Day 2 - Bremerton, Poulsbo, and Pioneer Square

Wednesday, May 24

We scheduled the hotel's free shuttle to the Light Link Rail station for 9 AM.  The driver was right on time, but he made a few other stops before taking us to the station. The light rail is a very economical way to get from the airport to downtown at a cost of roughly $3 per person (less for children and seniors); however, it does get crowded at times and space for multiple large bags is hard to come by. We managed, but later opted for a private shuttle for our return to the airport. We exited at the Pioneer Square station and walked a few short blocks to the Marrott Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square.  Although our room had a view of a rooftop and an alley, it was ready at 10 AM when we arrived. I highly recommend this hotel if you need/want to stay in the Pioneer Square area. The rooms were modern and comfortable and the staff was friendly.

After dropping of our luggage, we headed for Pier 52 to catch the ferry over to Bremerton, Washington. It was a short walk. The ferry is also economical, costing just $20.50 for the three of us roundtrip.

This cute guy joined us for the ride.

The ferry boat was clean, comfortable, and not crowded at all.

 About an hour later we arrived in Bremerton and met up with Betty. We had a delicious lunch at the Oak Table Cafe in Silverdale. We ate and chatted and chatted and ate. After lunch, Betty took us to Poulsbo, a quaint little city originally settled by Scandinavians and still known as "Little Norway". The main drag was lined with adorable little shops selling everything from chocolate to retro clothing to handcrafted items and art to books and even fidget spinners (ugh!).

Behind the shops was a marina and small park.

Next we visited the grave of Chief Sealth for whom Seattle was named. We left some change and something else I can't remember as our offering.

We'd been in the Seattle area for nearly 24 hours and had not had coffee yet, so that was next on the agenda. The girls played with their fidget spinners (ugh!) and we drank and chatted, chatted and drank.

After a brief visit to Betty's lovely home, she took us back to the port and we boarded the ferry for our return trip. The timing was perfect as we got to see the sunset during the ride.

It was about 9 PM when we arrived back in Seattle. We took the scenic route back toward our hotel because I wanted to see The Central Saloon and Occidental Park.

Nirvana played their first show here and, more importantly, Mother Love Bone played their last show here. 

This crazy shotgun wedding "chapel" was right across the street.

Firefighter monument in Occidental Park

This crazy guy is in Occidental Park too.

By this time we were getting pretty hungry, so we started looking for a place for dinner. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, most of Seattle shuts down before 9 PM. A handful of bars were still open, but we could not find a single place in the Pioneer Square area that was still serving food and that was not 21+. About a quarter to ten we finally decided to take an uber to the Hard Rock Cafe near Pike Place Market. It was the least obnoxious Hard Rock I've ever visited, so there's that.

We made a quick visit to Target across the street and then uber'd back to the hotel.