salmon in seattle...

well, I didn't get to stick my toes in the Pacific Ocean, but my week in the Pacific Northwest was terrific...I learned tons at the ces small schools summer institute in Portland. I left with great ideas about how to re-structure my advisory group and fun ways to invite my students to learn deeply and engage more fully through inquiry and employing new technology in their portfolios and projects. It is great to be involved in a network of educators who are teaching in similar educational communities and are willing to share their great ideas! I can't wait for Fall Forum in November when I get to present a workshop!

After our week in Portland (where I must add, I visited the COOLEST bookstore on the planet- Powell's Books), my fellow teacher and good friend Ginger and I hopped into our rental car (for which we shamelessly flirted with the guy helping us in order to get a sweet upgrade) and drove up to Seattle. I was so excited to see the Space Needle...I have an unexplained fascination with this structure...not surprising to some of you I'm sure, but wanted to put it out there.
So we drove up on Friday, stopped to check into the hotel and then headed into town to explore Pioneer Square before cheering on the Seattle Mariner's at SafeCo Field! We sampled the famous garlic fries and watched the M's soundly beat the Indians...it was a good day!
Saturday we woke up and got started early. First stop was the very first Starbucks store...I don't drink coffee, I prefer my caffiene cold and in a coke bottle, but I had to visit so my daddy and sis wouldn't shoot me dead! After a vanilla steamer and the most amazing apple cinnamon roll from a little Russian bakery, we explored the Pike Place Market. I was really pumped about seeing the guys that yelled and threw fish...again an unexplained fascination...I had gotten it into my head that I really wanted to catch a fish that they threw, I thought that would be a very Seattle experience...and it was! They let me go behind the counter and the crazy fish catching guy educated me on the finer points of fish catching, then they yelled and threw me a fish...and I caught it! It was pretty cool!

After the market, we visited the Space Needle and looked out over the entire city; it was a clear day and we could see forever it seemed. We explored other parts of the city and eventually made it to the U District and Agua Verde Cafe and Paddle Club for dinner. My friend Carolyn who lived in Seattle last summer suggested this great restaurant and it was a perfect spot to relax on the porch, eat yummy fish tacos, and watch the kayakers and boaters on the lake. On our drive back to the hotel, we caught a glimpse of Mt. Ranier almost floating above the city...what an awesome sight!

I had a great trip and am very glad to be home for a while now. The summer is winding down for me and I need to spend some serious time planning for my new kid-o's. I am almost ready to get back into the swing of the school year...but leaving summer behind will be hard...that whole change thing...