Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011July 20th -21st
Miraculously, as we neared Seattle, the weather cleared up and turned into a bright sunny day. Our hotel was near SeaTac (the airport)- it was cheaper to stay out there, and we were hoping to leave our car and take the light rail into the city. Unfortunately, there was no parking available anywhere near the light rail station (people are taking advantage of public transport) so we ended up driving into Seattle. Our GPS led us to the Seattle Dome where there was pro soccer match against Manchester United- the match drove up the parking rates to $40 a day- wow, that would blow our budget and we weren’t even going to the game. We continued driving until we found a garage for $12 a day. In fact it was conveniently located near Pioneer Square where we started our visit of Seattle. Pioneer Square is an old area of town with an industrial feel (the architecture is in rusty red brick.) There is also a neat pedestrian area where they decorated the trees with large colored bands of fabric. One of the old hotels in this district houses the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where we learned about the gold frenzy that made Seattle a real city. From there, we followed the waterfront, a collection of seafood restaurants and souvenir shops, towards Pike Place Fish Market. I was craving a coffee and low and behold there was a food truck distributing free iced coffee and iced tea, complements of HP who were promoting a new smart phone, a subtle reminder that Seattle is full of techies fueled by caffeine. We finally arrived at the enormous market full of seafood stalls and seasonal fruits and everything else you could want.
From the market, we walked through a trendy neighborhood towards Seattle Center for an up close look at the Space Needle. We stopped in a travel/maps shop and marveled at the collection of globes and maps- even while traveling, we are still inspired to do more. We finally reached the Space Needle, we got a couple of pictures (we didn’t go up- they charge a hefty admission fee and we the clouds were rolling in again which would have spoiled the view.) Then we wandered back towards town for a beer before heading back to the hotel for the evening. We were impressed with the plethora of urban housing (reconverted factories and high rises) but a little put off by the highway that runs through downtown (blocking a potentially fantastic view of the Sound.)
The following morning, the drizzly weather had returned. We drove out to Ballard, an old fishing village to see the Chittenden Locks and the fish ladder. The impressive locks connect the Puget Sound with Lake Washington via the Lake Washington Ship Canal. We watched a tourist boat go through the locks and then visited the fish ladder. The fish ladder helps salmon who are returning back to their native freshwater streams to reproduce pass the locks. It was quite exciting watching through the underwater glassed in viewing area as salmon fought the current to make their way up the ladder. After marveling at this site, we returned to our car to look for a picnic area. It started to rain harder, but luckily (after a few missed turns) we found a covered picnic area at the Gas Works Park. By the time we finished our lunch, the rain had stopped and we took a walk out by the water to get a fantastic view of downtown Seattle.
Our next stop was the Boeing Factory in Everett, about 30 miles north of Seattle, where we had made a reservation for a tour. We were not disappointed. The site was impressive- the hangars are enormous and we were able to see them assembling the 747 and the new 787. There are more than 20,000 employees at this site, necessitating a small cities worth of services.
From Everett, we continued north towards Bellingham where we would meet my family. The last fifteen miles we took a small road that took us through farmland and then along the water where we had some beautiful views.
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