Monday Hookie Playing: Seattle

Today was a beautiful day and my aunt wanted the cousins to see some of this beautiful Western WA country, so since Hubbie had the day off, we took a drive. That included a ferry ride. With a stop at the zoo. So, i thought i would invite you all to lose yourself in a couple of photos i took of our trip.

We ended up taking the visitors to Tacoma's Zoo and they across the Tacoma Narrows. Once you're on the Peninsula, the only way back home is to turn around and drive back, swim, or take a ferry ride. :o) So, we headed to Bremerton, where the ferry ride to Seattle is about 45-50 minutes long and one of the most scenic ferry rides out there. Bremerton is also where the Naval Shipyard is for the South Sound area, so it's pretty neat. Trident's are housed in a submarine station near by as well.

When you leave B-town, all you see is islands and inlets everywhere.

About 15 minutes out of B-town, you catch a sneak peek of the Space Needle and the return ferry for Seattle/Bremerton.

Pretty soon after, it gets real purdy....

Welcome to Seattle!

(Seattle Skyline from Puget Sound/WSF Kitsap)

Here's the quick and dirty on Seattle skyline.

The white tower on the right is the Smith Tower, one of the first skyscrapers in Seattle, located in Pioneer Square. The tan building to it's left (in the distant horizon) is Harborview Med. Center--it is the Level I trama center servicing the states WA, AK, ID, WY, and MT. Known as Harborzoo to anyone who has worked there (like me), it is better known as the hospital that the fictional "Seattle Grace" is modeled after on Grey's Anatomy.

The black tower, aka Columbia Tower, is our tallest at 90+ stories. It's really freaky to be in during an earthquake. ;o) Below the building, on the water is Colman Ferry dock and the Piers on the Alaskan Way.


Here is the meat between the Columbia Tower and the Space Needle. See the tall blue windowed/cream tower? That was the headquarters of WaMu. Just to the right do you see a little building with a green dome on it. That is called the "Ban Roll On" building by the locals here. Oy! Also, the medium sized building two doors to the right, is the "Piano" building, because the way it is designed, it looks like a keyboard.

And here is the Space Needle again. The white building in the foreground, on the water, is the Pier where all the cruise ships leave from. Underneather the SN is the Key Arena where our Sonics used to play.

This has got to be one of my favourite buildings though. I just love it's simplicity, yet uniqueness. The little buildings to the right of it are part of Pioneer Square/Chinatown.

An extra special surprise was waiting for us at the terminal...The WSF Tacoma was parked at Colman Dock. We hadn't seen it for a few years.

The Tacoma was where i had my first date and my first kiss with my Hubbie. So we got to tell my aunt all about it. He took me to Bremerton on the ferry after our meal at Tir Na Nog, an Irish pub in Downtown Seattle, and on the way back after talking non-stop for 2 hours, he told me how you can stand at the helm of the ship there and not feel any wind. I didn't believe him, so he showed me and he was right! And he was proud he taught me something. After i apologised for not believing him, he gave me a little peck. :o)

I love it when stressful, busy, and tiring trips to Seattle end on a positive note like that.