Seattle: Through The Eyes Of A Fantasy Writer (pt 4)

This is part four of my Seattle trip, and we’re finally getting into day two. If you missed part 1, you can find it here, and part 2 is here, part 3 is here.

So far my wife Sandi, and I have arrived in Seattle in the early hours of the morning, caught sunrise over the city at Gasworks Park, and taken a lot of pictures. Then we headed up to the University District, before booking into our hotel, and hitting up Treehouse Point and Snoqualmie Falls. Then we made our way up onto Cougar Mountain, and back to the hotel to crash for the night.

Day two started with a visit to Fremont to see The Fremont Troll, the Center of the Universe Signpost, and then a trip south to Kerry Park.

For a sneak peek of what I had planned for the three days you can click here.

Feb 14th 2017 – The Space Needle (visit #1)

Now this is were things got really interesting, because there is nothing like having the opportunity to see a city from above, and the Space Needle is a great way to do that.

Standing over 600 feet, this is one of the tallest landmarks in Seattle, and was once one of the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. What is most impressive not only it’s height and structural stability, but the fact that it was built in 1962, for the World Trade Fair, and they had to lay a 300 foot deep foundation to support it’s weight.

From the base of the structure to the Observation Deck takes a mere 41 seconds in the elevator. Once there, you have an uninterrupted 360 degree view of Elliot Bay, the mountain ranges, and the city skyline.

Sandi and I took the opportunity to make two visits over the course of the day, but I’ll get back to our second visit later.

Feb 14th 2017 – Ride The Ducks Tour

The next stop on our tour actually came about as a last minute decision, and it’s one I’m glad we made, even if it didn’t fit into my original plans for the day.

Ride the Ducks of Seattle is a city tour with a difference, because you ride through the city in a WWII amphibious landing craft (AKA a Duck). The route takes in the Seattle waterfront, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the downtown shopping district, and then eases it’s way into Lake Union for a leisurely view of the city from the water.

Throughout the tour, the crew provide a guided tour of the city, covering history, architecture, famous figures, and even a few glimpses of sights from movies filmed in Seattle. It’s a fun ride, full of music, and entertainment for all ages. And then you’re in the water.

This was where things got really interesting, because we floated right by Gas Works Park, which we’d visited the previous day, and it looks so different from the water. And then as the craft motors it’s way around the bay, there are opportunities to take some amazing shots of the skyline. There are vantage points on the lake that give you views you couldn’t get from anywhere else. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the city.

Feb 14th 2017 – Columbia Center

Not done with visiting tall buildings, our next stop was the Columbia Center, famous for it’s Sky View Observatory. At 943 ft in height, for a total of 76 stories, this is the tallest structure in Seattle, and covers a full city block on it’s own.

Up on the 73rd floor, at a height of 902 ft is the Sky View Observatory, which wasn’t actually intended to be part of the original layout for the floor. Originally designated for office space, it was converted into an observation deck and provides an unprecedented view of the city.

Tune in next week for Part 5 of this series, when we finish out our second day, and head into our final day in Seattle.