Friday, July 27, 2012

Reunion - Seattle

The children went down to explore a massive dome and were surprised when water started spurting up - in great quantities and great force! We should have paid more attention to the little girl who was getting out of there fast! She must be a native and privy to what was about to happen. 
We were in Seattle to ride the ducks, the amphibious vehicles that drive on the streets and then go into the water. The ride left from near the Space Needle.

The undulating roof between the Space Needle and Duck vehicle is the EMP Museum (Experience Music Project). The museum was funded by Paul Allen (Microsoft). See images here

Captain Chip Ahoy entertained and informed us throughout the trip. Ride the Duck captains are known to be quirky. They try hard to get their passengers to be a bit crazy during their land and sea adventure. He changed his head gear frequently throughout the trip.
 As we drove through the streets of Seattle, we learned about the history of the city. According to this article, the pink elephant sign is photographed even more than the Space Needle. Our captain said it was the second most photographed site in the city. 

We drove into Lake Union and learned more history. We saw boats of all types as well as sea planes. It was a beautiful day so the views of downtown Seattle were wonderful. 
We learned the difference between house boats (have a motor), house barges (have to be towed to be moved), and regular houses built on the water (don’t move and are hooked up to city water and sewer).

Check out the small house to the left of the brown house on the right of the photo. This tiny, tiny house barge is extremely small and very expensive to rent. Captain Chip Ahoy said there's always a waiting list of people who want to rent the place. 
We saw the "Sleepless in Seattle" house barge - this isn't it. 

After the "duck" ride, we wandered around Seattle Center a bit. The Chihuly Garden and Glass opened just a few weeks ago. We peeked through the fence to see some of Dale Chihuly's beautiful creations. Chihuly is from Tacoma, Washington.Those of you in Columbus, Ohio can see his work at the Franklin Park Conservatory



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