It was neither dark nor stormy. Discuss.

With my parents in town, and having the need to pick up some parts at Ducati Seattle, I hatched a masterful plan for all of us to have fun, while allowing myself to take care of the essential needs of my beloved Ducati.

We caught a lucky break and boarded the 11:35 AM boat out of Bremerton for the big city. Once on the mainland, we had to contend with a TON of traffic from the combined Sounders F.C. game and the weekend long ‘Bit of Seattle’. As it turns out both ends of the city we needed access too were choked with humans. Why do I ever venture into cities? I always ask myself this, while I’m there.

Regardless, headlong into the breach went we.

Having taken almost 30 minutes to traverse the 4 miles from the ferry terminal to Ducati Seattle, I had to make fast work of my parts acquisition mission. While there Dave R. (owner) made the point of saying hello to me. He always makes a point of saying hello to his customers, even when just dropping by for a quick part, or no part at all. This is why I only do business with David and Ducati Seattle. Personalized, customer service. A lot of businesses could learn something from this award winning dealer.

Having acquired the tank protector I needed, and one more set of tasty blingy bits (yet to be announced), I met the family next door at Boca di Beppos, where we at a late lunch. YUM! We shared a large bowl of stuffed shells, a large mixed green salad and some Peroni Nastro Azzurro. YUMx2. It was more than enough for 6 people.

Lunch took just the perfect amount of time, for I had pre-ordered tickets for the 3:30PM ‘Ride the Ducks Tour‘. The youngest of my clan has been dying to do this, so today I surprised him with this little treat ($155 for the 6 of us later…). He was suitably shocked and thrilled. Few things warm the heart like a genuinely happy child.

Following a very amusing and educational tour of the city, we entered the water of Lake Union and enjoyed one of the great features of these old WWII workhorses… it’s amphibious qualities. It’s not a fast ride (top speed about 7 kts) but also full of good Seattle / Northwest history. Even enjoyed watching a few sea planes takeoff over us on the lake. It was quite a treat, one that I found well worth the price paid. Much merriment was made, often at the expense of the local PWN culture. What’s not to joke about, we’re a bunch of nuts that live here.

Completing our fun, games and a little business in Seattle, it was back to the Washington State Ferry dock on the Seattle waterfront. This time we took the shorter (thus faster) run to Bainbridge Island to execute the last piece of my master plan. A visit to Mora Iced Creamery (review updated on my blog post of 16-Jul).

The ferry system was running a little late on the run, no matter, we had time to spare (well.. I we hoped we did, since it turns out we locked ourselves out of my house when we left – $100 visit from a locksmith at 11:00PM solved that little problem). On the way out, the passengers were treated to quite a display of water cannons from one of the City’s fire fighting boats. Many photos were taken ( by myself at least). I’ll select the best of them an upload at a later date. For now, here is one I just pulled off the pile:

Despite some whining from a certain, rather tired and perhaps over-excited 7 year old, we did enjoy some very fine island ice cream. A wonderful treat, indeed.

It was quite a day, and I think it was enjoyed by all.   It’s always good to spend time with my parents, and also to be able to have my kids spend time with their California grandparents.   And it’s also a treat to have such wonderful weather, all at the same time!