Probably the only highlight of the summer was last week's trip to Seattle, a business trip no less, during which I got to cruise the famous Pike's Place Market!

A training workshop to which I had taken some Hawaii students put me in a dorm room at the Seattle University with a view of the downtown Seattle skyline. That was good.

I had been told by a friend about the Pike's Place Market and how great a place it was to visit, so I made my way down there one morning and absolutely loved the place!

No doubt, the biggest attraction for me was the Pike's Place Fish Market, an open market stall that became famous for the boisterous style of its crew in selling fish and other seafood like crab, clams, oysters, etc.

Here, every time an order is placed, it's announced with a scream and the fish, whole or in-part, is thrown to the guy behind the counter to ring up and wrap.

Seeing a twenty-pound salmon flying through the air is a sight to behold and a constant crowd surrounds the stall like the audience at a death-defying air show. Yes, there are occasional crashes!

As you'd expect for Seattle, there was crab, lots of it, Dungeness and Alaskan King... but I think the prices back here at Tamashiro Market and other local spots are actually better. However...

... I did see some of the largest Alaskan king crab legs I've ever seen, albeit priced at over $22 per pound.

Probably the most unusual find was this homely creature, a monkfish, which greeted us as we came into the Pike's Marketplace, an area which is a few blocks wide with a plethora of shops and stalls selling seafood...

... produce...

and just about anything you could think of.

The marketplace was wall-to-wall people as crowds made their way through the blocks of never-ending products...

... and a variety of street entertainers.

We eventually found a restaurant overlooking the water, yet were disappointed that they didn't serve up whole crab. After all, what's the point of getting crabs if you can't enjoy the miso, right? I even forgot the name of the restaurant as I was absolutely beat after all the stair climbing and working my way through the crowds.

So after all our walking, and looking, the advisor who accompanied me finally decided on what to take back for his friends...

Smoked salmon, of course!

It was nice to discover Pike's Marketplace, nice to be in Seattle, but wonderful to be back in Hawaii!

Warmest aloha,