JUNE 1
As we left Tacoma to head north to visit Abby, we were treated to a nice view of Mt. Rainier!
June 1 – June 8
ARRIVAL – Overnight parking issues.
Abby recently moved to a new apartment near the Mountlake Terrace Link Light-Rail station. Renters from the apartment complex tend to use some of the large, adjacent parking lot because there is NOT enough parking specified for renters and their guests. Abby assumed we could park there without any issue. But upon our arrival we saw signs for no overnight parking. Being in our 24 ft van, even though we can fit into the parking spaces around the perimeter, our presence is a bit more obvious. Unfortunately, there is no official RV parking near any of our three kids in WA state, so parking was a little challenging for our first three days. We left the lot for several hours a couple days which I think helped. Then finally a non-restrictive, unlimited-time parallel parking spot opened up. Abby immediately parked her car there to “hold it” in hopes the car in front of her would also leave making it big enough for Sadie! Within just a couple hours that car left. Abby called us to come NOW as she ran down, moved her car forward a bit so there wasn’t enough room for a car in front or in back of her. When we rounded the corner Abby eased out as we slipped in! Perfect! We were now set for the rest of our visit!! Whew!
We loved Abby’s new place. The complex and the area has a really nice vibe. The complex has great security, and has really nice common areas and a gym. It is part of a younger, modern-style community with a Montessori School and SkyZone on the street level of Abby’s complex, street level shops on the opposite side of the main street, a cozy tavern with additional apartments above them. And the light-rail station is within easy walking distance! A movie theater for 21+ (cushy seats, food and alcohol) and a Grocery Outlet are both a quick walk from the apartment. Abby and I walked to Grocery Outlet multiple times while we were here–even twice on one day. LOL Thriftway Grocery was just a bit further.
After dinner, the three of us went out for a longer walk.
WOW! Came across this house on a main road on our walk. I thought the Native American portraits were cool, and then I saw the Seahawks logo.
Abby led the way for us on several long walks during our stay. Nice to have so many options to keep it “fresh”.
I saw fields of poppies while in Germany (summer 2004) with a group from my church. Seeing the striking contrast of such bright red petals surrounding the dark-almost black centers as they all waved in the breeze was a stunning sight. Ever since, poppies just make me smile even when it may only be a few. Flowers, smells, certain objects, and songs evoke memories we often forget till that moment. While some may be sad memories, most make us smile and “re-live” that time in that moment.
JUNE 2
Celebrating Barry’s Birthday–An early start
Barry wanted to go to the Seattle Space Needle for his birthday since we haven’t been there it was remodeled with the 360 degree rotating glass floor observation deck. June 2nd was forecasted as the best day for clear views from the top of the needle, so we simply started Barry’s birthday celebration early. 🙂
That morning we walked up the street to the Mountlake Terrace Link Light Rail Station where I bought our roundtrip tickets and we boarded the southbound train within a few minutes. We got off at the Westlake Center stop. From there we easily took the Seattle Monorail directly to the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located. Love this stress-free transportation to and from the city for sightseeing or going to a sports event at sports arena or stadium!
A timed entry is required to go up in the Space Needle, but you can stay up at the top as long as you want. To not be rushed, we simply waited till we got there to purchase our tickets at a kiosk. Tickets were available for immediate access. We went up right away. Happy Birthday, Barry–let the celebration begin!
The Space Needle was originally created for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. It was such a hit that Seattleites wanted it to remain in place. It has been a main attraction for Seattle visitors as well as locals. When Barry was five he visited the fair with his family. He remembers the Bubbleator, a spherical, plexiglass elevator. For those curious view this link.
FUN FACT: Supposedly, the Needle inspired the space-pad homes featured in the futuristic cartoon show, The Jetsons, that debuted in September 1962. The Jetsons was set in the year 2062 (100 years after the Seattle World’s Fair). I remember watching this show growing up!
The recent changes to the Space Needle really enhances the experience. The first change we experienced was North America’s first double-deck all-glass elevators.
