Living in blah Florida, visiting states with lush green mountains and valleys and attractive topography is like a deep breath of fresh air, even when you are exposed to only a tiny taste.
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| Posing with my friends Marcia and Millie |
Before my brief visit to Seattle, Washington, all I knew about the area was that it had great bicycle paths and it rains a lot.
Well from the lushness of the place, I am sure it does rain a lot, but thank heavens it didn't when I was there. In fact, if it rained at all during my week's stay, it was before I surfaced, so once or twice I did notice only a little water on the grass, so it was pure joy and warm, weather, without the stifling humidity.
As to bicycles, they are parked everywhere as riders need only a credit card to get access to one and once done, they can park them
anywhere, and they do.
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Once done, these bikes are left anywhere which means everywhere!
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I was a bit curious though, about how come in a city where it is mandatory to use a helmet when riding, where these rental cycles are concerned, that rule did to seem to apply!
But I stray.
I had hopped over to Seattle by train in what was a very scenic ride, after the end of a cruise which terminated in nearby Vancouver, Canada. So I couldn't avoid going there after being so close!
The trip was to visit a very close friend Millie, who lives there as well as cousins who I had recently met who live in the Emerald City. (So called as it is lush and green year-round).
Incidentally, Millie lives a few doors from the woman recently arrested for hacking into Amazon and stealing information on over 100 million accounts. Worse, when they raided her house, they found a man there who had an arsenal of guns, ammunition and even grenades so thankfully, took him into custody too!
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The spectacular view of Lake Washington from my hosts home
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My initial very pleasant surprise was that my friend Millie had arranged for me to stay in a very lavish suite in the home of a close relative. This location gave me a wonderful view of the beautiful
Washington Lake and Mercer island in King County.
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| The walkway circles the lake |
This venue also gave me quick access to the well equipped, pedestrian-friendly Seaward Park, located on.
300 acres of beautiful forest land, with a well marked 2.4 mile bike and walking path, plus miles of hiking trails, shoreline, beaches and more. I was quite intrigued by the number of persons I saw bathing in the lake with its under 50% temperature in summer, but I guess they don't know better!
I consider this means of sightseeing the best value for money, since it usually gives you an extensive guided tour of the host city plus a guided waterfront tour by boat, for your money. Really good value and the operator in Seattle did not disappoint.
Of course, the tour started at the well known "space needle" which boasts a revolving restaurant on top. This monument was built for the Worlds Fair in 1962, and was the tallest building at that time, but has been dwarfed many times since then.
It has, what I hear is a great revolving restaurant on top, but being allergic to heights I passed up on a visit there,
Beside it is the museum of pop culture called MoPop and while some people find the design unattractive, I found it quite beautiful. I only passed up visiting it as I heard it was an all day affair.
That area is really full of tourists though, bumping against each other all day.
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| MoPop |
A favorite stop of mine was at Pikes Market, which sits on eleven acres of land in the midst of town.
It has on display just about everything, from the literal pin to anchor, but my favorite and that of a horde of visitors to the area, is their very delicious clam chowder.
I however found the smell of fish and other sea foods a bit overwhelming.
I guess I should have expected that such a market in Seattle with its numerous lakes, the Sound and ocean would be a fishy!
According to our tour guide, Washington has the highest, per capita, number of boat owners and whereas I had always felt Florida would hold that distinction, considering how many commercial fishermen there are in Washington plus the fun lovers, he could very well be right.
Lovers were all over Pikes market though, selecting from the picturesque array of fresh flowers on display there, for sale.
Their waterfront and pier is extremely busy with thousands of shore visitors who had arrived on one of the many cruise ships and even naval vessels that dock there.
From the boat touring the waterfront, you got not only a really great view of the well-designed city, but also some of the huge sculptors adorning the sculpture park.
The one that stood out for me was this below!
had been told about the numerous outlying islands, a few of which are densely populated accessible by ferry and I did make an attempt to visit Bainbridge island, but just my luck, the engine of the ferry gave out on that trip!
However, the day before I had to leave, Millie and her daughter Christine, did take Marcia who was visiting from Jamaica and I, on a driving tour of that island, then circling over to Tacoma.
From Brainbridge, you get a wonderful view of a section of the Olympic Mountain Range where global warming is stark, as huge sections of mountains which are normally covered with snow, were clearly melting.
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| A view of the waterfront from the sea |
I was a bit disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to see mount St. Helens up close. This is an eight thousand foot high active volcano, which last erupted in 2008, but it is some 96 miles south of the Seattle. I have to visit it one day as I am fascinated with volcanoes, since visiting four in Costa Rica.
What I got in early August 2019 was definitely just a small taste of the beautiful state of Washington, which only inspires me to place another visit high on my bucket list.
OTHER SCENES FROM SEATTLE
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A section of the University of Washington where some 54,000 study, most from out of state or country
  
These three are sculptors and murals at Pikes Market
The tallest Ferris wheel on the west coast
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