Today was such a relaxing day! A few of us woke up bright and early to venture to the Pike Place to watch all the shops on the pier set up. They had some amazing shops and a wide variety with everything fresh!

Max, Sarah, Lance, David walking to the pier early in the morn

Pike Place

Fresh berries

Handmade mac & cheese

After visiting Pike Place, we made our way over to the program we had set up at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance—one of the leading comprehensive cancer research/treatment centers in the world (up there with MD Anderson!). It was neat as this tour focused more on the R&D aspect of the fight against cancer. Another neat thing is that the SCCA has three esteemed Nobel Prize laureates, including the gentleman who developed the bone marrow transplant. They also had a wall which kept track of the number of bone marrow transplants they’ve done since opening, year by year. As you can see in the last picture, they’re already looking forward to providing hope to those who get treated at the center. Finally, there’s a fairly wide consensus that the vaccine for the HIV virus will come from the Fred Hutchinson center (which is the research branch of the SCCA).

After the SCCA visit, we walked to the world’s largest REI, which was right down the street. It was HUGE! It had a climbing wall, an outdoor nature bike path for trying out bikes, and two stories of outdoor equipment goodness. Every backcountry-ers dream come true.

Afterwards, we ate at probably the most expensive restaurant we’ve eaten at to date… but all of us missed out on seafood while in SF and Portland, so we decided that we’d get it while it’s good in Seattle. The restaurant was called Sea Star, and the food was definitely well cooked and very fresh & tasty. I had the “hazelnut crusted rainbow trout.” It was fantastic.

When everyone was full, we went our separate ways—a few went to Pike Place, some went to get haircuts, others went home. I decided to spend the afternoon at Olympic Sculpture Park, per Joel Fariss’s recommendation. It was fantastic! I got to walk along the coast and the trails, take in some sun, feel some breeze from the sea, and look at some pieces of modern art. I recall one instance when I was listening to “This is my Father’s world,” and when the verse “of rocks and trees, of skies and seas” came up, I looked around and I was walking on a rocks, to my left were trees, above me the sky, and to my right the Pacific. It was breathtaking. Another awesome part of this day, was that I had time to just sit, relax, journal, read, pray, meditate on the lush green lawn overlooking the park. The whole experience was so pacifying.

Finally, when 7 rolled around, I headed to The Mix, which is a venue in south Seattle which was hosting a benefit concert for Texas 4000. The artists were actually really good, and I know our team really enjoyed it—however tired we were. Thank you so much Natasha for heading this!!!

Tomorrow we ride to Mt Vernon. Should be a beautiful ride as well. Until then!