It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Seattle—clear blue skies and no rain. I’m staying at the Bacon Mansion, an elegant bed-and-breakfast in a historic Edwardian-style Tudor home with 11 individually-appointed guest rooms. The 1909 home built by Cecil Bacon features a chandelier with 3,000 crystals, marble fireplaces and a treasured library. The continental breakfast featured fresh fruit and  homemade peach pecan muffins fresh from the oven … yum!

After breakfast, I went out walking around  the neighborhood and took photos of flowers and trees we don’t have in Hawaii! I was also struck by these footprints on the sidewalk — are they possible dance moves? Actually I guessed right, the bronze dance steps were created by artist Jack Mackie: read the story behind it here. There are eight dance “sculptures” in the Broadway district, representing tango, waltz, lindy, foxtrot weave, rumba and mambo.

Later I met up with my late husband Carl’s cousins, Marie Granberg and Marg Meece, to nearby Volunteer Park where we marveled in the beautiful flowers of the Conservatory. I recognized a lot of the tropical flowers such as anthuriums, bromeliads and torch ginger, but also enjoyed seeing the colorful azalea, hydrangea and a special section for cactus varieties.

We then drove back to the Broadway area and had a wonderful lunch, visiting and reminiscing about old times. Both Marie and Marg came to Hawaii for Carl’s funeral—you might remember that Carl and I visited them in February 2014 and we traveled to Victoria BC together (“A day in Victoria“).

Tomorrow will be a busy day: breakfast at 8:30 am., morning service at 11:00 am, Laetare with the Compline Choir at 6:00 pm, reception at 8:30 pm, and Compline at 9:30 pm. I have been so lucky with this beautiful Seattle weather—tomorrow I hope to climb the Volunteer Park water tower for the highest point in Seattle.