A Saturday in Seattle – 2

The first post itself turned out to be lengthy and after a long break here we go- please excuse as we were in a lifetime-once Yellowstone trip. The South Lake Union streetcar is a quaint experience every time – though we have been there, done that in NOLA before, where we tried most of them. It seems to go thru the Amazon neighborhood and we fail to get off the right stop. The next one is not too far off from our destination – Center for Wooden Boats at Lake Union. We have reserved a free rowboat, yes that’s right a free rowboat in these times. The helpful guide gets us jackets. He inquires if we have previously rowed. I hesitantly say yes, but realize quick we have kayaked and paddled, never rowed.

After a few false tries, we round off the dock into the lake by the big boats. The nervous me is unable to steer properly, even with using two hands. The boy steps up capably and instinctively understands how the oars work. Under his expert instructions, the whole family gets into the groove and move the boat along nicely. Though he still is just being his own naughty self – he stands, moves around and touches the water etc. in spite of explicit instructions against the contrary, he definitely knows more to row than any of us. It is past noon and it’s not really cold. The lake breeze is nice. We enjoy the ride, after our initial struggles. Since the free time is just for an hour, we slowly get back to the dock without much trouble, ahead of our allotted time. As it is, we didn’t want to get stuck and panic our way in.

For our return trip, we decide to skip the streetcar ride, as it only comes every 30 minutes, preferring to eat at one of the crowded places we saw on the way in. As we near Portage Bay Cafe, it is still crowded but we are disappointed that it closed just a while back and it is a brunch only place. We do see Pendleton blankets on the outside seats and a warm flame. With some eateries offering only take-out or closing for lunch by 2.30, we step into a Korean teriyaki place, of the Chipotle format. We are thrilled to have a good hot meal, gyozas and tofu/spicy chicken with rice. We had ordered more and had to pack some back to store in the hostel fridge. The family votes to get to the hostel for a quick pause in our day adventure. The quick ferry to West Seattle is thankfully closed on the weekends. We learn that before we can plan it, thanks to our morning monorail mishap. That was one of my planned quick hits to view the Seattle skyline from the water. Otherwise, I would have pushed the family to do it, before our evening whirl on the great wheel.

The precious break is much needed. After a few peaceful hours at the hostel, we walk to the next door Pikes Place market. We start at the gum wall and go down many levels, without any specific shopping needs. Without a high rise, it’s kind of amusing to see 6 levels – shopping down and down. We explore the curio shops before we decide to go back up and visit the cheese shop. No one is keen to get any famous cheese sandwiches at Beecher’s – even the Lyft guy had recommended it yesterday. We are just happy to see how the cheese is being made and smell the delightful essence of fresh cheese. I chase the Metsker maps store and gaze at the many charming ‘geo’ stuff. They fascinate me – more postcards and a geo cards game for the kids. Chukar cherries – though expensive – is another snack buy for our trip. Our last trip is another curio shop – keychain for the teen and more postcards this time, much cheaper than at the Space Needle. The market was selling a lot of flowers and we were wondering why. We take the elevator down on the advice of a shopkeeper. We amble along to the great wheel.

The line is indeed long and we are in time for a sunset ride, before 7. We stand in line for more than 30 minutes, all the while delighting in seeing more people queueing behind us. The process seems slow, since they are disinfecting after every ride. When our turn comes, we seem to get four spins, as against the expected three. The bonus spin is always great. We see the famous Washington state ferry and of course the Space Needle, for our selfies from the top. I have a grand time, comparing it to the views of Tuty beach broken Ferris wheel, which I repeat is infinitely more cool, completely hand operated and where we can even possibly jump from the top. Though we were cold in line, the closed wheel ride felt cozy even when high above. The night lights start to glow, creating a bright skyline. The walk out of the ride takes us thru some cute shops. The 4D adventure is sadly closed. We see the famous Ivan’s seafood restaurant, recommended by the wife’s gaming friends. Before it starts to rain, we hastily rush to the warmth of our hostel bunk beds for another blissful night.

A Saturday in Seattle – 1

Following our coast-to-coast flight, we had a dream sleep. Yes, the bunk beds are cozy and we had slept much later than usual, given the time zone shift. But travel wakes me up early. The closest shared bathroom seems to be always open whenever I need it. It’s an interesting experience to share bathrooms in a hostel. The last time I did it – I was still single and backpacking in NZ. We have only used shared baths as a family, during our camping adventures of 2019. I get down to the community hall and book our Space Needle and the Glass museum tickets, as the internet speeds are terrible in the room. As planned, kids had showered last night. So they just need to dress up for the fresh day.

