Seattle, Washington

~ Earliest Known Picture of Seattle from the Underground Tour

We flew out after I got off of work on Sunday the 14th and got in at about 8:30 p.m. pacific time.  However, that is 10:30 p.m. central time and we were both exhausted.  We both decided to head to bed, while in Seattle, on Valentine’s Day.  Yeah, not really what I had in mind, but it was very comfortable and the place had a fantastic staff.  If you are ever looking for a place to stay in Seattle, I highly recommend the Pioneer Square Best Western.  It is close enough to everything that you can walk and the price was very reasonable compared to most of the other places around there.  With Jen’s CAA card we got a great rate of $103 total.  Plus they had free Continental breakfast.  We got up very early for Seattle because we were still used to central time and nothing really was open.

~ Pier 70 on Waterfront                   ~ Docked Ship on Waterfront

Therefore, we just wondered around and took several pictures in the early morning fog as we headed up the street to the Space Needle.  Our original plan was to have lunch in the Space Needle for my Valentine’s Day gift to her.  However, we talked about it and really did not want to spend $50 for food when all you could see would be a cloud.  Therefore, we canceled our reservation and simply took pictures along the way to the Space Needle and at the Space Needle.  The walk was not a total loss though because we did head into one of the better breakfast places I have ever had and got some great pictures even if it was foggy.  The cafe that we ate at was called the Bang Bang Cafe.  I highly recommend the breakfast burrito.  It will fill you up and it is fabulous, plus the staff here is super nice as well.  It is about 7 blocks south of the Space Needle.  We also walked around Olympic Park and through the Bill and Melinda Gates Amphitheater.   It was a wonderful morning even if we didn’t get to go up in the Space Needle.

~ Jen at the amphitheater       ~ Some sort of metal sculpture of a tree

I thought for certain that the tree was real at first it was so well done.  Hence, why I just had to take a picture and share it with you.  After our visit to the Space Needle we headed back to Pike Place Market because here in the land locked states there really are not very many markets and if there is one it is a Farmer’s Market and nothing like this.  It was really quite amazing to see so much fresh fish, flowers, vegetables, and pastries.  However, my single favorite had to be the Pike Place Nuts store.  We bought cinnamon roasted almonds and they were one of the best things I have had in a long time.  So in Seattle, I had the best almonds and best breakfast burrito I have ever had.  Pretty awesome I would say, in fact I am working on looking the Pike Place Nut store up and seeing if they ship anywhere else in the country.

~ Jen and I at the Space Needle

~ More shots of the Space Needle, gives an idea of the fog conditions

~ Pike Place Market Rear and Front Entrance

~ Inside Pike Place Market            ~ Pioneer Square Station

After taking photos by the space needle and around the market we decided to head back to Pioneer Square and take the Underground Tour.  I read on Seattle’s visitor site that it was one of the top 10 things to do while in the city.  The line of people there was pretty crazy for a Monday and I was equally surprised by the tact and thoughtfulness of the tour.  They split us up into three or four groups of manageable sizes and actually taught us quite a little bit about the history of the city.  For example, due to a massive fire in Seattle and the sewage problems they raised the street a full level and most of the buildings in the area that one sees are actually the second level of the original building.  It was a great tour and I highly recommend it to anyone.  The $15 that we paid was totally worth it and I am sure that the other 250,000+ people that go on it every year really could not be wrong either.  I took some photographs to show you guys, but it really does not do it justice without the tour guide explaining everything.  Pretty neat little piece of very old history that we got to experience.

~Bar at the beginning of the tour   ~Jen under Pioneer Square

~ Skylight                                     ~Passageway around businesses

I just wanted to talk about the skylight for a minute because it was really quite impressive.  As one can see from the photographs it is starting to get covered with dirt and cement and what not and yet a ton of light still comes through there.  This picture was taken with the lights under ground in the tunnels shut off.  It is amazing how something that is almost 100 years old still can work so well.  One can picture how well it worked back when it was first installed so that people could still shop on the first floors of those shops.  They were used instead of electricity to light the tunnels because it was before that was as readily available and it must have worked like a charm.  He said they used to have them about every six to ten feet, but now the majority of them are filled in and this one is one of the few still functioning.  Pretty ingenious if I do say so myself.

~Underground Tour Conclusion      ~ Seattle Waterfront in the Afternoon

After the tour, we had just a short time left before we had to be to the Amtrak Station to head to Vancouver.  We decided to take a stroll down to the Seattle Seahawks Stadium and Safeco Field where the Mariners play.  I always love sports stadiums and just wanted a picture of them.  Luckily Jen was being a good sport and walked all the way down there with me.  It was a good little walk, but it was totally worth it because i was able to get some great shots of the skyline of Seattle as well as a few of the stadium.  It was a wonderful trip to Seattle and a fast one at that, but we got to cross off Washington on my list and maybe someday we will be back through on our way back to Vancouver.

~ Space Needle and skyline            ~Safeco Field

~ Seattle Skyline

~ Seattle Waterfront from the edge of the Pier