June 20, 2008 - Seattle Day Two
Our ship docked in Seattle overnight, and we had to be up early Friday morning to lug all of our bags off the ship, say goodbye to our room, and re-enter the U.S. through customs which was a little more tedious than going from the US into Canada. It felt early and we were pretty tired. But the sun was out and the day ended up being 10 times nicer than our first day in Seattle a week ago. For that reason, I am posting most of my Seattle pictures here.
Our flight back home didn’t leave until the following morning, so Erin and I had the entire day to wander around Seattle on our own. After dropping our bags off at the hotel downtown, we walked to Pike Place Market right when it opened, and got to see some of the sights down there. The market was really unique, and even though I normally could care less about produce and shopping, it was definitely worth the stop to check it out. Some of the stands and displays were neat to look at and take pictures of, but what really got me about the market were the smells. Something you can’t capture on a sensor and bring back home. Every stand you walked past smelled very strongly of whatever produce or food they were selling. It was all local and non-commercialized – except for the first Starbucks store - but even that didn’t have a sign of any kind; it was just kinda there and people knew about it.
So after the market, we went to the Seattle Aquarium – not because we really wanted to go to the aquarium but more because it was right there and looked like it would be a convenient way to kill the rest of the morning before our room was ready. It was a cool little aquarium with mostly fish and some seals, but they had a good setup with a lot of the local marine life. Apparently the Puget sound is home to some of the largest octopi in the world, and they had a giant one which I thought was cool.
In the afternoon we checked into our room at the hotel, then walked to the monorail station to ride over to the Space Needle. The skies were still clear so we bought tickets for the observation deck to get a really great view of the city and surrounding area. Up on the observation deck there were a lot of interesting facts and stories about the history of the Space Needle and about the city. There’s even a bar, so Erin and I spent about an hour up there, drank a beer called Scuzzlebutt, and took about 50 different pictures of the exact same thing which is something I have become famous for this past week.
After the Space Needle we had one last and very important stop to make before leaving Seattle. As the sun went down, I wanted to get back to Kerry Park and get a skyline shot without the dreariness that we experienced the week prior. When we arrived, there were a ton of photographers already lined up with tripods and big cameras. I set up my camera along a stone wall and we watched the day transition into night which was a really incredible scene. Once it got completely dark I took all the pictures I needed, and Erin and I sat on the ledge for a few last minutes just taking in the view together. Then it was back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before catching a really early flight back to Richmond.
Read MoreOur flight back home didn’t leave until the following morning, so Erin and I had the entire day to wander around Seattle on our own. After dropping our bags off at the hotel downtown, we walked to Pike Place Market right when it opened, and got to see some of the sights down there. The market was really unique, and even though I normally could care less about produce and shopping, it was definitely worth the stop to check it out. Some of the stands and displays were neat to look at and take pictures of, but what really got me about the market were the smells. Something you can’t capture on a sensor and bring back home. Every stand you walked past smelled very strongly of whatever produce or food they were selling. It was all local and non-commercialized – except for the first Starbucks store - but even that didn’t have a sign of any kind; it was just kinda there and people knew about it.
So after the market, we went to the Seattle Aquarium – not because we really wanted to go to the aquarium but more because it was right there and looked like it would be a convenient way to kill the rest of the morning before our room was ready. It was a cool little aquarium with mostly fish and some seals, but they had a good setup with a lot of the local marine life. Apparently the Puget sound is home to some of the largest octopi in the world, and they had a giant one which I thought was cool.
In the afternoon we checked into our room at the hotel, then walked to the monorail station to ride over to the Space Needle. The skies were still clear so we bought tickets for the observation deck to get a really great view of the city and surrounding area. Up on the observation deck there were a lot of interesting facts and stories about the history of the Space Needle and about the city. There’s even a bar, so Erin and I spent about an hour up there, drank a beer called Scuzzlebutt, and took about 50 different pictures of the exact same thing which is something I have become famous for this past week.
After the Space Needle we had one last and very important stop to make before leaving Seattle. As the sun went down, I wanted to get back to Kerry Park and get a skyline shot without the dreariness that we experienced the week prior. When we arrived, there were a ton of photographers already lined up with tripods and big cameras. I set up my camera along a stone wall and we watched the day transition into night which was a really incredible scene. Once it got completely dark I took all the pictures I needed, and Erin and I sat on the ledge for a few last minutes just taking in the view together. Then it was back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before catching a really early flight back to Richmond.
