10:21 a.m. [Click images to view larger]

I didn't choose a good weather day to come to Dick's drive-in in Wallingford. The rain got my sketch all wet, but it's no big deal. I'll surely remember this day, not only because I had my first Dick's hamburger -- the Dick's Deluxe with two patties, but because I met owner Dick Spady, who opened this restaurant, the first of five in Seattle, on January 28, 1954. (For the record, I've had the milkshakes in the past, but never a burger!)

I really enjoyed talking to Dick and did a sketch of him that I'll be posting tomorrow, Veterans Day. Dick served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and with the Air Force during the Korean War. All day Wednesday, to thank veterans for their service, his restaurants will be providing free cheeseburgers to any veteran with an ID or in uniform. "We appreciate our country and the people who defended it in the past and in the present," Dick said.

Many people were already lining up before the drive-in opened at 10.30 a.m. I talked to Adrian Wright, of Tacoma, right after he bought an ice cream, a milkshake and two burgers for his party waiting in the car. He is in town to attend a job fair and took the opportunity to come to Dick's. "It's kind of a landmark," he said. "It's not a chain, it's local, it's good food."

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