Seattle at last
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2008
1
3
28
Trip End
Jul 05, 2008
Where I stayed
Seattle, Washington
Saturday, June 14, 2008
I wandered down to the waterfront and followed the route that was Alaskan Way. I stopped on Pier 56, which was a large jetty with an excellent view of the city skyline. The sky was so blue and the sun was sparkling on the water and it all just looked so lovely. I could easily have spent more time up here. I continued along, stopping at the Waterfront Park for more photos and then again at Pier 66 (Bell Street Pier). Here they had a display of Hydro Boats and even some classic cars. I sat down in the sun for a bit and enjoyed the view. I then went and got a drink and snack and sat in Olympic Park to enjoy. Olympic Park was designed to coincide with the winter Olympics and houses approximately 35 pieces of sculpture. Most of these are entirely abstract - there are also a number of traffic cones (about 20ft high) and a large wheel (just like the one outside Denver Art Museum). It is a nice place to walk and cycle, especially as it runs along the waterfront.
I decided then to go and visit the Space Needle. I was going to do this another day but the weather was so clear I thought I ought to do it before the rain set in. I headed up to the Seattle Center, wandering through the Sculpture Garden, which again was full of abstract pieces. On the opposite side of the road were the TV studios - on the side of the building a huge image of the Mariners baseball player Ichiro was projected. Oh dear....
I joined the queue for the Space Needle - which wasn't too long, about a 25 minute wait - and bought my ticket ($16). When we arrived at the elevator we got in and I was lucky to be stood by the door; this was because it went up the outside of the Needle and I had an unobstructed view of Seattle. The elevator travelled at 10mph and ascended 250ft. I got out of the lift and immediately went outside. The views were spectacular - a 360 degree view of Seattle and beyond. The view of downtown and Puget Sound were particularly good. I took many photos and enjoyed the views for sometime before heading back down. The elevator dropped me straight into the shop (good marketing play there!), where I had a look around before purchasing the obligatory souvenir.
After leaving the Space Needle I walked past the Pacific Science Center (large woolly mammoth inside the entrance to that!) back out onto 2nd Avenue. I walked all the way down here back to Seneca Street, stopping at a little shop for a Cherry Coke. I arrived back at the hotel at around 9pm. There was still no sign of my roommate to I had a shower and got into bed. She turned up not too much later and we chatted for a while before turning the lights out. I think I fell asleep almost immediately....