It takes 41 seconds to ascend the 500-foot tower. There are two levels for observation. The older upper observation deck with wire caging and partial walls is now floor-to-ceiling glass structural barriers with tilted glass benches.
The rotating glass floor observation area is directly under the upper observation and is accessible to everyone! It is a really cool experience. Since the upper observation deck extends out a little further we didn’t experience near the sun glare and reflection here while taking pictures. Both levels are unique though and worth experiencing.
I think it was wise taking out the rotating restaurant where it took an hour to rotate completely. The food was expensive especially for the quality of food provided. Now, it has the world’s first revolving glass floor accessible to everyone at no additional charge.
I stepped onto the glass floor, and did quite well. I had a little trouble walking on the glass while looking down, but I could stand still and look down, or look outward while walking. It was really cool.
I noticed they had a few sections where someone could stand on black mat that extended to the window. (These can be seen in the first picture below.) This was a thoughtful way to allow people to still experience the rotating views, and see the view without having to stand directly on the transparent glass. It may not seem like it would matter, but it does.
View of Mt Rainier, Seattle Stadiums (Seahawks & Mariners), Ferris Wheel and a Washington State ferry…
Below is a view of the Climate Pledge Arena which is home for multiple Seattle sports teams, including Kraken, Seattle Torrent, and Seattle Storm. The Seattle Torrent just finished their inaugural year! (They set multiple US attendance records.)
Not sure why there were spiders on top of the “Marlin building”, but they are cool for viewing from here.
My curiosity led me to learn that those two spiders are NOT 3d sculptures, but instead a 3d-mural painted by Marlin Peterson! How cool is that!?! This was his first 3d mural. The roof is actually that of the Seattle Armory. Peterson selected spiders because he felt they didn’t get the love they deserve.
“I really love insects and arachnids,” he said. “In general I think arachnids don’t really get the love that insects do in the world. … I wanted to do a large mural and I knew (daddy longlegs) would be a perfect specimen because of the way the body hovers above the ground and all the complicated legs and the way that they sit. The cast-shadow I knew would really pop out and make a really realistic effect.” for more info: Marlin Peterson
Through the glass floor shot! Loved the Space Needle shadow! You have to be pretty quick taking a shot because you are steadily moving clockwise or move to the left a few steps to get ready.
Views below of the Chihuly Gardens.
The MoPOP from above, and a cool maze…
We liked the pictures from the revolving floor level because there was less reflection to deal with.
The picture below shows the extension out from the upper observation deck that blocks much of the sun glare from the glass wall panels on the rotating glass floor level.
…and a close up of one of the many gears needed for the rotating floor.
The Oculus grand staircase is a cantilevered circular staircase connecting the upper and lower observation levels. It is centered above a massive piece of floored glass.
The restaurant is no longer, but the TipTop Cafe offers more appropriate options for the reasonable time spent up here taking in the views. We shared the savory pie option over the sweet, but they all sounded yummy. OMG. It was so good, and the pastry was nice and flaky.
Barry and I finally left the Space Needle and walked down towards the waterfront.
We thought we’d go to the Old Stove Brewing Co – the same restaurant we went to with Abby and Richard a couple years ago.
While I’m not a fan of beer, I asked for tastes of a couple on the menu that caught my eye. I then ordered the Sonoran Sunset:
4.9% ABV, 6.6 IBU Prickly Pear Gose. It was really good! I can drink a “beer” like this!
Since we had that pastry up in the Needle, we weren’t real hungry, and we didn’t want to carry around leftovers. Our waiter was awesome. He told us we could order any pizza we wanted, but get it in a child’s size! PERFECT! We ordered the Truffle Mushroom pizza. It had an olive oil base, mozzarella, roasted garlic, shiitake and cremini mushrooms, truffle oil and scallions. It was DEELish!
While we were at Old Stove, Richard texted me asking what our plans were later, and that he could meet us after he got off work. Sweet! What an unexpected addition to our day! What should we do for the next 2+ hours? We thought about riding the light-rail to the stadiums to get a Mariners shirt, and then come back, but instead we chose a more leisure option. We began walking down to Pike Place Market.