I start up my first morning exploration of the trip – wander into Pikes Place market again when it is still dark. It is a little before 6 and the vendors are just getting started for a busy spring day. The aroma of bakery food tickles my taste buds, and I am always hungry early. I chat with a random old guy at the Victor Steinbrueck Park, who is puffing off watching the sound from above. I feel safe when a patrol car makes its rounds. The park is really empty, as it is not dawn yet. I am unable to see the shoreline and wonder why. I head up north to see if I can get any closer. I keep going down on Elliot Ave for 5 minutes or so to see if I can spot the Marriott, which I vaguely remember from my map browsing. Since I don’t have my phone, I don’t know how far I am from the Olympic sculpture park and decide to head back. Back to the market and I spot a steep staircase, which is called the Pike Street hill.

Now I know why I can’t see the shoreline. The market is on top of a cliff. There is a railroad and the Alaskan way (sound-side road) between the market and the sound sort of. Pike St press has a cute postcard wall, which rings a bell with our postcrossing hobby. I walk up to the Seattle Aquarium. I hear loud animal noises, which I imagine to be noisy seals, when they are probably gull cries. I walk along the Alaskan way, relieved in a way to be out of the shady areas. It is a little chilly, but a brisk walk drives the cold. Dawn is breaking now. I walk past the piers under construction and spot the Marriott I am looking for. It is by the shorefront, not up on Elliott Ave. I take the Bell St pedestrian bridge across Pier 66 to get back to the hostel.

The kids soon wake up hungry for their favorite cereal breakfast. A helpful guest at the hostel recommends we eat eggs and the eager beavers in us collect the eggs immediately. The dear wife comes and inspects the cleanliness of the shared utensils. She is aghast and vows never to cook anything here – an Fail in her audit books. Since we are half-way with the eggs, she helps us do the scramble. I luckily end up eating almost all, as the kids gorge on their cereals. Yes, hostel food is not the Hampton Inn hot food. Hey, it is still free and gets us going. Soon, we walk to the monorail station early in the day before 9 for our Seattle adventures. I am so glad we all made it out so early on our first day. But the monorail doesn’t run until 11am. Ah, the problems of traveling during Covid in its peak!

Where we walk, Seattle downtown doesn’t have the best of sights before the crowds, with homeless folks wandering around. We decide to walk northwest on 5th Ave, along the length of the monorail, with its tracks above us. It takes us a solid 25 minutes for the mile. On the way we see a fountain with a big statue of Chief Seattle – Tilikum place. Apparently Tilikum is welcome in Chinook (local Indian) jargon. The pretty KOMO plaza full of flowers is the perfect welcome to the Space Needle, just across Broad St. As we approach the Space Needle, the gardens in front show their awesome tulips and daffodils in bloom for a spectacular display. We are still early to be in line for the first entry of the day to the Space Needle.

We walk around the Glass Museum to the playground behind, and around the Science Museum before getting in line as the second family. The elevator to the Space Needle is a quick ride to the top. The top level with the outside view is gorgeous with an all-round clear sight into the mountain ranges – no clouds. We pose on the slanted glass benches – scared and thrilled at the same time. The transparent glass enclosure makes you feel like you are going to fall down into the busy downtown below. One of the friendly employees encourages us to go for a standing pose, assuring us the glass is tough. We next sit on the revolving deck, again with a great peek down below. The science museum has a cute message, in big font to read from the top. No, I won’t reveal it. The son insists on a coin souvenir. We also buy our fist set of souvenir postcards and magnets at the gift shop on the way out.

Out next stop is the Chihuly glass garden. The exhibits are across 8 galleries and a few walls culminating in the masterpiece glasshouse. There are a bunch of baskets, sea life, lights and they are all simply magical. We see a few videos including the origins of glass blowing near Jerusalem. There is a glass blowing demo in progress near the cafe and we are mesmerized by the show. Back to more exhibits inside, we even get a picture done for free with our visit. The walk inside the garden is inspiring with the glass sculptures nicely merging with the plants. Of course, we are not the true art lovers to appreciate it better. Going back to downtown, we take the monorail. The boy is crazy about it and loves the short monorail ride. Since public transport is almost non-existent in our hometown suburb, this is indeed exotic to him. We follow up with the slow streetcar at Westlake to Lake Union.

