Winter Storm and Travel Snarled

Winter storm and travel snarled with Jesse Tam Seattle.  February's unpredictable weather dumped a few inches to over 2 feet of snow in Seattle and the surrounding Puget Sound area. What a surprise when the city becomes blanked in white.  The snow caused business, college and school closures for several days.  Some neighborhoods awoke to power outage due to fallen branches, trees, heavy snow and landslides.

Storms hit New England with up to two feet of snow creating traffic hazards, slick roads and slowdown in the region.  Blizzard warning continues from New York to Maine.  Close to one thousand flights were canceled due to blowing wind and heavy snow.  Residences were warned to stay off the road unless necessary to venture outdoors.

The West Coast continues to get drenched with heavy rain and quick snow melt in the Sierra mountains which led to flooding in parts of Nevada and Southern California.  The weather service has called this the wettest winter season in more than 100 years

Thanks for reading  https://jesse-tam.blogspot.com/  Jesse, keep safe on the road.

New Eatery Rating System

Dining emoji released, Jesse Tam in the greater Seattle, Bellevue for King County will receive a new food safety rating system from letters.  The informational food safety rating sign will be displayed on a restaurant's window.  The sign will help diners to understand how a restaurant practices food safety.

Three main components used to determined restaurant's rating category.

Trend of food safety practices over time. Good food safety needs to be practiced every day. The food safety rating window signs will reflect how well a restaurant has performed over time, not just on a single inspection. A restaurant’s food safety rating will be determined by the average of red critical violation points from a restaurant’s last four routine inspections.

Scale of performance. King County residents want to know more than if a restaurant passes or fails an inspection. The restaurant window signs will show how well the restaurant practices food safety beyond meeting the minimum standard.

Rating on a curve. Consumers tend to dine locally by their zip code or area. Rating on a curve provides accurate and useful information to consumers about how well a restaurant performs on food safety compared to other restaurants nearby.  Also, restaurants within an area tend to have the same food inspector. Inspectors go through extensive training and all focus on food safety. 

The four food safety ratings are:

• Needs to Improve: The restaurant was either closed by Public Health – Seattle & King County within the last year or the restaurant needed multiple return inspections to fix food safety practices.
• Okay: The restaurant has had MANY red critical violations over the last four inspections.
• Good: The restaurant has had SOME red critical violations over the last four inspections.
• Excellent: The restaurant has had No or Few red critical violations over the last four inspections.

Stay connected with Jesse, thanks for visiting https://jesse-tam.blogspot.com/

Frigid Temperature Driving Tips

Frigid weather for Bellevue and Seattle with snow to begin 2017. Jesse Tam, coldest month in 8 years, with average temperature of just 37.5 degrees. Seattle hasn't had a chillier month since December 2008--when the average temperature was 36.9 degrees. Cold continues into the week with high pressure over Alaska forcing cold air south into Pacific Northwest.

Here are the AAA winter driving tips during the winter months. 

AAA recommends the following winter driving tips:   Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.

• Never run a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
• Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full.
• If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
• Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
• Always look and steer where you want to go.
• Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle

Thanks for reading, Jesse  https://jesse-tam.blogspot.com/

Seattle Gingerbread Village 24th Year

Seattle Gingerbread Village, Jesse Tam. It's not the holidays in Seattle unless you visit the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton. This is the 24th year for the annual Gingerbread Village display with your favorite magic world Harry Potter. Fan and families of all ages will marvel at the life size gingerbread exhibit.  

The Gingerbread Village will be featured in the Sheraton Seattle Hotels lobby from November 22, 2016 through January 1, 2017. Visitor can view the display 24 hours, daily in the lobby and also have the chance to vote for their favorite concept throughout the duration of the holiday season. Line and wait time may be long to view the displays so plan ahead.

The hotel has been doing this every year since 1992.  More than 150,000 visitors have come to see the annual displays and donated more than $841,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

Where: Sheraton Seattle

1400 6th Ave Seattle, WA 98101-2318

http://www.sheratonseattle.com/gingerbread-village

When:  November 22 - January 1, daily 24 hours in  Lobby

Event  Free (donations accepted) All Ages

The Gum Wall in Seattle

The Gum Wall In Seattle, Jesse Tam

The Seattle gum wall started years ago by audience members waiting in line for the late night show near the market. Jesse Tam tourist in the area ask about the site on Post Alley near Pike Place.  An estimated of over millions of pieces of gum are on the walls in all all forms and shapes.  

Removing and cleaning of this Seattle iconic gum wall will take place over a 3 day period near Pike Place with a crew of three steaming the walls.  The sugar and weigh on the wall was a caused of concern to the brick walls.  Once the wall is cleaned, the gum will be weighed to determine just how much was stuck to the walls. The Market has steam washed some of the walls, but this will be its first full cleaning. Workers wearing rain gear will shoot out water heated to 260 degrees to get the gum down.  

It’s a disgusting attraction, but locals and tourist make the trek to take photos and place their chewing gum on the wall.  

Changing of the Season

Fall is the changing of the season when the fields are harvested.  Do you have a favorite memory or event?  Jesse Tam, autumn season filled with crops of greens, stalks of corn fields, pumpkins, The apples are harvest from orchards ready for the cider press. Time to gather the crops from the long summer days. Oh, the cooler breeze whispering in the air.

Leaves changing colors yellow, orange and red.

The rustling leaves falling to the ground under your feet.
Days are getting shorter.
Nights are growing longer.
Fall is Here.

https://www.pinterest.com/jessetam28/

Richmond Night Market

The Richmond Night Market is located just footsteps away from the Canada Line's Sky Train Bridgeport Station and the River Rock Casino Resort. Jesse Tam, only a short 2.5 to 3 hours drive from the greater Seattle area to spend a fun cultural experience. Spend a fall day or extended weekend in this fun-filled shopping & eating paradise.  What an experience viewing the outdoor open evening market under the skies and looking at the various booths.

 This event has become an annual tradition and one of the flagship summertime events of the region. It runs every weekend starting at 7:00 pm, including statutory holidays. This outdoor event features 100 food booths (the largest international food court ever), 250 merchants & corporate sponsor booths, more than 1,000 on-site parking stalls, free live entertainment nightly on a top-notch performing stage, games & more.

Weekly on Friday-Sunday from Friday May 15, 2015 to Sunday October 11, 2015.  There is a $2.75 fee for regular admission (subject to changes)   Free admission for children 10 & under and for seniors 60 & up.