We enjoyed an amazing breakfast this morning at the hotel, great offerings like any Embassy but definitely an updated look and feel and very busy. There was a college soccer team, UC Davis, staying in the hotel as well as plenty of families, business travelers and couples like ourselves. Our first destination today is Pike Place Public Market, at least our third visit here and always fun to see all the offerings as well as the diversity of the city.

The story of Starbucks begins in 1971 along the cobblestone streets of Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. If you weren’t aware, L.J. is a big Starbucks fan so we went back again to see the OG location here. It was, naturally, super crowded so he opted against a coffee and settled just for a photo.

We made our way down the street outside of the main market and enjoyed seeing fresh cheese being made at Beecher Cheese

Then it was time to head into the main market, it was quite “people-y” but full of so many different things. As in previous trips, we are blown away by the flower vendors, their artistry and the prices. Flowers may truly be one of the most affordable things in Seattle!

One of the top highlights at Pike Place is the flying fish. The “flying fish” tradition features fishmongers in bright orange boots and overalls hurling customers’ purchased seafood across the open-air counter. When a customer buys a fish, the staff loudly shouts the order in unison, and the fishmonger behind the counter throws the heavy catch through the air to be wrapped. Here, the lady in the video had made another purchase but they still throw the fish, her reactions are priceless.

One of the fruit vendors was giving samples of delicious nectarines and I had to get one to have later in the day. It was large but over $6 for just the one. I tucked it away in L.J.’s bag and our adventure continued.

We walked three floors of the market and then decided it was time to find some lunch.

We returned to the Sound View Cafe for lunch, where we first ate in 2009. They have amazing views of Puget Sound and we had a table by the window. I opted for a roasted turkey BLT and L.J. had a chicken quesadilla with caramelized onions at the suggestion of the staff. Both were delicious and hit the spot for a nice rest after walking through the market.

As we wrapped up our visit, we had to take a quick pic with Rachel. Rachel the Piggy Bank is a 550-pound bronze sculpture at Seattle’s Pike Place Market that serves as the market’s unofficial mascot and a charitable fundraiser. The statue is modeled after Rachel, a real 750-pound prize-winning pig that took first place at the 1985 Island County Fair on Whidbey Island. In 2011, Rachel was joined by a second bronze pig named Billie. Billie is pictured below with L.J.

We always enjoy our time at the market and definitely did again today too. We took a Lyft back to the hotel and had a great driver. He also does private trips so we decided to chance it and have him drive us to the airport tomorrow. If the posts end after this one, hopefully one of my fellow True Crime enthusiasts will start the search.

We were pretty tired so we decided to squeeze in a quick nap before part two of the day… the Mariners game! We love to visit new ballparks and when we started planning this trip, L.J. checked to see if the Mariners might possibly be in town and work into our schedule and it worked out perfectly. The park was only about 15 minutes from the hotel and an easy walk over.

Success as we walked to the game, L.J. was able to get a Griffey jersey from his time with the Mariners. L.J. has always been a Griffey and Ortiz fan so that was a great find.

A bit of struggle getting into the game as L.J. brought his camera (it’s usually just permanently attached to his body) and it met regulations of security, except that it could extend out an additional inch or so, which put him over the limit on size. He can give you ALL the reasons it’s not a good rule at this point but I’ll just say, rules are rules so back he went with the camera to the hotel. There were some locker options nearby but he was hoping the other lens might work but alas, it did not so back he came with just his cell phone to capture photos.

It was a fantastic night for a game and we really enjoyed the park. We did have some guests come in behind us in the 4th inning that had been enjoying their time at a bar across the street. The boyfriend then was able to give us quite a bit of commentary throughout the remainder of the game, often times at a very high volume, so that wasn’t the most enjoyable but at least they weren’t there the entire game. The Mariners lost to the Athletics.

Quick fact: Following their departure from Oakland after the 2024 season, the franchise dropped the city from its official branding and currently competes simply as the Athletics. They are temporarily based out of Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, where they are playing their home games until their permanent retractable-roof stadium in Las Vegas is completed for the 2028 season.

It was Bark in the Park night and there were over 1,000 dogs at the game! Post game the dogs are allowed to run the bases, on leashes with their owners but unfortunately, only 1st, 2nd and 3rd bases – not a single pup got to touch home plate. It was fun though and it started about 15 minutes after the game so we stayed to watch part of that. With that many dogs, we probably headed out after 200 of them and decided to start the walk back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will move on to part two of our trip and head to Alaska!