Seattle, Sunny Seattle

I popped up to Seattle the other day to get extra pages added to my passport.  After having my current passport for six years, it had become just about completely full and needed more room to stay valid for additional visas.  Kristen was kind enough to let me stay with her for the night and hang out with me the next day.

There weren’t as many bums in this park as I expected.

Cool artwork on the side of a building by the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Scooter and motorcycle parking under the viaduct.

Public Market!  Pike’s Place!

Snow on the Olympics in the distance.

This bird REALLY wanted some of my cinnamon bun.

Deadliest Catch guys hang out at this bar.

The Lake Washington locks.

Fish on parade!

I was absolutely enthralled by this bridge.

Yes, those are what you think they are.

737 fuselages on the move!

Fire boat cruising by.

Kristen enjoying a drink near where she’s thinking of renting some art space.

Christchurch

We arrived in Christchurch about a week after the first of two major earthquakes struck the city in 2010.  Much of downtown was open but many things were already laying in ruin.  A few months after we left, another earthquake struck and leveled much of what had already been damaged.

Relaying streetcar tracks.

 

 

Lots of closed roads in the downtown.

 

That building is no more.

A nice pedestrian area.

 

 

I understand this church was leveled in the second quake.

Chess players.

The tram system was very cute.

That steeple collapsed in the second earthquake.

More road work.

Replacing things underground.

A sweet little gasoline-powered bicycle/motorcycle.

Mannequins repelling off of a building.

Lots of things fallen down everywhere.

That building is gone now.

 

Tearing down a building.

Bricks fallen off of a building.

No one would have ever seen that graffiti had it not been for the earthquake.

A shop that wasn’t picked up yet.

Relaying rails and streets.

Lots of work to get the trams back in service.

A black swan.  Rather ominous if you ask me.