Random Rambler: Seattle 2022 Part 1

Part 1 of 2

Some close friends and us decided randomly to do a big Seattle trip. It was amazing. The friend that suggested this is going due to a concert she wanted to see, so she has been planning Seattle for a while, so she already had a big list of things to see and do. We added some input, and then she went and grouped things by area. So it was kind of like I really didn't have to think much about what to see and do, but still saw and did a lot!

Day 1: Saturday

Holy shit yall, I got on a plane. 40 some years old and this was my first time on a commercial plane. As someone that is both acrophobic, claustrophobic and agoraphobic this was a serious challenge for me considering that is pretty much stuffing all 3 into one tiny metal tube. Yet, somehow I made it through. I found some natural anti anxiety gummies, and had a beer, so I don’t know if either helped or not, but I made it. Take off was rougher than landing for me. However I think that was due to not really knowing what to expect.

Heading towards the airport. (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)),

The tunnel. It was not as bad as everybody makes it out to be.

Airplanes!

The Squatters Pub in the airport has a pretty neat view.

Antelope Island. So I asked Landis for the middle seat because of my fear of heights, but, I was actually pretty fascinated. I think I will take the window on the way home.

Above the clouds. I found a random herbal anti anxiety remedy, and I am not sure if it worked, or if the beer did it, or maybe the combination of them, But I found myself being pretty chill with being all the way up in the air at the moment. Which is really not what I was expecting for myself.

I think that is Mount Rainier.

And I am almost certain that is Mount St. Helens.

Again.

Huh. I wonder what the haze is from.

Super weird, landing did not bother me at all.

Locals complain that the new SL airport is too big, but uh, its got nothing on Seattle's!

Sky bridge. We had to take this over to the parking garage where they have a dedicated ride share pick up area. Before long our Uber arrived to whisk us away to our Air BNB.

Just look at all the parking spirals (PSP)! I don’t think that was even all of them. Holy crap.

It was a maybe 20 minute or so Uber from the airport to our Air BNB.

The Old Rainier Brewery (PSP). A quick lookup on google maps tells me this is no longer an active brewery, not sure where they moved too. We decided that was to be the beer of the trip.

Approaching Downtown (PSP). Salt Lake has some skyscrapers, but nothing like this! Wow!

We went exploring (on the hunt for beer). I found this neat building on a split street. I think it is Madison and Union.

Did I mention we’re in the gay district? Cause it’s totally the gay district. A lot of the crosswalks are painted rainbows.

If you are not from Utah this is probably pretty insignificant, but as someone from Utah this is so nice to see in a random gas station.

We found a gorgeous orb weaver. Then we discovered they are pretty much everywhere out here. Holy crap. Anyway, I think we caught this one enjoying lunch.

A little closer. It’s kind of weird, I am pretty arachnophobic actually. While I certainly would not want this thing crawling on me, once I was able to identify it as harmless, its absolutely fascinating.

Seattle is pretty damn cool. We found a nice place that happens to be in the gay district and wow! It is so amazing to see so many pride flags in so many stores. I feel so safe and welcome. It is really incredible to see. I guess you would just have to live my life to really get that.

Day 2:

Well holy crap, I did not expect the day to go the way that it did. We started with breakfast at Eltana, then wandered around town and into some shops.

I mentioned the orb weavers are like, everywhere right?

I caught this ones orb web.

Almost all of the power poles are absolutely covered with flyers, to the point that they are bulging out, like more than just a little. I wondered what was the rule with that? Is there any courtesy that your poster will not be covered until it is expired, or is it more of a mad max kind of situation?

Then we found a liquor store, where I found this neat Crown Royal throne and decided I needed a picture in it.

Then we kind of stumbled upon a drag queen brunch at The Unicorn and OMG that was absolutely amazing! The Utah drag shows are eh.. ok. This drag show blew all of them out of the water! I have seen actual productions that couldn’t hold a candle to this show. So neat! Click the link above to see more of that.

Then we went for dinner at Rhein Haus and that was really good. We uh, drank way too much. But wow, we are just having a blast. I uhm, think I need to live here cause, I am all about this life.

Downtown.

Day 3: Monday.

Today we decided to do more touristy stuff. We took an Uber towards downtown and experienced the Museum of Pop Culture, as well as the Chihuly Glass Museum. Both were pretty neat. If you want to do a bunch of the popular tourist attractions I recommend looking into CityPass (outside link).

