I really need to switch over to Linux or something because Windows just totally annoys me. And if you change one thing, then somehow something completely unrelated gets all mucked up, and then I get stressed out.

*sigh*

Oh well. I guess things could be worse.

My computer is back to normal, thanks. It just went wonky there for a bit.

In other news, yesterday my friend R called me up to say, "Hey! Let's go to the Seattle Children's Museum!!" Not one to say no to a fun excursion, I packed up Grace and we headed out.

We decided to walk across, which means we parked the car on this side and boarded the ferry on foot. Once we got to Seattle, R thought we needed to pick up the bus at this particular spot way up the street, but it turned out to be a streetcar stop. Then we headed away from the waterfront (which entails climbing a very steep hill, almost like San Francisco) in order to find a bus stop. Once we found the right place, we hopped on the next bus that came by only to find that it was going right back to the ferry terminal to park behind the bus we really needed to take.

I didn't bring the stroller either. Grace isn't too keen on it, so Grace was walking all this distance, just like we adults were. But she's a trooper and did just fine.

Finally we made it to the Seattle Center, and stopped to have lunch at the food court there. Mmmm gyros! R was so impressed that her son actually enjoyed the gyro meat. He's not much of a meat eater.

The kids had an absolute ball at the Children's Museum. I was a bit concerned that maybe the exhibits would be a bit beyond two 2-year-olds, but there was stuff for the older kids and stuff for toddlers. Grace thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit that featured water play because she could splash and make a mess to her heart's content! I could have put a full-sized waterproof smock on her to minimize how wet she got, but I felt that was overkill. It's just water. She'll dry!!

Grace and her little friend also enjoyed the exhibit featuring homes and streets from around the world. The Japanese house had a ramp leading up into it, and the kids spent a good ten minutes just running up and down the ramp. Then inside the Japanese kitchen, Grace would fling open the refrigerator door and then slam it shut, much to their mutual delight. It's so funny to see what amuses little kids.

Finally we were done at the museum and had to go home. There was a bus stop close to Seattle Center, but my friend felt uncomfortable sitting in that part of the city, so we ended up walking several blocks to the start of the free zone. Again Grace managed to walk all the way there! I am so amazed by how far those little legs can carry her. She LOVED riding the bus, though. It was like her own private amusement park ride. The bus driver drove like a maniac through the city, flooring the accelerator and slamming on his brakes. I still had Grace's harness on her, so I just grabbed onto the back of her harness to keep her on the seat. Once we got off at the ferry terminal, she was so sad. She started to throw a fit, wanting to get back on the bus, but then I said, "You want to go on the ferry??" She stuck her bottom lip out and replied, "Ohhhkayyyy" in a whining voice. It was pretty funny.

We had to wait a bit for the next ferry to arrive, so we let the kids walk around the terminal. But there were a ton of people waiting for the ferry (it was Friday rush-hour, and many people work in Seattle and live on this side), so I had Grace on her harness, and R had her son on his. Grace also thought it was necessary to hang onto her little friend's hand for dear life. Here I am, walking around the terminal, with two children on leashes. I got a few weird looks, but no less than three women approached me and asked where I got the harnesses so they could get one too! I love my harness. The only thing I don't like about it is sometimes it's too long. My brother used to have one that was only a couple of feet long, which kept him well reined in when we were in a very crowded place.

Getting on the ferry was quite an experience. We finally got in line right around the time the ferry had finished emptying from the previous run, but we made sure we were nowhere near the front. We were still run over by people trying to be the first people on the ferry, people who had no consideration for the small children we had with us. All they cared about was getting on the ferry as soon as possible and getting to their seats. Woe to the unsuspecting ferry traveler who sits on someone's seat! There is no "assigned seating," but if you sit in a seat that a commuter has deemed his, he will eject you and you'll have to find somewhere else to sit.

Sounds like elementary school to me!

It takes something like 20 minutes after they let the walk-on passengers embark to finish loading the cars onto the ferry, so it's not like you really have to rush to get on to the ferry. I can sort of see rushing off the ferry to get to your car as soon as possible and not get stuck in traffic, but getting on the ferry...! It won't get you home any faster!

So that was my Friday. Now I have some housework to do. It's amazing how it piles up when you don't do any for several days!! Let's see if Miss Gracie will deign to take a nap. Keep your fingers crossed!

PS -- Photos from the Children's museum are here!