The adventure began with my flight-- we were delayed for an hour because they had to kick a passenger out just before takeoff. I don't know exactly what happened, but the flight attendant came up to me, asked if I was traveling alone, and wondered if I would be willing to switch seats. There was a little boy (not much older than Todd) traveling alone, and they were concerned about the guy sitting next to him, didn't feel comfortable with him there. As it turns out, the switch was unnecessary, as they ejected the passenger from the plane in the end. I'm still not 100% sure what happened, but based on chatter I heard around the flight attendants afterward, I'm guessing the guy was uncooperative (possibly drunk/high), and likely swearing at the flight staff. Anyway, we all made it to Seattle without incident!
Day 1 in Washington started with a frantic hunt for shoes-- I'd forgotten to pack my flip flops! You see, I'd sent most of my clothes and shoes over with Allan in his checked luggage, so I wouldn't have to pay extra to check my own bag in. Evidently I'd forgotten that I did not pack my flip flops with Allan! Luckily I found a perfect pair at DSW, and after lunch, made my way to the Seattle Center. One of my first stops? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation visitor center. It was actually pretty inspiring to see how they supported various humanitarian causes. As much as people like to rag on Microsoft, I'm pretty impressed with the Gates' philanthropy.
Next stop was the Space Needle, and while I waited in the line, the sun came out, affording me a mostly sunny view of Seattle. I got a few panoramic shots of the city, and although it was beautiful, it wasn't as impressive as I'd expected. I was also expecting to ride in a fully glass elevator, but was disappointed that it was just a plain elevator with a few small windows.
Here's a non-panoramic shot of part of the city around Lake Union. The V-shaped buildings in the foreground constitute the Gates Foundation:
After battling horrendous traffic (reminiscent of LA!) to return to Redmond for dinner, Allan and I came back to visit the Space Needle at night. The night views were very pretty, but unfortunately, none of my panoramic shots came out clearly. Nighttime shots are hard!
Day 2 was spent lounging around at the hotel, grocery shopping, doing laundry, reading, napping, and swimming in the indoor pool. Pretty noneventful, but it's nice to recharge the batteries. We had dinner at Moghul Palace, a delicious Indian restaurant. The best part of dinner was the homemade coconut-almond ice cream. Normally I'm not a fan of coconut, but this stuff was to die for! The owners could turn a nice profit if they opened up an ice cream parlor and served that! ;-)
Day 3 was my big day of stuff in downtown Seattle. I got up early, had a hearty breakfast, and made it to Pike Place Market in time for cheaper early bird parking. I joined one of the historical market tours and got to see/learn a lot, from the Japanese heritage of the market before WWII, to the disgusting-yet-fascinating Gum Wall, to walking on cobblestone made out of building rubble from the San Francisco Earthquake. Afterward, I slowly meandered around downtown, stopping by the Seattle Public Library (what a unique piece of architecture!) and finally, the Columbia Center, where I took a few elevators to the Observation Deck on the 73rd floor. And wow.
Let me tell you-- if you only see one sight in Seattle, the Columbia Tower is it. It sits higher up than the Space Needle, and offered some absolutely magnificent views of the city, far better than what you get at the Space Needle. Better yet, it was cheaper, quieter, and less crowded. It didn't offer full 360-degree views (more like 270 degrees), but what you did get was amazing just the same.
Here is a view facing north (see the Space Needle in the distance?)
A view of the harbor:
And a view of Lake Washington with the floating bridge:
Afterward, I enjoyed a light lunch of piroshki, a delightful Russian pastry filled with chicken, cabbage, and mushroom. Recharged with food in my belly, I made my way down to Pioneer Square, to catch the Underground Tour. Now that was an adventure! Walking around the underbelly of the city, hearing about the history of how Seattle came to be, seeing the ruins of the lives and shops that use to bustle at that level, long ago, learning about what life was like back then. For example, the crappers had to be raised on platforms to avoid getting propelled off your seat by the sewage backwash at high tide. This toilet is actually raised about 3-4 feet off the ground:
And these purple "mosaic tiles" on the sidewalk? Are actually skylights to illuminate the spaces down below.
After that, I decided to head down to the waterfront. I had planned to visit Elliott's Oyster House for happy hour, but when I got there, the waitlist for happy hour was already 20 persons long, so I decided to skip it. I wandered around the waterfront a little bit, and then walked up the steps of Pike St to get back to the parking garage. Halfway up the steps, I spied a sign for a gelato shop. I was hungry, since I didn't get to eat at happy hour as anticipated. So I ducked inside. Unfortunately, the shop was closed, but when I turned around, I was greeted with the entrance to what turned out to be my ABSOLUTE favorite Seattle attraction: the Seattle Bug Safari, which contained a live bug zoo! I read the list of critters housed behind the closed doors of the zoo, and when I saw that it contained several tarantulas, I was sold. I bought a ticket and entered the museum that was about the size of my living room. And I was not disappointed. Here's a collage of some of the critters I was able to get decent shots of:
Day 4 started off with a drive to Portland, where, after a delicious lunch at the Doug Fir Lounge, we made our way to Salem to visit Allan's cousin.
Day 5 began with waiting in line at the famed Voodoo Doughnut. I must say, I was not very impressed. For the amount of time we had to wait, I was expecting a spectacular donut. Instead, the only noteworthy thing about the place was its unique menu, featuring items such as the "Cock n Balls", which I was originally going to get, but discovered it was too huge (heh). So I settled on the "Gay Bar":
The frosting was too much and overall made the thing so sweet my teeth hurt. Literally. The dough was nothing to write home about-- a bit on the dry side, not soft and moist like a donut should be. Well, at least now I can say I've been to Voodoo Doughnuts. Next time I'm skipping the lines and going for Krispy Kreme :-P
We visited Powell's book store and made off with some really good finds before heading out to visit our friend Chris, who grew up in Santa Barbara and had recently bought a home in Portland.
Day 6: back in Seattle, and I took the morning to explore the Half Price Books near our hotel in Redmond. Between that and Powell's, I had quite a cache of books and DVDs! So I found a post office and mailed them to myself, knowing that we couldn't carry all that stuff back in our luggage. Media Mail is a sweet deal-- cost me $6 to mail 10.5 pounds of books back to SB, and because California was so close to Washington, it took less than a week to arrive.
In the afternoon, I took the bus to downtown Seattle again and hopped onto one of the Argosy Cruises tour boats, enjoying a 1-hour circle around Elliott Bay while we enjoyed views of the city skyline, nearby islands, and the harbor.
Allan drove down after work, and we met up with an old high school classmate of mine, Phil, for happy hour/dinner at the Tap House Grill. Phil, who's lived in Seattle for the past decade, had been really instrumental in providing tons of great advice on what to see, where to go, and where to eat during my stay here.
The next day, I returned home. I enjoyed my stay in Seattle, enjoyed the sights, even got to enjoy the weather! But as our plane approached SBA, I was reminded again of why I was glad to be back home: where else can you live with mountains on one side, ocean on the other, perfect Mediterranean climate, and a beautiful wharf and harbor of our own? Ah... it's good to be home :-)
p.s. Full set of pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/103173517017548034300/Seattle2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink
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