Seattle

6-17-06 SEATTLE: The first day of our Alaska trip. Actually, yesterday we flew from Newark to Seattle getting in here late enough to check in and crash. Fortunately we didn’t crash before getting here. Prior to leaving Short Hills, I did notice that the first of the cream rhodos had opened.

This morning we set out from the Olympic Fairmont and walked down hill to the waterfront. We shopped the Pike St. market. It has lots of flowers and food stalls and all the ususal souvenir stops. Next we went to the aquarium. It had good mammals, otters and seals, but is not in the Monterey aquarium class. After a seafood lunch on a pier, oysters and crabs, we went on a harbor cruise. As we left the sun came out for the first time. The harbor is called Elliott Bay and is part of Puget Sound. Before we embarked, we saw an old sail boat, a maxi from the 1980’s, “Obcession”, that I remember from some of the races I did back then. Now the boat still has all the racing gear on deck, giant winches, fore sail lead tracks and cars, coffee grinders, a mast with five spreaders, two spinnaker poles, double helms and reduplicated instruments, but is rigged with a roller furling jib and a main with lazy jacks and working as a harbor cruiser. A Kentucy Derby winner now pulling a hay wagon, but still sailing.

On our cruise, we saw a huge luxury ship cast off for Alaska, a giant container ship come in from China, coast guard ice breakers, a bald eagle, the Seattle skyline and the Olympic range off to the north. When we approached Seattle from the east in the air yesterday, we saw a huge mountain poking up through the clouds to the south-Mt. Rainier.

After the cruise, we hit an antique store for a few trinkets, an old bottle and old scale. Then we visited a show for a marina loaded with wooden yachts, all beautifully restored. Finally, a trek back up the hill to the Fairmont for dinner, calamari, tuna, crab cakes. Tomorrow Air Alaska to Juneau.