We left for Seattle Washington at 8:00 a.m. this morning. We flew into Dallas and met Fred and Lupe at the American The Admirals Club. We then traveled together to Seattle.

We checked into the Crown Plaza and headed off down the steep hill to Pike Place Market.. This is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers’ markets in the United States. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street, and remains one of Seattle’s most popular tourist destinations.

The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill, and consists of several lower levels located below the main level. Each features a variety of unique shops such as antique dealers, comic book and collectible shops, small family owned restaurants, and one of the oldest head shops in Seattle. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls operating in the covered arcades. Local farmers and crafts people sell year-round in the arcades from tables they rent from the Market on a daily basis, in accordance with the Market’s mission and founding goal: allowing consumers to “Meet the Producer”.

Pigs On Parade is a series of 100 pig sculptures, each made by a different artist and sponsored by a piganthropist, that are located in and around Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Pigs on Parade, a sequel to the original one which took place in 2001, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the market and helps raise funds for the Pike Place Market Foundation which provides low-income services.