August 20…. Seattle, The Sequel.

Let’s try this again.

Taking the truck into the city was such a bad idea, let’s not do that again.

I found a place to park at a bus Park and Ride lot in Bremerton, a short distance to the ferry terminal, and best of all, free parking. 😁

Small snag, it’s intended for commuters so the buses only run early and late in the day, so no bus for us. No biggie, we snagged a quick Lyft to the terminal and away we went.

This time, we took the fast passenger-only ferry. Half the time of the big car ship, it again took us straight to the waterfront of downtown Seattle. And now, without the monster truck to slow us down, we could finally enjoy ourselves.

Walking the waterfront, checking out restaurants for later in the day and shops that looked interesting. We took a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel.

Not so impressed, if you’ve done one you’ve done them all. Only the location changes. But when in Seattle, you do Seattle things.

Keep walking, gawking at the big buildings like the tourists we are. No parking, no cares about tiny twisting streets. Ahhhh!

Heading away from the water, up the hill, we found the old monorail and headed again for the Space Needle. The monorail was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. It fell into disrepair for a while, but it was revived and is a nice way to go. Above the streets, it winds around and through, it only has two stops, hop on at one end, and off at the Space Needle. Easy. No stress, all we had to do is ride and sightsee.

Space Needle time. One of the most iconic sights in Seattle, it was a must-see on our list. Also built for the 1962 World’s Fair, it stands over 600 ft tall, so up we went.

There’s even a rotating floor up there. 😁

After returning to earth, we moved on to an art exhibit showcasing the works of Dale Chihuly, who I had never heard of, but was apparently one of my mom’s favorite artists. Mostly glass sculptures but some photos and other art pieces, but the glass was definitely what to see. Huge multi-colored glass towers. “Gardens” of glass with grass and flowers, all made of the colored glass. Beautiful work.

Returning on the monorail back to downtown, we headed again towards the waterfront to visit Pike Place Market. A famous attraction in Seattle, I know it as the place “where they throw the fish”. LOTS of people, hundreds of shops lining the aisles, in search of the flying fish we went.

Plenty of searching, interesting sights, but we never saw any fish tossing. 😞. I even googled it to make sure my memory was correct and that we were in the right place. Even matched up the pictures on the web to where we were. Still no fish flights. Oh well.

Early dinner at Von’s House of 1000 Spirits (the alcohol kind, not the Ghostbusters kind) and several cocktails capped off a great day.

Another ferry ride back to Bremerton, a Lyft back to the truck, and a short drive home. No muss, no fuss, no stress, no expensive parking, and a great visit to a beautiful city. Lesson learned. 😄