruise time.  There a lot of moving parts to this, age groups and methods of transportation involved, so do try and keep up.  Despite having his own spread sheet, Eddie ask daily who we are seeing and how we are going to get there….Covid season has not been kind to Eddie’s calendar keeping ability.  We left our ship home by 8:00 Saturday morning…along with all the passengers from our ship, the RCCL Ovation was letting there 4,000 guests off in the same space. Solstice luggage to left, Ovation to the right, buses to left, private cars and limos to right, with the Uber, Lyft and traditional cab stand 2 blocks away. We had been warned that the cost of Uber and Lyft has gotten crazy high, that a regular cab could be hard to come by. You see where this is going….Eddie is not a bus kinda guy, nor am I seeing him dragging 4 suitcases two blocks for a ride in a Prius. I have kept the cell number of car and driver from our embarkation day.  I phoned my new friend with a name I could not pronounce even without a mask and he was more than glad to meet us at the #2 pick up point.   I know why there are no black Tahoes, Yukon and Suburbans for purchase, they are all hanging out at the cruise port in Seattle looking for paying customers.  It was wild!  Dozens of uncontracted Black Shiny vehicles looking for cruiser love.  With all of the rain here, they must spend afternoon on cruise days (which is 7 days a week in season) washing and buffing their rides.  Glad there is not shortage of water (we are looking at you, California) here.  The signage clearly states that solicitation of passengers is prohibited and you will be prosecuted.  Covid rules, baby, Covid rules, cash talks.  The various drivers were paying the security police to solicit passengers and look the other way when they blocked traffic.  Our driver arrived and motioned the security away and indicated he would not be paying them for securing us.  Pure cock of the walk.  He waited while we dropped our luggage and checked in a the Mayflower Park, he took us to the ferry terminal and showed us how to get a taxi back to the hotel when we returned.  Cautioned us not to arrive after dark as the waterfront and the ferry terminal construction was not a safe place for us old people.  Guess we shouldn’t talk to strangers, either.  Seattle butt powdering comes at a high price $85 for maybe 45 minutes of driving….kinda like the water taxis in Venice.    Oh yeah, his Square charge thingy never works…$85 cash.  Good Grief.  

Between the construction and vague signage, we managed to get on the correct ferry for 9:35 AM run of the Tacoma.  I had downloaded the app, so I at least knew time and vessel.  The skies had cleared and we could see the cruise ships we had left two hours ago getting ready for the next groups of passengers.  While we have been to Seattle several times, we have never taken the ferry to any of the other cities, and never to Bainbridge.  It is enchanting.  I have read a series of murder mystery that the protagonist is based on BI.  She paints word pictures, but it does not do it justice.  A tad like Cape Cod -framed house lined up along the water front, but the trees, woods and flowers are beautiful, especially this time of the year.  We were greeted by  my very tall and good looking nephew (no bias there, he reminds me of pictures of my dad) Daniel, and his youngest child-Blakely.  We wandered the streets of Winslow and peeked into the various shops.  Daniel confessed that he had never been in most of these shops…he and his wife Megan have Blakely (1) and 3 boys 3,5, and almost 8.  Yeah, stores with glass things  or candy and boys never ends well. Very laid back vibe-most had dogs, shorts, sandals and a hoodie.  Apparently, it is the uniform of Seattle….some form of hoodie…covers a lot of bad hair days due to rain, I guess.    Us, Texans brought our sleeveless fleece vest, guess old tourists.  We had a lunch of fresh salmon and cod…really fresh, like it slept in the surrounding waters last night.  Daniel was a wonderful tour guide as we made a loop of the island and got home in time for the middle boys to arrive home from preschool.  Their back yard is a lush green affair with grass, woods, forts, trees to climb, a garden, and of course, mud…it rains a lot here…or so I have been told.  It is a couple of acres that allow these boys to have adventures but still be visible from the kitchen window and not too far that we could not hear them if they were hurt themselves.  I always wonder how these kind of places will be remembered when they get old…like 25, or so.    If one of the kids becomes a writer, this place is gold.    By the time Brody (8) arrived home, we were one step back out the door headed for our afternoon ferry back to the Emerald City.  The boys had baseball practice and a party-as life with kids should be, Blakely had napped on our car trip, so she was good to go.    Thankful for the moment…

Our return trip was easy, as we knew what to expect…except the part about a rain storm just about the time we were getting off the ferry.  Oh yeah, Frank (KPRC weather app) let me know it was raining at my current location.  Yeah, Frank, got my umbrella.  Almost as helpful as the Alert Houston Message of Extreme Heat in Houston this weekend.  Glad we are here for a few more days.  With our umbrellas, we made our way to the taxi stand.  Two taxis, no drivers…and it is raining.  The first driver arrived at his Green Taxi Prius.  Asked where we were going.  We told him, including the address…it is about 2.5 miles away…rain…no walking.  He had to think about it.  We started to turn and see if the second taxi was anymore eager for a rider.  He said, “Fine”.  We climbed into his #1032 Green Taxi,with his license visible, and the window sticker clearly stating the meter charges and zone charges.  He turns to Ed and says in a heavy accent with mask, 1-2.  Ed says, “Pardon” he says 1-2.  I countered with use the meter as per the window tag.  Driver replied in broken English, “no meters, gas too high”.  Seriously, get a new sticker or a upcharge sticker.  We were about to get out and go to cab #2, but he said he would take $10.  We got to the hotel in 15 minutes or less, traffic was actually heavy, and it was raining.  Eddie did not tip the driver….and I did not report him to his company or the Taxi police, but I was tempted.  

Most of the rest of Seattle and BI are “cashless”-meaning you don’t leave home without your credit or debit cards, cause they don’t take paper money or coins….unless you want to take a ride in car, then you better have cash…$20 bills are preferred.  Glad Eddie had correct change on the way home, Green Taxi guy would have told him No change…