Seattle

We left Palouse early in the morning, not bothering to take pictures in the morning because the light would have been coming from behind the waterfall and we felt comfortable that we had explored all that the area had to offer. 

We embarked for Seattle.  Our lodging while in Seattle would be with a friend of Lea’s, Mike.  Mike had graciously offered to let us camp in his backyard Saturday night and Sunday evening we would be able to crash on his guest bed. 

 When we first pulled into Seattle we drove past a few key locations (Pike’s Market, Space Needle, and Starbucks Headquarters) but our main focus was frequenting a few craft breweries in Seattle.  We parked the car out front of Mike’s house and walked around the brewery district of Seattle.  We hoped from brewery to brewery and eventually settled on some sushi for dinner where Mike met us after he had been out all day.  We headed back to his house and set up all of our equipment in the backyard.  Our next day was designed to be as touristy as possible. 

Early Sunday morning we woke up.  Lea surprised me this morning as she was up and moving about by 6:00am.  We decided that we should try to beat all the traffic and people and go to the major sights before they became too crowded.  This would allow us to get some pictures with the car in a few iconic locations.  By 7:15am we had visited Pike’s Place Market, Space Needle, Starbucks and our final stop would be Alki Beach as it was recommended because you could see anything in the water.  As we strolled along Alki beach we stumbled onto a Bald Eagle sitting 20 feet from photographers on the rocky beach.  It was a nice morning walk but we had agreed to take Mike out for brunch as a thank-you for hosting us so we had to head back.

We headed back and met up with Mike and we then departed for the Ballard Farmers Market and a nearby restaurant.  The market was a happening place with street performers and vendors selling everything from soap to doughnut peaches.  We had a nice brunch and headed back because Lea and I wanted to frequent some of our previous stops from the morning, this time as actual visitors, and not just photographers of a car. 

Our main stop was the combo of the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass.  We arrived to see the Seattle Center was having a huge festival, the “Bite of Seattle” which had hundreds of vendors including food trucks, handcrafted goods, and corporate booths.  The event also featured live bands on five stages.  We bought our tickets for the observation deck of the Space Needle and passes to tour the Chihuly museum.  We first toured the museum and saw some of the most awe-inspiring works of art we had ever observed.  The sheer size and magnitude of the glass sculptures and the ornate details of the projects was second to none. 

Between touring Chihuly and heading over to the Space Needle at our specific time we walked around the festival.  We tried some different foods and enjoyed some strawberry lemonades while watching the International Fountain at Seattle Center. It was nice to have a great distraction to allow the time to pass.  We then walked back to the Space Needle for our 4:00 tour. 

The views of Seattle from the Space Needle are amazing.  The 360-degree view while you walk around is breathtaking and allows a view of the city like none other.  At the time of our visit there had been over 58 million visitors to the Space Needle since it first opened in 1962. 

On our way home we decided to stop at another highly recommended brewery then proceeded to dinner.  We were in Seattle and we had to try some fresh seafood so we choose the Highliner Public House.  The food was delicious.  Finally, our evening concluded with us returning back to Mike’s to sleep and pack up for our next adventure.  Tomorrow we are heading to North Cascades National Park which is only a short drive from the Seattle.