Emerald city – night 1

Yes, flight day is here. We plan to hit up the road at 12 noon for our 5.20pm flight from RDU. I hope to park by 3.30/4pm. Last-minute work (why do I have to get into a call just on the day of the trip?) and late lunch cooking delays our departure to 1.10pm, cutting into our buffer time for the airport drive. So much for planning ahead! At least, I have done my meal and the family will have it on the go. After a on-the-go work call at 1.30 (I am no fan of talking from the car), I take over the drive from my wife at a I-85 rest area stop. Thankfully, we are not going north to DC. I-85S is never crowded though it’s the beginning weekend of the spring break for local schools. And more importantly, no construction at all today. We make up good time and it is a smooth drive on the highway all along. Even after the couple of rest stops, we are just 15 minutes late from our 3.30 goal. That’s when we get stuck in traffic on the road leading to the airport. For a couple of miles, it is really slow and I am worried we won’t have enough time for me to get back peacefully without running to the security lines. It’s just 5 minutes and after a Y-junction, the road is clear.

I drop off the family at the airport and drive to the parking hotel (Days Inn) arriving at exactly 4pm. I could not have timed it more perfectly, as the airport shuttle was just pulling in. The parking lot is full though I had a reservation. I am not happy to park next to a big trailer, where the lot lines have blurred off. You get what you pay for. The service guys are wonderful and the shuttle driver drops me off by 4.15, giving me precious time (more than an hour) before the long flight. We breeze thru the TSA Precheck line, though we have a teenage girl and only the adults have signed up for the trusted traveler program. Even the TSA lines are definitely more crowded than during Thanksgiving. We arrive at the gate just in time for boarding to start. We are almost at the end of the line – Group E boarding for Alaska Air. We are pretty much the last to board. Soon we are on our way.

The kids hog the only window seat. We can put most of our carry-on bags overhead. As always, no checked bags to avoid all those pesky fees and of course, I believe in travelling lightly. Kids enjoy the onboard entertainment with their headsets. The teen and I tussle over leaving the window shades open so I can at least watch the majestic outside skies. Nothing much to see over the Great Plains initially. Towards the descent of the flight comes the huge peak of Mt. Rainier and its sister peaks of the Cascades ranges, dazzling us with their spring splendor. Then the Olympic range shows up. We can hardly make out the Seattle skyline we climb down over, though we can clearly see the large body of water (Puget Sound). We touch down early. By the time we walk out of the airport into the ground transportation area, we don’t feel like taking the light rail, $12 and 40 minutes. It is cold compared to where we left from and we book a Lyft XL ride, 10 minutes away and 25 minutes to the hostel. The Escalade driver takes forever to arrive at the rather confusing terminal location.

The funny driver more than makes up for it with his awesome conversation about what to do, where to go, and teaching-kids-good-manners. The son gets to enjoy the front seat with me. The big car makes us feel like we are in a limo almost. The driver apparently does tours during the day and casually recommends the Beecher’s grilled cheese sandwiches since we are staying so close. Yes, this definitely is a great start to Seattle. We get to the hostel at 9.40 and slowly make our way to the 2 bunk room, when the girls promptly take up the wider beds as we take a quick shower in the shared baths. The helpful cashier had already warned us most of the eateries will be closed at this time in downtown Seattle. I am surprised to see only a few eateries open on Friday night. Amidst the bright night lights, we know we are just outside the famous market.

The lady fumbles her way at the vending machine to maybe get a noodles pack, as we are famished after getting just some snacks and juice on the almost Atlantic-to-Pacific flight. I see a pizza place in a bar “The Alibi room” open late, but it is inside the market. I make my way down the street and end up seeing the famous Gum wall up close. I go up and down the alley, before realizing I had gone too far. The bar is not crowded. I place my pick-up order for a chicken pizza as the kids are now very hungry. We remind ourselves it is way past midnight for our usual day. But hey, we are on holiday. We dine at the community dining hall for the first time. With a full stomach, we retire to the bunk beds. It takes some time to get our next day clothes – get ready the day before. Yay, our Seattle sojourn has just started.