Murals nearby:
Love the eyes of these three animal murals.
Multiple pigs may be seen around this downtown area of Seattle (I’m referring to the ANIMAL pig -not the human ones LOL). The most famous and most photographed one is a 500-lb bronze cast piggybank named Rachel. She is located at the main entrance of the Public Market at Pike Place.
Rachel has become the “mascot” of the market as she greets visitors entering the market. She has been Seattle’s best ongoing fundraisers for The Market Foundation. This foundation assists the social services agencies in the market. Since her placement at the market in 1986, Rachel has raised over $200,000!
Rachel was inspired by and named after a real 750-pound pig who won the 1985 Island County Fair! She was created by Whidbey Island sculptor Georgia Gerber. View Rachel-the inspiration
Rachel literally saved the market from collapse when she was knocked off her base one evening in February 2011, by an out-of-control taxicab. She suffered a large crack, but held her ground enough to prevent the vehicle from hitting a support beam of the market pergola! Georgia Gerber brought Piggybank Rachel “home” for repair…but upon Rachel’s return later that year, she was accompanied with her cousin, “Billie”! Billie became the mascot for The Foundation’s “Pike UP” campaign to help fund the new MarketFront expansion. Billie and the Foundation raised over $9 million to expand Pike Place for the first time in 40 years. Really shows that even a few coins or a few dollars all adds up to make a difference!
In 2016, Billie was placed in her MarketFront location which is where we see her today.
When we got down to the upper street level of Pike Place Market area, we thought we’d visit the original Starbuck’s…hmm not today. LOL
Additional pig. This pig is located across the street on a store awning.
On into Pike Place Public Market…
The following display made me think these could be cool for the Neon Pickleball, but wasn’t interested in looking seriously today.
The fish market right by the main entrance near Rachel – the Piggy Bank, is where, if your timing is good – or you buy a fish, you can witness the well-known fish tossing they exclusively do here! I didn’t expect to see it on this visit, especially with the smaller crowd at this time of day, but we did! Watch the lady in the direction the fish is going! The look on her face is great as the fish continues toward her (yet in the hands of the “catcher”). Well done, guys! Usually the crowd erupts in applause and cheers. I know filming it limited me.
As we were heading out I noticed this mural panel at the top edge of the main entrance area.
Executive Order 9066 was the one President FDR signed that basically imprisoned Japanese American in internment camps during WWII.
Barry wanted to check out the gum wall since it was right around the corner. It’s pretty gross, but definitely a thing! He went to find the piece of gum he put there July 30, 2023. LOL
FOUND it! LOL
OK- maybe not, but it is roughly the area he stuck his fresh piece during our last visit. It helped to be at the corner where the Post Alley street sign is. Every 4 or 5 years the walls are washed with high pressure HOT water and then the gum is scraped off. The remove a TON of gum. Literally! Roughly 2,000-2,500 pounds of gum are scraped off each time! WOW! The last cleaning was November 2024, so Barry’s DNA was removed. They clean the walls to protect the historic brick when the amount of gum becomes to heavy.
A few more murals on our way to meet Richard.
It meant so much to me that it was Richard’s idea to meet us before we went back up to Abby’s. (And knowing he would see us on Sunday.) We went into Yard House Brewery to have a drink and visit.
I chose the Stiegl Radler. It was very refreshing! I really liked it. Hmm..that’s the second one I’ve found that I liked today!
What a perfect ending to our wonderful day in Seattle!
Richard walked with us to the Westgate Center Light Rail. Nice that he made sure we made it there. 🙂
Loved this much !! We haven’t done a day in Seattle in a very long time . We did do the waterfront last summer . But it looks like you got the total experience ! Great pics my friends!
We loved your descriptions/photos of Seattle, Nancy! Craig and I grew up in the city, and it was great fun “revisiting”. The details you showed were very special. Thank you!