Pike Place MarketJune 14, 2002
Again today we are up rather late for another trip into Seattle. A simple breakfast of cereal and yogurt and a few minutes to finish our coffee and we’re off again for a day in Seattle.
Today we get to see the world famous Pike Place Market. We have seen reviews everywhere about it and look forward to a fun time at a wonderful place. And I must say that for most people it would be a great day. Browsing and window shopping the many shops and areas is fun. And watching the fish market antics will bring a smile to anyone's face. So many things to see. Each shop is a little different than the next. One is a flower shop, the next is a scarf shop, the next handles card tricks and magic, candles, spice shops, bakeries, and you name it. And, this place has been around forever. Well about a hundred years, in fact it began as the fresh produce and fish market for the entire area.
But I must let you know that I didn't get to enjoy very much of it. I was at the time unable to stand for more than a few minutes, so for the day I was wheelchair bound. And this area is not wheelchair friendly. In fact, it is not handicap friendly at all. Stairs, steep ramps, very narrow areas, and generally tight, cramped stores made it a bad day for me. It took us so much more time than you would expect just to get from one place to the next. With so many people, and the narrow passages, and steps and steep ramps, we ended up spending half the day.
We ate lunch at the Market and then made our way back to Kent, where we packed and said our goodbyes and headed south to Portland.
It’s only about 170 miles south from Kent, Washington to Portland, Oregon, and the trip is on Interstate 5 all the way. Our Hotel for the night is the Hawthorne Suites, just east of Portland in a suburb named Gresham. Dinner was at a nice small Chinese Buffet near the hotel. Plenty of good food and a fortune cookie to boot!
Hawthorne Suites, Gresham, Oregon
This was a very nice four story hotel situated near the east-west freeway leading from Portland up the Columbia River Gorge. From the parking lot entry the lobby was actually on the 2nd floor and so our room which was one floor up was only a small hike up the stairs with our luggage. There were NO elevators in this hotel. Our room was clean and well maintained with all of the usual amenities, TV, hair dryer, iron/board, etc. Breakfast in the morning was down in the bottom floor and was a fairly full breakfast with scrambled eggs, toast, rolls, cereals, fruit, juices, and of course coffee. Note: I have not been able to find this hotel listed under this name any longer, which means it has probably changed owners.
This is a medium sized buffet. Not as large as some I've seen but not small by any means. A fairly full variety of foods were offered, including several sweet items, a common thing these days, and lots of traditional items. But this restaurant also had several *hot* items. These were spicy hot, not just heat hot. I found this unusual for the buffets I have been to. I even tried a couple of those items and found that they were as hot as advertised. Even with the soft drinks we used to help cool our mouths, by the end of the meal we were ready for some of the soft-serve ice cream. I would go back to this one over and over.
You will find millions of reviews on Pike Place Market. And overall they are all very good. And I agree, that the area is a wonderful place to shop, browse, look around, discover items of interest and generally have a good time. Shops sell everything from fresh fish (the most famous in the world), to nearly you name it of everything else, including fresh flowers. There are even a few places where you can get a bite to eat. Just remember, it is after all, just a bunch of stores and somewhat touristy.
Note: This area is not handicap friendly. There are many stairs, very steep ramps, and very narrow areas. For this reason, I have only given a rating of two stars.
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