This is part two of the series; click here to start from the beginning.
The Emerald City
Day 2: Seattle
My day began earlier as I chose to purchase a ‘early-bird’ pass to the Space Needle and neighboring Chihuly Gardens.
The short walk from where I stayed to the landmark took me through the first of many parks. Other tourists and Seattle citizens alike snapped pictures.
Inside the base of the building is a gift shop with a large variety of souvenirs.
A ramp outside takes you to the approach and the elevators. The 41-second ride to the top goes by in a flash and is quite beautiful.
Be advised it will cost approximately $20 to take the ride. Although it would probably be tough to justify the cost, going to the top of the needle is something ‘you just have to do.’
Once at the top you get a full panorama of the city and also a hand full of information.
Such info includes how and why the building was erected and also learning that the restaurant below the observation deck rotates fully once every 47 minutes!
This is just one of the many views from the deck. The harbor below is actually a certified landing strip for seaplanes.
At the very bottom of the picture is the Bill Gates Foundation buildings.
At the bottom of this photo, one can see the unique structure of Key Arena. This is now mainly a concert venue and also home to the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. Once upon a time, it was home to the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics, before the franchise left for Oklahoma City.
This is just another view at the top of the Puget Sound. This is Seattle’s waterfront and flows into the Pacific Ocean, which is about 100 nautical miles away. The sound is also known for its magnificent average depth of about 900 feet. This allows for cargo ships and cruise ships to come and go at ease.
Directly next door is the Chihuly Glass and Garden Museum. When I was planning this trip, I will admit I was skeptical. I saw the option of buying a combined ticket to the museum and although I wanted to skip it, I’m glad I decided to go.
Inside the museum grounds, several different displays of Dale Chihuly’s work are available to see. Each and every exhibit is made from handblown and strewn glass.
The Glass Forest
The Sealife Room
The Persian Ceiling
Mille Fiori
Ikebana and Float Boat
The Glasshouse
As is probably clear by now, the exhibits are gorgeous. Each and every peace of glass is exquisitely crafted and colorful.
The price for the exhibit may still be slightly high, but it is definitely worth forking it up if you want to be impressed. Even those that are not art lovers will like this attraction.
From here, I walked about a mile toward the downtown shore to see the world-famous Pike Place Market. Since it was Saturday the area was very packed, but it was still a site.
I did not see any fish throwing, but this is certainly the area where it was made famous. The market also has its vegetable sections too.
Just up the street from the market are two famous attractions. First is world-famous and that is the first-ever Starbucks located on Pike Place nearby its intersection with First Avenue.
In Seattle, you’ll be hard pressed if you want to avoid a Starbucks cafe. In fact when approaching King Street Station, one can see Starbucks corporate headquarters building.
On the other end of Pike Place is the Gum Wall, which is probably more of the infamous kind.
In the alleyway people gather to take pictures (and add more gum!). The tradition started more than 20 years ago and has continued ever since.
In 2013, the governing body of Pike Place Market removed all of the gum to clean the area. After a vigorous steam cleaning, people began adding gum back on and it looks like its old self again!
Next up on my itinerary was a quick trip to Westlake/Downtown Seattle Station to catch the Link toward the Pioneer Square neighborhood.
I made a quick visit to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, which is about 0.25 miles from King Street Station.
Continuing south I stumbled upon the athletic facilities and specifically Safeco Field. Along the way I passed swarms of fans and law enforcement getting ready for the afternoon’s Seattle Sounders game.
Inside the team store and up the stairs I went to join about 75 baseball fans from varying teams.
My tour guide Randy…
…took us down to the field first so we could get some quality pictures prior to the players taking the field for warmups.
We were even allowed into the Mariner’s dugout.
The tour continued through the media areas and then up to the 300-level seating.
Here we learned all about the ‘umbrella’ that covers the seats. Unlike most stadiums in locations with weather issues, Safeco Field does not have an enclosed roof.
Mariner’s fans decided after several years of playing in an indoor stadium that they wanted to be outside. After all, baseball is an outdoors sport.
Thus the stadium was built to have a retractable covering, but still to be open. So even when the seats are covered, the area behind the left-field seats and scoreboard is always open. Pretty neat!
Later on we went through some suites and then finally to press row, where a member from the Mariners was already prepping.
My last stop in Seattle was by way of the waters as I boarded the Spirit of Seattle. The touring vessel was sold out and rightfully so as it was a great comprehensive tour.
The views were kind of nice also…
The Captain led us past a few massive cruise ships. Lars, our narrator, informed the passengers that in Seattle they used the ‘Field of Dreams’ approach with the industry.
The city spent money to build a cruise ship dock/pier in hopes of attracting business. Eventually it worked and has now developed into a huge industry for Seattle.
Despite this, the Emerald City hasn’t forgotten its dedication to the environment. Laws have been passed to prohibit cruise ships from idling while at dock. Ship engines must be shut down.
From Pier 55 it was less than a mile back to King Street Station, where the Empire Builder was being prepared.
The train traveling from Seattle to Chicago runs through some of the most rugged terrain and must be in top condition.
