Tuppence a Bag

Some girlfriends and I took our kids out to a slightly too fancy restaurant for lunch. It was a restaurant where, if you’re lucky, a large sea lion will squash your car while you eat.

Picture a classy restaurant overlooking the Puget Sound, full of business women and men and one table that had been accidentally transported in from Chuck-E-Cheese.

3 moms, six kids aged 3 and under, a combined bill of over $70. The kids were boiling over onto the other tables, asking why they couldn’t have sippy cups and why the napkins weren’t made of paper. Crackers and grapes were strewn everywhere and they just wanted to get out and touch the water. I think everyone in the restaurant wanted to grant them that wish.

After the meal, we took a short drive and a little walk out onto the cement boardwalk. One friend had spent a dollar on a bag of bread so we could feed the seagulls. Not only was this the highlight of our day, but possibly the highlight of Laylee’s life (she has a very short memory).

The greatest things in life truly are free, or at least cost less than $70.

They gather.

Out comes the bread.

Hold on to your hats and let the good times begin.

Mine…mine….mine. Those Nemo filmmakers really did their seagull research. Holy crazy-attack-birds batman!

Laylee seems unfazed, an angel with wings.

Jumping for joy.

Birds, shmirds. Dude, where’s my nap?

10 points if you can see the Space Needle. Go Seahawks!

She feeds them in a strange bowling motion…

…..then laughs uncontrollably.

And the kick is GOOD!

All gone bread. It’s okay. The seagulls are about to explode and we really don’t want to witness that….

…so let’s turn our attention to the….. monolith. This is apparently the birthplace of Seattle. From what I hear, it was a messy experience, no epidural, and no indoor plumbing.

Real estate along the water is sold at a premium. Several brand new condo and apartment complexes rise into the sky. Amazingly, in between them are sprinkled smallish houses, some much more rundown and tinier than this one. I wonder who held out to keep their property when I’m sure the offers ran in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.