I tried to take the weight of decision making off of my friend's shoulders, but my idea fell through. I had wanted to head down to the Center for Wooden Boats for their free Sunday boat trips. Unfortunately, even though sign-ups did not start until 10:00a, some people had been waiting in line since 8:30a, and there was a hard limit to how many the center could accommodate for the day. Lesson learned.
So decision making fell back to my friend. I tried, I really did. So he opted for the next best thing: booking a tour with Ride the Ducks of Seattle. I admit, I did think for a moment that he he meant boats shaped like rubber ducks, not a DCKW:
Like this, but more touristy...
Though the first mate/tour guide certainly fit the mold:
His name is, no lie, Wade Forrit...
The excursion was pleasant, informative, and just a little bit goofy. Wade was quite adept at dropping
puns, and useful information. My takeaway (besides a nifty duckbill quacking device) was that once again my Shadowrun jokes are becoming less and less geeky quips and more and more reality. The corporations that call Seattle home are buying up large adjacent areas of town for their various divisions, most notably Amazon.
After the ride, we wound our way down to the world-famous Pike Place Market. The sheer number of people amassed there was amazing, especially near the fishmongers where all were waiting to see the fish fly as they were thrown between workers. I'd offer a picture at this point, but there was no way to get a shot comfortably, even a selfie.
We did stop for some real Turkish Delight. If you've only experienced it through C.S. Lewis think rose water flavored gummies drowned in confectioner's sugar. Very tasty.
We hiked back uphill to the car while my friend debated dinner, both out loud and in his head. We finally ended up at a ramen restaurant. To put it bluntly, it was amazeballs. See?
Complete with chicken genocide...
Then it was back to the apartment for tea, whiskey, and socializing with a few of my friend's acquaintances. This was certainly an epiphanic moment, as he has extremely well-informed friends, and my isolationist news policy kind of left me a fish in low-earth orbit. Still, I learned some things, met some interesting people, and after everyone was gone my friend, his wife, and I shared a few minutes of guided meditation thanks to a phone app. Technology is truly grand.
Like a broken record we we our separate ways to bed. Six and a half hours later I was up again and typing away to share this with you.
See you tomorrow!
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