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Bet ya didn’t know that Seattle was named after Chief Seattle, a Suquamish and Duwamish chief who pursued a path of accommodation with European settlers.

A slice of the architecture through the decades in Seattle.

Not many public markets have quite the view as Seattle’s. It’s a warren of corridors, be prepared to get lost and have lots of yummy adventures amongst the fishmongers, produce stalls, craft stands and specialty food shops. This 108-year-old farmers’ market has become a Seattle tourist attraction which draws in more than 10 million visitors annually.

Right across the street from the famous Pike’s Place Market is the famous Starbucks coffee shop. Since Starbucks’ original founders were 2 teachers and a writer, it is not surprising to find out that it was named after the first mate of the whale ship Pequod in the book, Moby Dick.

We saw this for the first time in Florence Italy’s market in about 1991 – and it was a pig there too. Many objects around the world are now there for you to rub and receive good luck.

City Fish’s fish throwing fish mongers are one of the reason that the Pike’s Place Market is on the map. We’ve visited many food markets around the world but these guys are the only ones flinging fish across the fish stand and putting on a fun fishy show.

At the waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie, there’s a park named after Canada’s first female astronaut. You find out that she is a neurologist, biologist, pilot, the first female Canadian astronaut and crew member of the space shuttle Discovery.

We were attending the Travel Media Association of Canada’s Annual Conference. Since it was the group’s Silver Anniversary, glittery costumes were recommended – for awards of course. We went all out with our costumes and came in First Place.

Someone in Sault Ste. Marie has a great sense of humor. We loved the statue of the adult bear with a camcorder on his shoulder videotaping two cubs. It’s down by the waterfront in Dr. Roberta Bondar park.

Francis Hector Clergue, a”man of ideas” lived and worked in this 1821 powder magazine/fur trading post by adding an upper story. Arriving in Sault Ste. Marie in 1894, he promoted his “principle of correlation” by grouping related industries around a common power source. Supported by American investors plus local and provincial politicians, Clergue amassed an empire which by 1901 employed 7,000 and was worth about $119 million. The businesses were comprised of: mining, forestry, railway, steel and power. His amazing thinking and vision lasted only about 15 years here because by 1908 he hit a financial snag, lost it all, and moved to Montreal. C’est la vie.