Random Retro Photo: Seattle '06

We were in Banana Republic in downtown Seattle when Berry discovered someone absolutely fascinating in the mirror.

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Where it all started

For anyone who's ever wondered what the very first Starbucks looks like.... this is it. Turns out it opened in 1971... for some reason I thought Starbucks was older than that. We went to this one (again) on our third-last day in Seattle, right after we said our goodbyes to Pike Place Market.

It's true what they say: Seattle really does have a Starbucks on every corner. I don't drink it myself, but I'm told any coffee is good coffee when you're cold 80% of the year...

Seattle's also home to "the largest Starbucks in North America" (to quote the excited girl who served me there). I took my mum and dad to that one -- by accident, not as a tourist attraction I swear -- when they visited from Australia. I don't have a picture of that one, maybe because it's too big...

Last day

We spent one last day in Seattle with Dad and Tomas, before the big trek. The Pacific Northwest is our kind of place, and it's hard to leave when we've loved living here so much. We count ourselves incredibly lucky that we ended up here after the hurricane.

We went one last time to the University District (Nathan spent a year at UW during undergrad, so we hit some of his old haunts again). We took Berry one last time to The Land of Nod, pretty much her favourite place in the world. We took Tomas to the very first Starbucks, and we went, of course, to Pike Place Market. There was a street festival going on down by the markets, a very sunshine-y afternoon with lots of "unique" people (the kind only Seattle can produce) in the crowd doing some mighty crazy dances. One stand-out: an old man with a beard, wearing a fedora, a tutu and random streamers of tulle... Berry was transfixed.

Yeah, we'll miss it here.