Monday, August 15, 2011
We arrived in the Washington State Park early evening yesterday. Subsequent to setting up camp at a really nice, private site, we headed toward a little town called Paulsbo for dinner. It is for the most part, Norwegian. We were advised to eat at JJ’s. We did and it was astounding. The clam chowder was probably the best I have ever eaten. The crab cakes were to die for. 95% crab, 5% breading. Tommy had fish too, do you believe it? He had cod and said it was really good. So far that makes 2 different types of fish he has eaten while on this trip. Salmon, which is good because we are
surrounded by it right now, and cod.
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| I love these rock people |
We took Sire along with us, and after dinner walked along the waterfront with him. There were musicians panning for money and they were surprisingly good. There was a bagpiper entertaining, so you know I was glued to one spot for a while. It was a nice relaxing evening. We went to bed early and headed out the next day, today, into Seattle.
From where we are camping, (on and island), the only way to get into Seattle is by ferry. The ferry itself is comparable to the Staten Island ferry (in size), or even the Block Island ferry. Although this ferry allows you to take your vehicle with you. We were pedestrians. Once in the city we headed straight for the space needle. It was impressive. What got our attention even more than the needle itself was the artistic style to all the surrounding buildings. They were unconventional looking. Very cool, but very strange.
We were lucky with our timing of visitation because while being there they have an Avatar collection of actual props and costumes from the film, being displayed. Extremely cool, if you like the movie. And I
LOVED the movie.
Back to the space needle. We purchased tickets to the observatory and along the way up (45 seconds), were educated about its history. It was built in 1962 for the Worlds Fair. The city bought it from the builder for one dollar thinking it would never make any profit after the fair was over and they would tear it down and scrap the metal. Needless (no pun intended, lol) to say, they were wrong, and it is a very lucrative addition to downtown Seattle.
Its what makes Seattle’s skyline so recognizable to this day. It stands 520 feet high and weighs 9550 tons. The base weighs 5850 tons and the needle itself, weighs a whopping 3800 tons. Watching the video of the men who erected it was remarkable. They would walk along the I Beams with no harness and catch another piece of steal coming toward them from a crane.
Nuts, if you ask me. The needle offers a restaurant which revolves at a pace of 360 degrees in 48 minutes, and of course, a gift shop. The view is spectacular.
After the Space Center we headed toward Pikes Market. That place is wild. It is somewhat like South Street Seaport in Manhattan but on a larger scale. Its floor after floor of crowds and fish and flowers and Indian jewelry and more people. It’s crazy, and loud, and busy! The best part for me was the fish throwing. Just like you the stories you hear, they
really truly throw the fish. It’s a lot of fun to watch. The pictures however that I took are blurry because I couldn’t seem to time the fish in the air correctly. (I was in seafood heaven.)
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| just like Disney! |
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| the man in yellow is the man who bought the fish. |
We also went by the original Starbucks. There was a 30 minute wait
just to get inside. It was very
very small and one of the main attractions at the pier.
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| the original Starbucks |
After the market we ended up at Fisherman’s Wharf for a snack. Again I ordered fish. The chowder did not compare to last nights but it was okay. The scallops - horrible! I bet they were frozen. We came to the conclusion that they didn’t need to have good food because they had the best location on the pier and people would go there just for the ambiance. It was very nice.
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| Fisherman's Wharf |
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| perfect weather |
We took the ferry back to our island, stopped at the grocery store for some provisions and are now grilling out. Tommy made a fire in the fire pit and we will just relax for the rest of the evening.
It was a wonderful day. The weather could not have been better. Tomorrow we plan on going over to see MT. Olympic and hope the weather remains. Thanks for reading.
Back to the space needle. We purchased tickets to the observatory and along the way up (45 seconds), were educated about its history. It was built in 1962 for the Worlds Fair. The city bought it from the builder for one dollar thinking it would never make any profit after the fair was over and they would tear it down and scrap the metal. Needless (no pun intended, lol) to say, they were wrong, and it is a very lucrative addition to downtown Seattle.
Its what makes Seattle’s skyline so recognizable to this day. It stands 520 feet high and weighs 9550 tons. The base weighs 5850 tons and the needle itself, weighs a whopping 3800 tons. Watching the video of the men who erected it was remarkable. They would walk along the I Beams with no harness and catch another piece of steal coming toward them from a crane. Nuts, if you ask me. The needle offers a restaurant which revolves at a pace of 360 degrees in 48 minutes, and of course, a gift shop. The view is spectacular.
It was a wonderful day. The weather could not have been better. Tomorrow we plan on going over to see MT. Olympic and hope the weather remains. Thanks for reading.
