What a busy day. Can you say “tired feet”? After a day of walking, and walking, and walking to catch a 2 2 min. monorail, and walking to catch a 3 min. free bus ride, and walking to each of our destinations, we were all tired with aching feet by the end of the day. But we had new fun memories to think about while we massaged each other’s feet.
Our first daytime view of Seattle was of overcast skies and light rain. But just as we walked out of our front door, we saw that the Space Needle was peeking over the building in front of us. This built excitement as we were indeed in a new place - ready for us to explore!
It's always a challenge to figure out the best way to navigate a new city - especially using public transportation. We walked the 5-6 blocks to the entrance of the Monorail, and boarded it. We got some City Pass type of cards from Russ' parents for Christmas and the cost of riding the Monorail was included. How fun to use something for "free". This took us to the Westfield Mall, which is a beautiful big mall. I think it rivals Mall of America, only it doesn’t have an amusement park. Not only does it have just about every store you could think of, but many beautiful architectural structures where in there. Anyway, a quick walk through got us to the street to walk down to the Pike’s Place Market.
Pike's Place Market is known for it's fresh fish, fresh fruit, flowers, and other colorful venders. But the most famous thing it's known for is the "flying fish". One fish vender tosses the fish across the the aisle, above the customer/visitor's heads to another fish vender. We searched up and down the market and couldn't find it!!! Finally, we asked someone only to find out that they chose the off-season time to do their much needed reconstruction. So the section where they do it is closed until Feb. We won’t be staying her that long! Lol.
We visited the first Starbucks which started in 1970 right across the street from the market. Russ and I of course needed to get something although the boys weren’t in the mood for even chocolate milk. They say there is ususally a line going out the front door, but we were in the off season, so we were served right away. They too throw something in the air - the empty coffee cup from the one who takes our order, to the one who fills it. Maybe a gimmick to tie in with the flying fish? lol From there, we walked pass the iron pig statue, to the gumball alley. This reminds me of the one in San Luis Obisbo, where people have put their chewed gum on the wall. It is covered with these colorful wads of gum. EWWWW!
Next stop was the Klondike Gold Rush Museum. This was considered a national park, although it was really only a museum. They told the story through pictures, letters, and artifacts of how, a ship with 20 men came in to the Seattle Harbor, loaded with gold that was found in the Klondike area of Alaska. This prompted people to quit their job, and leave to seek their own fortune. Much like the California gold rush, most did not get rich, and those who sold supplies were the ones who fared the best. Seattle, however went from a small logging town, to a large city because it was a great place to land and take off from as the people sought the gold.
We only had to walk a few blocks to get to the next destination: The Safeco Center. I'm not a sports fan, but visiting the home of the Mariners was fascinting. We joined a tour of the stadium (also on the City Pass card) and saw the retractable roof, the press box, the private suites and the owner's suite. We also got to walk in the dugout and sit where Ithi usually sits. The tour guide told us of the little known facts about the stadium like the grass is actually on a layer of sand and is replaced when it gets old by a farm that they've commissioned to continually grow the Kentucky Blue grass seed that they use. There was also a pitching practice spot inside, behind the private suites for those VIPs who were nervous about throwing out the first pitch.
By the time we were done with this tour, we were soooo tired ... yet, we still needed to walk quite a distence to get to our transportaion connections. But first, we stopped to look at a totem pole in the midst of all the highrised buildings. It looked a little out of place, but again it was part of Washington's history. I read a story with my students about a totem pole that still stands in the capital, Olympia, today. I wonder what the story is behind this one?
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