I had a wonderful trip to Seattle recently, and this blog entry will recount some of that trip:
I went up the Space Needle http://www.spaceneedle.com/, built for the 1962 World's Fair. Interesting, as I was reading about the preparations for the Seattle World's Fair, it reminded me of the story "The Devil and the White City" in which it was apparent that the preparations for the world's fair in Chicago were behind schedule and not done completely by the fair's opening. It seems, the same happened in Seattle.
Another stop was Pike Place Market http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/explore_the_market/market_map. This was a lot of fun, and a maze of variety and specialty stores. I was able to have a good seafood meal at a restaurant with a great view of the harbor.
I drove to Mount Rainier National Park http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm. I went in at the southwest Nisqually Entrance, and left via route 410, out of the northeast section of the park.
On Mt. Rainier, except for ravens and Stellar Jays, the only wildlife I saw was a bobcat, crossing the road. That was either on route 123 or route 410, the less populated, less visited part of the park. That was on June 3, 2011. Interestingly, as I drove back to Seattle from Anacortes, on June 5, 2011, from my trip to San Juan Island for whale watching, I heard that route 123 was closed to one lane in some area, due to a snow slide. I can imagine it. On some parts of route 123, the height of the snow along the side of the road was more than double the height of the Ford Fusion I had rented and was driving. With the warming weather, these cliffs of snow undoubtedly became unstable, and slid.
At Mount Rainier, I had dinner in the Paradise Inn. This is an old style inn, with huge stone fireplaces, and the dining room had large windows, huge pillars, and great service.
I spent the better part of a day on the Seattle waterfront. My primary purpose was to go to the Seattle Aquarium http://www.seattleaquarium.org/, and take a harbor tour http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/harbor.cfm. Both of these activities were really interesting. The aquarium is like many such establishments, which are now involved in conservation and research efforts. The harbor tour included information about the city as well as the harbor.
I took the Washington State Ferry http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm from Anacortes to San Juan Island, http://www.visitsanjuans.com/ Friday Harbor, for a whale watch ride http://www.watchwhales.com/.
On the whale watch trip out of Friday Harbor into Puget Sound, south of San Juan Island, the viewing was good. We saw an adult and a juvenile bald eagle, and an aerie. We saw common murre, rhinoceros auklets, and black cormorants. There were multiple gulls, but I did not identify the specials.
We were treated to a wonderful demonstration of blowing and breaching by minke whales. We saw porpoise, harbor seals, a California sea lion, and more than one Stellar seal lion. The tour guides, San Juan Excursions, even gave out rain checks, based on the fact that we did not see Orca, although there was nothing in their literature stating that we were guaranteed to see Orca. The naturalist said the rain check did not expire, and could be redeemed years later.
I spent many hours just driving around the city of Seattle. I drove through Chinatown http://www.seattlechinatowntour.com/, but did not tour it.
I drove by Safeco Field http://www.seattlechinatowntour.com/, and Qwest Field http://www.qwestfield.com/. The most amazing thing about these stadia is that they are side by side in downtown Seattle!
I went to Woodland Park, but did not go to the zoo http://www.zoo.org/. Woodland Park http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?id=292 is a high end park: with a trail for bikers, walkers, strollers, and the like. It had a swimming area. People can fish from the banks. There is a golf course and tennis courts in the park. It is a nice place to sit and chill.
There is more to tell. As I do, hopefully, you will not be bored, but will enjoy the information
No comments:
Post a Comment