Writer's Block: Destination anywhere

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Of course, there are obvious answers to this question. There are reasons why most foreign visitors go to places like New York City or Las Vegas or Florida. (And I've heard Mall of America mentioned too by foreign visitors, which makes me scratch my head a little. To each their own.)

I would encourage them to come to Seattle. (Not right now though, because it's FOURTEEN degrees.)

Seattle has the best of all possible worlds. We have water (Puget Sound) and beaches (even if they're not particularly hot and sandy). We have mountains (Cascade and Olympic ranges). We have a thriving and interesting downtown. Wineries. Outdoor sports. Excellent restaurants. Phenomenal arts and culture scene. An eclectic mix of international cultures and flavors. We have coffee! (Yes, I'm being a little tongue-in-cheek here.) Good public transportation. Excellent shopping. Fantastic farmers markets. Lots of very different and fascinating museums, many of which are excellent for kids.

I could go on.

And yes, there is the weather. It rains here a lot. It's often dark. But when the weather is glorious (June through September), it is well and truly glorious. Sunny, clear skies. Temperatures that are just right (forget about that 109 degree day we had in late July).

There's a lot to like about Seattle. Living here can be another matter altogether, but I can certainly see the appeal for a tourist.

Memorial Service

The 4 flag-draped caskets just entered the Tacoma Dome.

Cars are still leaving the front gates of McChord AFB, which marked the beginning of the procession. The procession started at 10AM. It is now 12:21PM. Think about that for a minute. McChord is 10 miles from the Tacoma Dome.

1,982 police cars and emergency vehicles in the procession, not including the 4 cruisers that belonged to the slain officers, which joined the procession at the police department (they were each draped with a black ribbon on the doors, imprinted with the name of the officer who drove that car). One hundred police officers came from Boston. Nearly 100 came from New York City. There is a sea of red outside the Tacoma Dome - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A thousand of them.

Bagpipers. Honor guards from various places. The horse without a rider (one horse signifying all four officers).

The Tacoma Dome will be filled to capacity - 20,000 people, mostly officers. The general public is being kept mostly to overflow locations, or like me, are watching this live on TV at home.

I am in awe.

I have never seen anything like this. I hope I never have to see anything like this again. It's heartbreaking.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Lakewood-officers-memorial-latest-update-78719877.html

Memorial program: http://images.bimedia.net/documents/FallenHeroesProgram.pdf

ETA: The procession just finished filing out of McChord. More than 1,982 cars, because there were additional police cars lined up on a nearby side street that filed in behind the ambulance that marked the end of the McChord procession. The procession started at 10. It is now 1:23 PM.