Well now, it's been a little while since I last posted and that's because I don't want to sound like a desperate chirping baby bird that says, 'feed me, feed me' or in blogspeak,  'read me, read me'. However, I may have got that all wrong and the intention of a blog is  'read me, read me.'
Anyway, in the meantime, I have been to Seattle, built in a lovely space with mountains, woodlands and Puget Sounds that makes our Auckland's gorgeous Hauraki Gulf look a tad dimunitive. And below the waters, I have been told, are the great Gooey Ducks. Heard of them? Those of you who are from there?Gooey Ducks are the biggest misnomer for a kind of a giant shell fish with the rudest appearance ever. Highly priced and prized on the Asian markets as a Viagra substitute because of its great resemblance to the human male genitalia, it tastes not  much different from an abalone - so I am told by a young woman who has eaten it in Seattle. Okay, some male followers would dispute my opinion that its resemblance to the male genitalia is rude, but this is an old bird speaking!
Anyway, I visited the newly opened Chihully gallery and glass garden that is stunning and then shot up the Space Needle which I've always called the Seattle Tower, to have an overview of the surrounding environment. Such a pity that Mount Rainier is blanketed by the smoke from nearby burning forests on the other side.  But the few minutes' view I had of it while being driven by dear friends, Kati and Al on the way back from viewing the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, was of a spectacular, rugged version of Mt. Fuji, Mt Tarawera, etc. It's a gutsy mount of volcanic rock, and a great pity its beauty is shrouded for now.
Overall, my long weekend there visiting old chum Kati and her lovely Al has been most enjoyable and it is, as all of you would appreciate, great to catch up with old friends and find you have both grown older and wiser but still retain the values that bonded you together in the first place. And though it was my second visit to that lovely city, I feel I know it better this time round. Thank you, Kati and Al and for introducing me to all the lovely vegetarian eateries around the place.
Also spent time at the famous Pike's Market, laid on movie set, which actually puts Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco in the shade - it is so big, so interesting and so full of the local die-hards who certainly know how to entertain as they sell. My only regret is that I didn't have time to investigate the underground streets of the old city. maybe next time. Meanwhile daughter Melanie of the BlueLotusHenna fame is taking me to the tunnels of the Shanghai'd. Mort of that later.
Catch you next time.