Stop anywhere in between, shop, then climb aboard another bus for free as long as you stay within the zone. Staying dry can be a challenge, but it doesn't take long to learn which streets have generous overhangs or awnings, or pathways through buildings that offer shelter from one street to the next, or tunnels that lead from store to store, such as the one connecting Rainier Square and Two Union Square almost two blocks away. A large orange banner facing Sixth Avenue invites all to Jazz Worship on Wednesdays at noon. Streets get dug up, paved over, patched and line-painted. Medic 1 comes wailing through, and firetrucks pull up to buildings.
People bustle about or just hang out.
They come to work, to shop, see a show, see and be seen. People-watching is part of the downtown experience. A twentysomething male wearing a baseball cap with silver wings on it carefully places one foot in front of the other, following a sidewalk line. A woman dressed in brilliant yellow and coral, wearing an outrageously high yellow hat walks past, eating an ice cream cone. People notice, but nobody stares.