Seing the sights in Seattle!

 Monday, August 8, 2022

This is the first time we've been able to spend time in this area of the country.  We've talked about coming here since 2013.  It took an invitation from our dear friends Rick and Evelyn to make it happen!  We've been planning this trip for over two years.  Covid delayed our initial plans, and almost did again!  We were lucky to find that this rv park offers a "storage" option for the nights we will be away.  For $10  per day you can park your rv and plug it in to keep the refrigerator going...not a bad deal!  Jim even set the satellite so we won't miss recording any of our shows! (how spoiled is that?)

Rick and Evelyn invited us to their lovely home in Edmonds just ouside of Seattle.  They have a beautiful view of the water and you can sit on their patio and watch the cruise ships roll by!  Edmonds is a neat small town, with a quant downtown, lots of fun shops and a warm and cozy neighborhood feel.

Rick & Ev took us into Seattle to see the sights, and sights we did see!   Seattle is the largest city in the northwest...the city population is about 750,000, but the metropoitan area is about 4 million people; we learned that 50,000 people move to Seattle earch year!  There are a number of large corporations headquartered here...Microsoft, Amazon, Nordstrom, Boeing, Starbucks, etc.    We visited the Pier where there is a giant ferris wheel overlooking Puget Sound.

We took a "ride" on the Wings of Washington which is a "flying theater" 3-d movie that took us around the city.  We actually had to buckle in, even though we really didn't leave the seat.  We felt like we were flying over Mt. Ranier, and felt the mist in our face as we swept across the water.  We "flew" over the Huskies stadiium during a football game.   The movie  was very well done.  It took us all over the city  and we were able to see various landmarks up close and personal.   It was so realistic, and provided a perfect teaser to the some of the things we will see with our own eyes. 

We then boarded a boat to take a tour of the city from the water. This area of Puget Sound is called the Salish Sea.   The tour was great and provided all kinds of fun facts and interesting info about the area.

 It was a fabulous day with bright sunny skies that added a perfect backdrop for the city skyline.    There were two cruise ships in port on the day we toured.

The football and baseball stadiums are side by side, smack dab in the middle of town.  I bet it's wild on game days!  You can even get to the stadium by boat!  That adds a whole new meaning to tailgating!

Seattle is also a huge port for cargo ships.  We passed one overloaded with containers.  It's kind of fun to imagine what is in all those containers, where they're going and where they came from!

The tall black building is the Columbia Center which is the tallest building west of the Mississippi, at 76 stories high!  The white ships at the pier are coast guard vessels that are used to break up ice in the wintertime along the coast up to Alaska.  We learned so much from the tour,, and had a great time experiencing the city from the water.

But....we weren't done!   We then checked out the famous Pike Place Market--a public market, filled to the brim with eateries, specialty shops, crafts market, a farmers market and about anything you could want in the world!  It is a maze of shops and people.  It was Monday afternoon, and filled with shoppers and tourists...can't imagine what it's like on a weekend!   We looked twice at the seafood market...pretty tempting!

There were several interesting tidbits to take in, like the sideways sculpture which served as a lampost, 

.....and the famouns gum wall, which has become quite a tourist attraction!   Rick and Jim were very tempted to leave a souvenir, but refrained.  I didn't even want to get close enough to get my picture taken in front of it!  

We had lunch overlooking the market, which was lined with beautiful flower baskets.

We stopped by the oldest Starbucks in the world, but the line to get in was around the block, so the best we could do was get our picture taken in front of the sign!

We travelled down to the Space Needle, the iconic Seattle structure built for the 1962 World's Fair.  It is quite impressive, at 605 ft tall, and towers over the area, as if pointing the way for tourists.

Adjacent to the needle is the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition.  Chihuly is a well-know glass blower from the area, whose works are on display around the world...even in Indianapolis, in the entrance to the Children's Museum!

His works are breathtaking!   Some take in an explosion of color, while others are a monochome which have a equal impact.    Inside, the works were highlighted by the lighting and glass.  Outside, the sculptures blended into the landscape with interesting shapes and colors.   

We were able to watch a glass-blowing demonstration, along with short movies about Chihuly and his works.  It is so impressive to see his works of art, and hear the inspiration behind them.  

On the drive back through the city, we saw the Nordstrom headquarters and flagship store--quite impressive.  (Evelyn worked here in the corporate offices before retiring a few years ago!)  An interesting tidbit I learned was that JW Nordstrom initially made his money with the Klondike gold rush!  We didn't have time to stop in for a shopping spree--probably a good thing, because I haven't hit the gold rush yet!

After a very full day, we arrived at Hotel Journey, our accomodations for the next several days.  You'll hear much more later about Journey....

We settled in with a beautiful sunset to cap off a wonderful day!

-- sleepful and smiling in Seattle!