Day 8, Amazon Day

Any day at Colleen's house starts with a short walk with Cody. The neighborhood began to be called Quenn Anne around 1885 after the Queen Anne style houses that were the dominate style. Because the neighborhood was built before cars, the streets are very narrow and not all homes have driveways which means it can be tricky to navigate around.

The Burke-Gilman Trail is a multi-use trail that runs along the shore of Lake Washington. It is met by a number of other trail systems that make is a great commuting corridor. It is easily accessible from Colleen and Alex's house, the one caveat being, it is steeply downhill for 1 mile, which means it is steeply uphill for the final mile home. Denis and I rode 15 miles of the trail from downtown Seattle, through the University, and nearly to its northern end in Bothell. We stopped for lunch about 2 miles before the end and decided to head back since the trail had become less shaded and it was getting hot. 

One of the benefits of having an Amazonian in the family is that we got to visit The Spheres, which house floors of lush botanical gardens and are part of the Amazon Corporate Headquarters. They are open to the public, by appointment, every other Saturday, but an employee badge gets to bring in 6 visitors. We all needed to provide ID and photos of our vaccine status allowed us to walk around without a mask. Amazon built the spheres to provide a natural environment where employees could work and think. As we walked around, we did see people working in the various spaces. The security is pretty tight. Denis and I decided to walk down the stairs to the next level but with the stroller, Colleen and Alex needed to take the elevator. We were spotted by security that accompanied us until we were reunited, and then wanted to know why Alex had let us wander on our own. They were nice and it is good to see that they are taking the security of their employees and guests seriously.

Another thing that made it Amazon Day was the Amazon packages we received at Colleen's. Our few days on the road helped us realize that I'd forgotten to pack things like the frying pad lids and that an extension cord would make it easier to inflate the tires of the RV. With those items secured, we will enjoy the rest of our time with Olivia before heading off.

Location: Burke-Gilman Trail, Washington, USA

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