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Published: September 23rd 2013
Tuesday 10 Sept
Fine and sunny – 30c
It appears we posted the blog for LA too soon as United Airlines thought we might like to hang out at LAX airport a little bit longer – actually a LOT bit longer! Our flight was due to depart for Seattle at 5.30pm but due to several delays blamed on mechanical issues, atmospheric conditions and pretty much anything else they could think of, we finally departed at 8.30pm. Arrived in Seattle just after 11.00pm and cabbed it to our home for the next 5 nights – The Paramount Hotel on Pine St. The ground floor of the hotel has a fantastic bar / restaurant called ‘Dragonfish’. We were starving and fortunately they were still serving food until 1.00am so we inhaled a selection of very tasty small plates. Great vibe in here and a number of locals either eating or imbibing in a beverage. We retired at 2.00am after a very long day.
We allowed ourselves a bit of a sleep-in before starting our exploration of Seattle. After a quick gym session to blow out the cobwebs from the last couple of days’ flights, we
caught up with friends traveling with us and caught the tram from downtown out towards the University District. Unfortunately the tram doesn’t go all the way so we started to walk the remaining 3 miles! We came across the suburb of floating houses and houseboats, made famous from the movie ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. There were a huge array of colourful, architecturally designed houses joined to the leafy avenue we were walking along which were interlinked by very picturesque walkways.
The 30’C day was beginning to sap our energy so we grabbed a cab the rest of the way to the University District for a quick look and some lunch at the Chipotle Mexican Grill, before heading back into downtown to catch the Baseball. We made our way to SafeCo Field to watch our adopted home team – The Seattle Mariners take on The Houston Astros. The stadium had an awesome atmosphere and would seat about 47,000 when packed out. We kept ourselves entertained, people-watching and following the athletic antics of the food vendors selling their wares. We were very impressed with the accuracy and distance the peanut vendor could throw his big paper bags full of peanuts into the
hands of waiting punters in the middle of crowded stands! Unfortunately the Mariners were obliterated by the Astros 15-2
Wednesday 11 Sept
Fine and sunny – 28c
We woke to live TV coverage of the 12 year anniversary memorial service in New York - for the September 11 terrorist attacks against the US. Always a sober time remembering all those who lost their lives.
We started out nice and early to check out the famous Pike Place Markets before the crowds. This is spread along a couple of blocks on the waterfront and is 3 floors deep in parts. We meandered around and watched the fish mongers throwing their fish around before grabbing a coffee at the very first Starbucks store to open in 1971. We even ventured to the gum wall where this disgusting piece of art is on show for all to see and for the wasps to hang about in - yuk! We didn't leave any additions ourselves! We walked along the waterfront to the Olympic Sculpture Park and checked out the sculptures. Jennie bought a sun-brella from the Art Gallery to keep the sun off! We stopped
for a delicious salad from The Grecian Corner Restaurant under the gaze of the Seattle Space Needle. We then purchased a Space Needle Orbiter pass (US$50ea) which gave us the needle, the glass exhibition next door and the trolley bus for two days. We firstly shot up to the observation deck of the 600 feet needle to take in the crystal clear view of the city and surrounding mountains. From here it was off to view the Chihuly Glass Exhibition located at the base of the space needle. The vibrant colours and imaginative shapes were a visual cacophony of colour, which just became more surreal around every corner we turned. The exhibition was displayed both inside and outside, interspersed amongst the plants and buildings. After the exhibition we jumped on the trolley bus which took in all the sights and sounds of Seattle. We were very tired after our big day out - so grabbed another yummy meal in Dragonfish and had an early night.
Thursday 12
th September
Fine and sunny – 26c
Unfortunately being on holiday doesn’t mean we get to escape menial tasks such as laundry – so off
we go, walking a few blocks away from the hotel to drop our laundry off at Crystal Clean Laundry on the corner of Olive Way and Bellevue. For about US $1.25 per pound (minimum 12 lbs) we drop off our two bags of laundry and head back to doing more interesting things.
We had been told that a great tour was the Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour departing Pioneer Square at 10am. A fast walk took us there just in time to join the group for the introductory talk. Our tour guide Patti was very entertaining and we found the tour a lot of fun and very interesting. It is a leisurely, guided walking tour beneath Seattle’s sidewalks and streets. We were taken into the subterranean passages that once were the main roadways and first-floor storefronts of old downtown Seattle. A huge fire meant a rebuild was required, so they took the opportunity to build it higher to accommodate more modern sanitary services. We highly recommend it.
