Seattle!

Last weekend I flew to Seattle to meet Jamie Higbee. Jamie spent 6 months in Nigeria, but we never connected because I was in the states recovering from surgery while she was there. During her time, Jamie kept a great blog www.jamiehigbee.blogspot.com and I felt like I already knew her before we met face to face. She was a great host and I loved getting to know her and hear her heart for the Lord and her desire to serve Him in any capacity. We had gorgeous weather during my visit - sunny and in the 50's - which I am told is very unusual for Seattle. We took advantage of it and spent a lot of time outside. The picture of us above was taken at Pike Place Market.


There were lots of fruit and vegetable stands, which kind of reminded me of Nigeria, since they were outside. The big difference is that, as you can see above, the prices for each item are displayed. In the Nigerian markets, there are no set prices, so you have to barter for everything, which I actually loved to do.

I've never liked any seafood I've tasted, so when Jamie asked me what I wanted to do in Seattle, I mentioned eating some fresh seafood, since not eating seafood for all of these years has away a lot of fun and healthy options! Jamie likes clams (ugh), so I took this shot of her at the market. We did go out to eat for some INCREDIBLE seafood - I am now a fan of crab cakes and salmon. Jamie's kind fiance paid for our meals, so that made it taste even better. Thanks, Shawn!


At Pike Place Market is the first ever Starbucks Store. Of COURSE I had to go there. Notice the look of excitement on my face. It's on a boardwalk of sorts, and the inside of the store has very old wooden floors and counters. The place was packed and after the cashier took the orders, he/she would throw the cups across the store to the baristas. Very fun atmosphere. It was warm outside... 50 degrees!... so I enjoyed my first frappuccino in months.



Outside the Starbucks was this singing quartet (fourth guy stepped out of the shot), which added to the atmosphere.

Pike Place Market is famous for throwing fish. Seriously. The chaps who work at this stand (see one of them in the orange fishing pant thingys) sing out to one another and from time to time throw big fish to each other. We were able to be there when a couple of the customers ordered these big black fish and they volunteered to catch them. So the chap stood about 20 feet from the customer and tossed the fish and hey, the lady caught the fish beautifully and the man almost dropped it. I was impressed and proud at that moment.



There are lots of little islands around Seattle. Early Saturday morning we went on a ferry ride to one of the islands. It was a beautiful ride and perfectly clear morning. Jamie says that sometimes whales make an appearance. These huge ferries go back and forth every hour, carrying cars and people. It was a fun, cultural thing to experience.


When we arrived at the little island, we headed straight to this little crepe shop. Yum! If you've never had one, please do yourself a favor and eat one when you can... the best kind is with Nutella, strawberries, and whip cream. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!


Eating our crepe's!


The view on the way back to the ferry.

We did actually do some 'work' while I was there. :) We set up two tables in the sanctuary of her church. After each service, we were able to share with a lot of individuals about City Ministries. We also sold bags and pants that the widows in our ministry make. Below, Jamie is modeling how to put on the wrap pants - which is an interesting process, but the final look is great! Sorry I don't have a pic of the final look, though.



It was a really fun trip and it was so great to get to know Jamie better. I love seeing how God works, how He connects people and brings them together to accomplish His purposes.