Monday started out with us finding a new orb weaver friend. And you can make out his/her orb shaped nest here. Elise was not a fan finding this right outside the front door, but she dealt with it. They really are just everywhere up here.

A different ones web.

A random tree starting to change. When I agreed to do this trip, way back in the spring, which is super early of me to make such a commitment, I totally did not consider the fact that I was leaving during prime leaf peeping season. So, trying to enjoy what I can here in the city.

First glimpse of the Space Needle (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).

Our first adventure of the day was the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP. I made that a separate post.

After that we were all ready for lunch so we looked for something nearby.

The Seattle Center Armory has a food court. o.O. It was also right there, so we got lunch real quick before our next adventure.

Random giant donut.

Much better view of the Space Needle.

Again.

And again.

After that we visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass. Which was actually pretty neat! Also a separate post.

I thought these flowers were part of the Chihuly Museum but that is not right. This is a separate piece called Sonic Bloom by Dan Corson. It appears to be part of the Pacific Science Center.

The sign.

With the Space Needle.

Looks like this is called the Olympic Iliad.

Underneath.

Looking back towards Sonic Bloom.

We found some more fuchsia.

The Space Needle again. Our friends went up, but I just couldn’t today. The thought of being stuck in that tiny elevator shooting up was just not what I wanted to deal with. So we we waited for them.

Water fountain.

The bottom of the Space Needle. I assume these bollards ae not original.

Directly underneath. Woo!

I picked up a few unnecessary souvenirs.

The big support frames.

Another under shot.

Again.

I really wish I had mustered the courage to go up, but I just couldn’t. Sigh. I sometimes hate my reptile brain

The architect for the Space Needle, Victor Steinbroeck was inspired by this stature created by David Lemon.

You can definitely see the resemblance.

Vertical panoramic. After that we decided to head back towards are room.

The Museum of Pop Culture again.

The city.

More city (PSP).

I think this is the night we ordered in some Indian food. It was not terribly impressive.

Day 4: Tuesday.

Today we did some more fun touristy things. We checked out the Pike Place Market, which was really a weird obviously hodgepodged building. Then we explored the Seattle Aquarium and had a blast there. Then we decided to end the day at Pier 57 and had a nice dinner at the Fisherman's Catch. It was a little pricy, but quite good. Then our friends rode the Seattle Great Wheel.

Pikes Place Farmers Market.

As I understand it, this was the place the local farmers used to sell their wares, eventually they were provided building, Which just kind of kept growing until the abomination it is now.

Looking back towards the city.

Towards the bay. With the Seattle Great Wheel. Well get closer to that later today.

Some of the history.

The first building was opened in 1907, it was the main arcade.

by1911 the demand had nearly doubled. An overhead canopy was installed and became known as “Dry Row”.

In 1916 the last of the core buildings for the next few decades were obtained.

In the 1970’s an initiative passed that created the Historic Preservation Zone, which subsequently allowed them to restore, and renovate as well as expand it.

There was a final restoration in 2012.

One of the arcades.

More history.

We found a few of these “Zoltan” style machines. I had actually recently re-watched Big so it was fun to see this so soon afterwards.

I guess these are called Fortune Teller Machines. Which happened to be exactly what I put into wikipedia to figure out what they were called.

View of Elliott Bay.

After doing 3 or 4 stories we went out for a quick break and all of us as a group decided the rest is probably more of the same, so we decided we were done.

A nearby coffee shop really wants you to clean up after yourself.

We had an appointment at the aquarium, but we still had time, so we checked out the nearby Seattle Antiques Market. It was on a list of weird things to do. It is supposedly haunted.

The city.

Yeah.. imma pass on that. Thanks (the sign says free dolls).

Panoramic of the city.

Then we visited the Seattle Aquarium. Again, a separate post.

Elliott Bay.

We then wandered over to Pier 57 and had dinner at The Fisherman’s Restaurant. It was a little pricy, but I quite enjoyed what we had.

Creepy fisherman statue.

The Seattle Great Wheel.

2 out of 6 of us decided to ride it. I definitely was not one of them. It appears that you can get beer before the ride, and they provide a little sippy cup. Fun! Like the Space Needle, confined space going up super high, yeah, that’s a no from me.

After that we kind of wandered the pier and did a little bit of shopping.