The sun rises behind the Cascades casting salmon shadows on the east side of the snowy cone-shaped Mt. Rainier. Fully expecting a steady drizzle of rain from the Seattle region, either that or the best cuppa coffee in the world, instead Sunday unfolds beneath a dry, crisp blue sky accompanied by the sunshine that appears to have followed me from home.

By mid-morning, and after proper introductions with Sophie, Lucas, Alf and Jake, Dawson’s four-legged and fin-waving companions, the four of us head out for green eggs and ham, and a plate full of sourdough bread, at Kelly’s Cafe in Gig Harbor.

A Pacific Northwest Sunrise by Ken Stanback, Seattle photographer.

After breakfast Dawson and I, and his parents, David and Meg, are the first car to load. The ferry stands tall in the water gliding super fast atop the frigid waters shuttling us across the Puget Sound as we climb the interior metal stairs to the observation level. Everything seems bigger here in the Pacific Northwest. The shoreline trees and mountain peaks tower over our water passage, even the seagulls are portly. Appearing at the same time on the horizon is the Seattle Space Needle and Great Wheel, and my trepidation for heights, though my fear eases as the ferry draws nearer to shore revealing the wheel’s enclosed bucket seats.

Settling in next to Dawson and Draco, a blue silver dragon with a striking red tongue from the Pikes Place Market, the Great Wheel carries us 175 feet into the air providing stellar views of the Olympic Mountains to the west and Mt. Rainier to the east peering above a line of stratus clouds.

Olympic Mountains at sunset facing West Jan. 24, 2016 by Susan E. Gregory

Seattle Sunset facing East Jan. 24, 2016 by Tim Durkan, Seattle photographer.

Moonrise over Seattle Jan. 24, 2016 by Tim Durkan, Seattle photographer.