This afternoon Mary and I took the “big” kids (Alice, Levi and Carlos) to Seattle for a trip to the aquarium and then out to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. Since we’re members of the aquarium, we go for free so it’s really a fun, cheap outing. The kids couldn’t wait to touch the starfish, although Mary and I stopped and tried to talk them through the story of the salmon ladder and how they spawn and all. We told them how the fish leave down the ladder, live their lives and then come back up the ladder to lay eggs and then die. One of them asked, what if they get eaten by a bear before they come back? Well….I guess they wouldn’t be coming home then! I have to hold back the smart ass comment I have in my mind and try to answer honestly and nicely.
We walked down to the Spaghetti Factory from the aquarium for dinner since they were having a 40% off the menu discount for their anniversary. It was a long, cold walk. Yes, I was wearing my shorts since it was gorgeous out but you all know that I wear shorts all the time. Levi and Carlos had left their coats at home so by the time it was dusk, they were cold. We ran into a bike taxi (not sure what to call it) that said he’d take us back to the ferry after dinner for $10 so we said we’d look for him. We had a great meal, I LOVE the mizithra cheese and so do the kids. I was dreading the walk back to the ferry, especially since the kids and I would have frozen, but we opened the door to go outside and there sat our bike taxi guy. What a sweetheart. He had quite the load, but drove us happily and I gave him a great tip for the effort.
Made it home, tucked the boys into bed and I’m about to turn in myself. Tomorrow is a new day, with so many great things about to come our way. Be proud to be an American and embrace the change that’s coming.