Still able to use our trolley bus tickets from yesterday, we boarded the trolley at Pioneer Square and took it around the city – more interesting commentary. We disembarked at Pikes Place
Market – we sampled some delicious organic juice and wonderful Greek yoghurt.
Before joining the trolley tour again we got to sample a (non Starbucks ) Seattle Coffee – which turned out to be a Starbucks owned coffee store anyway!
Next stop was to join the famous Ride the Duck Tour with our friends – (US$30ea). This boat on wheels is a roadworthy truck that turns into a boat! It was a great laugh with our fun tour guide Captain Max! The tour was accompanied by good commentary and amusing music including such tunes as Gilligan’s Isle and Jaws as we entered the water!
The duck toured the township, over motorway bridges and drove into the Union Lake where we were fascinated by the lakeside floating homes (limited to 500 - at capacity) and the houseboats (unlimited).
Peckish at the end of these energetic tours we sampled some sushi at a nearby Sushi Train - the Blue C Sushi restaurant. It was delicious and the “happy hour” prices even made it better.
Tonight we decided to check out Upper Pike Street nightlife – starting off with dinner at Poquitos on 1000 East Pike Street. It
had a great atmosphere and very funky décor. We were expecting other friends to join us tonight and what a surprise we got when they spotted Shaun across the restaurant. We all joined up to have our meal.
Renowned for its clubs and dance bars we wanted to sample some of what was on offer. Sadly we were turned away at the first bar we tried to enter due to us not being able to produce our passports. We were amazed at how they were not satisfied with our NZ driver’s license IDs. Apparently it is law in Washington State that club owners have to verify the ages of people over the age of 21 with a passport if they are from out of the US – crazy we thought given we are all over 40 so called it a night and went home – disappointing.
Friday 13
th September
Fine and cloudy/misty – 22c
Today we had tickets reserved at the Boeing Factory in Everett about a 30 minute drive North of Seattle. We hired a car and the six of us piled into the car and left around 8.30am. On arrival
at the site we spent about an hour looking over some of the souvenir shops and air craft displays. A highlight was sitting in the cockpit of a 707 and playing with all the instruments – especially for the guys who needed to make all the appropriate sound effects!
The formal part of our 90 minute tour started at 10.30am in a theatre. There were about 80 people reserved on that tour and we were split into two groups. After a video introduction we hopped onto a bus with a tour guide and drove across to the massive factory building to view some aircraft under construction. Being highly security and safety conscious we were not allowed to take anything with us – no cameras, phone, bags or even bottles of water.
The building’s interior is larger than all of Disneyland Park in California including car-parking with some space left over – there is no way to describe the enormity of the place.
The tour was really interesting and such an eye-opener into the assembling of these huge planes. We were shown the 747-8 , 767 and 787 Dreamliner all at different stages of construction. We are all
looking forward to flying in one of those – quieter, better compression, more space and apparently less jetlag! We observed a Qantas one almost complete. There were thousands of staff working there and they run the operation 24/7 all year. Hundreds of orders for the 787 Dreamliner are backed up for 8 or 9 years. This wait is even though one of these craft can be assembled in 3 days with prefabricated materials. One of the parts they bring in is the fuselage that arrives in a specially designed aircraft called a Dreamlifter – this plane is a modified 747 with the interior stripped out so it can accommodate the 787’s fuselage – amazing to see!
Having the car was excellent as we were able to stop off at the Northgate shopping mall where some camera accessories, shoes and vitamins were purchased – all necessities for the cruise we are about to start tomorrow.
We were also able to stop at the Crystal Clean to pick up the laundry – a full bag done beautifully for a mere US$16 – money well spent. A quick stop at a supermarket before dropping the car back and another successful day
out was had by all.
Being Saturday in New Zealand we knew the rugby test against South Africa was to be on at about 12.30am local time. We had heard that there was an Irish pub in the 1
st Avenue area that may well be able to show it. So off we go – keen to eat, drink and be merry and watch the game. A small gathering was there for the rugby – 7 NZers and 3 South Africans. Late to bed as you can imagine
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Arthur
non-member comment
Seattle revisited!
What a great blog! You have seen many of the sights that we saw years ago: it was like being there again! Looking forward to the next installment!