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Without a doubt, it is one of the most unique structures that we have in the United States. It screams futuristic, and it is clearly the recognizable symbol of Seattle. It was without question that for my first visit to Seattle, I had to go to the top of the Space Needle.

I had just finished visiting the Experience Music Project, which was right next door to the Needle. I bought my ticket to basically ride the elevator up top and walk around the top of the Needle. The inside had some cool exhibits about Seattle, including an interactive feature about the best parts of the city as told by people who live there. However, the action is really outside on the observation deck. Walking around, I got a great view of downtown Seattle, the athletic stadiums, the parks and outer suburbs, and the Puget Sound. Took lots of pictures, then headed inside and had a local microbrew for an afternoon..err..snack. Since it was close to sunset, I slowly sipped my beer and watched as the sun set over the sound. I went back outside to witness nature in all of its awesomeness, and loved the way the colors fell over Seattle. Really stunning. I headed back down the elevator, bought a few little gifts, and solicited recommendations from locals for where to grab dinner out of a select list. The response was unanimous for the Crab Pot, so that's where I went.

I got off the Monorail and walked down to Pier 57 to enjoy dinner at the Crab Pot. Since I was an army of one, there was going to be no seafood feast for me, but I decided to go with a sampling of some smaller dishes. I started with 1/2 dozen freshly shucked Pacific oysters to start, which was an excellent choice. However, I was not warned beforehand about the cocktail sauce. Turns out they put rocket fuel or barium or a combination of both in the horseradish. As soon as the sauce hit my lips, I could literally feel my nostrils on fire. Any sinuses that I had for the past 2 years had been cleared out, and my tongue was begging me to order more beers (no problem!). The actual oysters were delicious however. I asked my waitress why the hell the horseradish was so damn hot, and the only reply I got was "Oh yea, they make it different up here". I guess so. Thankfully, the 2 crabcakes and small side of andouie sausage that came out after were not as numbing and in fact were very enjoyable. It randomly started to hail, which was my signal to huff it back to my hotel. Of couse, I couldn't make it back there without a homeless person showing me his prescription drugs (no joke) which I can't imagine were his. I headed to the hotel bar for a few nightcaps, had good conversation with the bartender, and called it a night. My Northwest trip was coming to an end, but be warned, I was going to have a fond farewell to Seattle...

Enjoy the pics from the Needle
-Kacz

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