Before heading off to China I was lucky enough to bask in a perfect (although cloudy) Seattle day: a run around Bellevue Park, brunch at Z' Tejas, a jaunt through Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, and a Mariners game. My friends had their cousin in town so I tagged along on the tourist trail.
My oh-so-eastside friend hadn't even crossed the I-90 bridge before embarking on her usual diatribe about dirty, grungy, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing Seattle and the "bus smell" that permeates Pike Place Market.
"Ugh! This is exactly what I'm talking about!" She exclaimed upon crossing Pioneer Square to discover what I'm going to call tree-sleeves.
Fiber artist Suzanne Tidwell was not wearing Birkenstocks as she sat on a bench weaving décor for her next tree. "I'm just trying to heightened awareness," she commented. She's not alone. Yarn bombing has exploded worldwide from Bali to Paris to Denver. TIME Magazine even reported that firefighters in Vancouver were adding knit blossoms to cherry trees.
We soldiered on past the Harbor Steps to Pike Place Market wherein we joined the masses to watch people catching fish ("Good enough to wear, good enough to eat," chanted the rubber-overall-wearing salesmen when a flying fish smacked a young tourist in her face.) before heading to Le Panier for a quick French pastry.
Heading back to Safeco Field we participated in pre-game festivities (i.e. eating clam chowder and drinking beer) at Pyramid Alehouse. Right across the street from the field, this is the hangout spot for Mariner fans before and after home games.
Safeco Field added a patio dining area (The Bullpen Market) this spring to the space behind left-center field and Le Creperie has been getting rave reviews. Seeing as I'd already consumed food for three days I just said hi to my favorite bartender (Jay, my hirsute brother) and then hightailed it back to my seat before I missed any more action. Dustin Ackley had hit a triple while I was wandering around and I needed to make sure my stand-in scorekeeper was doing his job right.
He did just fine, as did the Mariners that night who won in extra innings. A perfect send off as I prepare to head off to a country that has (…dum, dum, dum…) no baseball.