29 Jul Musings about a Rainy Sunday in Pioneer Square

by RaNae Vodder

I have to admit that I was one of the few people who were a little stressed out that it was actually going to rain last Sunday.  My friends spoke to being relieved for their gardens and felt like we were “due”.  But, it had been so long since we have seen or felt the rain around here, I wasn’t sure about how I felt about it or how to get ready for the next week in this new environment of wet. My husband and I talked through various alternatives to accomplish our tasks, we could leave now, or not leave now….skip the errands and stay home….  We finally decided to get dressed and head out when the weather app said there is a 90% chance of rain at noon with the goal of returning home before it started (we are early risers).

I don’t remember ever being quite so concerned about the rain before, I own a great rain coat, matching rain boots, multiple sizes and shapes of umbrellas, a plethora of hats and my hair doesn’t look too bad curly, so what was I so stressed out about??  I am a born and raised Pacific North Westerner and I was acting like it was my first season here!  The good news is the rain held off, we completed our errands and got home with time to spare.  This is when the musing started………What could I do in the rain on a Sunday afternoon in Pioneer Square?  I quickly realized there were too many options so I limited it to activities that were no more than $10.

Here is my list (note that all of these activities allowed me to be able to linger somewhere dry):

• Visit a local coffee shop, we have many and they are all pretty great!
• Buy a used book, I love to read, anything from mysteries to fantasy to biographies, we got it covered here.
• Visit the Klondike Museum, been there, done that and got the cancellation stamp to prove it.
• Say hello to favorite bartenders at Elysian Fields, good people serving good beer.
• Get on the Light Rail and ride it to the airport and back, always someone interesting to have a conversation with.
• Go the gym, technically, membership is more than $10 so broke it down by the day and it was almost like they paid me to go the gym!
• Look at new Seahawks gear at Century Link, still waiting to see what happens with Russell, good place to talk about it.
• Hang out with the boys at Intrigue Chocolates- they are generous samplers, should have put this at the top of the list!
• Sit on the deck and call a long lost friend, not sure if remember anyone’s phone number though.
• Help people navigate King Street Station, wouldn’t it be noble to save someone from boarding the wrong train!

So what did I miss?  What do you do on a rainy Sunday in Pioneer Square?