The Longest Day in Bright Pictures

Yesterday was the last day of my vacation, so I'm glad that it was a long one. In fact, it was one of the longest and most full days I've had in years, as I was up from 10am until 7am! Probably the last time I had stayed up all night was either when I was sick or when I was attending college. I will tell the story of my fun day through lots of pretty pictures.

Around noon we started towards Seattle.  I had only been there once before when my brother took me to the first REI a few years ago.  It was fun, but I of course want to see more of a city than just one establishment.  This time, he took my family to the Pike's Place Market, which was a lot of fun.  Here is a picture of the famous public market sign with the new ferris wheel behind it.
The market is so crowded that you have to walk very fast.  It was sort of risky taking these pictures, but I just couldn't help myself!  The market is full of bright and beautiful neon signs.  This is just one:
I would love to have that sign in my house!  There were also fun and festive paintings wrapped around the columns.  I was moving too fast to get a picture of each one, but here's a sample:
I posted another one on my tumblr blog too, along with another example of a neon sign.  The market sells arts and crafts, flowers, produce, and seafood at really good prices too.  I just couldn't believe these beautiful bouquets were being sold for only five dollars.
Aren't they gorgeous? They smelled gorgeous too!  Speaking of good things, the beauty and bounty of the seafood and produce was amazing.  I wanted to buy so much!  Look at these crabs!
Look at these cauliflowers!
If I lived in Seattle, I would have to buy my produce from there at least some of the time.  I really was jealous of all the produce though, even in Anacortes.  Both my brother's girlfriend and I would exclaim about how the onions and everything else are absolutely perfect and so much better than the groceries on the East coast.

After lunch and sightseeing at the market, we then walked just a little ways to the Great Wheel, the new ferris wheel.  The five of us - my brother and his girlfriend, my two parents, and I - all fit into one of the cars:
Fortunately, the car was warm, which was good, because it was very chilly and wet outside.  I took the obligatory pictures of the city skyline, but I don't think they turned out very well, so I present you with a more artistic view of the Great Wheel instead:
The ride was also very smooth and long too, as we went around at least three times.  I recommend it for a once in a lifetime experience.

Sightseeing at the market, lunch, and then a ferris wheel ride sounds like enough for a day, right?  Actually, our day was just beginning!  We then went to a mall and looked around a bookstore for a while-we had a lot of time to kill before needing to be at the airport.

This is my favorite photo of me from the day:
I'm standing next to a Christmas-y pig at the mall.  I thought the golden, caped hog was a little strange, but also cute and sort of regal looking.  As you can see, I was very happy!

But alas, our time with my brother and his girlfriend soon had to come to an end and we were dropped off at the airport.  Even then, we had about three hours still to kill, so I had a delicious bowl of chicken udon, eaten at a leisurely pace.
It was actually my favorite soup of the day-much better than anything I would have had at the Atlanta airport, I think.  The soup was hot, spicy, healthy, and noodle-y - just what I wanted.

We left the airport at 10:30 at night and didn't arrive home until seven, the next morning.  I couldn't sleep on the plane, so that is why my day was so long!  Long, but happy.  I am sorry that I couldn't spend more time exploring Anacortes, Bellingham, or Seattle or just spending more time with my brother and his girlfriend, but still, I am grateful for the time I did have.  Tomorrow I am going to spend New Year's Eve at one of my dearest friends' apartment.  Truly I am blessed to have the family and friends that I do.  What did you do or are doing in the holiday season?

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