It's About the (RV) Journey....: Seattle.............

The heat wave broke, and more normal Seattle weather settled in....cloudy and 70's....perfect for a "city trip". The ferry from Bainbridge Island (10 minutes from our campsite) was about a half hour ride through the bay and it was really scenic and enjoyable. A little cold early in the morning for those not wearing a jacket...I can tell you that first hand! Haha.

taking the ferry today

nice quiet harbor

large ships go through the sound !

Seattle skyline

the iconic Space Needle

cool city...pretty clean too

are you freezing there Susie?

do you want to ride the ferris wheel?

Did you know the waterfront has hills that lead up into the city? Its a bit like San Francisco! We definitely got a workout walking through the city, that's for sure. We passed the Seattle Art Museum, and Pike's Place Market, which were on our agenda for later in the day as time allowed. Actually, we walked through Pike's Place Market since most of the produce and fish vendors were already open and doing business. It was really nice to walk through without the crowds!!

kind of like San Francisco

Seattle Art Museum

Pike's Place Market

we'll shop later

work friends: Do you remember the team building day with the Pike's Place Fish Market video about having fun at work???

someone had fun making these signs!

hhmmmm....do I want to carry flowers around the city all day??

I need that sign!!!

the market is on about 4 levels...lots of stalls!

Our first stop was the Space Needle, since we figured that would be the most crowded. For more information, click here. It was about 2 miles from the ferry terminal, so we had a nice brisk walk before sightseeing. Because we were so early, the line was really short, the prices much lower, and we enjoyed the views from the top with no wait. WIN-WIN! Since it was cloudy and overcast, we could not see Mt. Rainier, but the city itself was very clear and we enjoyed the 360 degree panorama of the city.

we're here!

Top of the Needle

from the top of the Needle

there are the sports stadiums in the middle of the pic

Richie-how's that for a port?

Just LOVE that apartment building with the courtyard inside. Bet that's big bucks!!!

another overview of the city

cruise ships in port

Gotta have a Starbucks while I'm here (hope my heart rate doesn't go through the roof)!

Immediately next to the Space Needle is Chihuly Garden and Glass, which was OUTSTANDING and not to be missed if you are in Seattle. (A quick look at tripadvisor informed us it was the #1 attraction in Seattle, and we definitely agree)! For more information, click here. It is a jaw-dropping breathtaking experience. It was quite crowded, and we think lots of folks were taking a "shore excursion" from the two cruise ships that were docked not too far away. We could hear lots of talk about the cruises! It is also part of a "city pass" if you are going to a few attractions.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

every time I see these I think of Paul Blart-Mall Cop

mirrors and light

seascape

Persian Ceiling

close up....so cool

my favorite....a garden of glass! Filled the room!

unbelievable

how beautiful is this?

so many displays

Another favorite...just so cool!

how does he do it?

pick a color....any color

beautiful!

the gardens were awesome

Chihuly Garden and Glass is literally right next to the Space Needle

the blue/purple area

pretty nice!

especially nice with the blooming flowers

so pretty

sketches done in acrylics first

We think we have actually seen some of Chihuly's glass art at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix this past winter.

the Desert Garden Museum in Phoenix this past February

Chihuly's Garden and Glass in Seattle

After gawking over the glass art for a couple of hours, it was getting to be lunchtime. We were going to hop a bike, but since we didn't have our helmets, we thought it would be better to walk. Our next stop was the Olympic Sculpture Garden along the waterfront. For more information, click here. It is operated by the Seattle Art Museum, and free to the public. Interesting. We walked through the park, and made our way to the waterfront from there.

rent a bike program (like in NYC)

remember these erasers?????

part of the exhibit

Nice park here too! Lots of seating and people eating their lunch

overseeing the waterfront

Look!

clever chairs

smell anything?

ready to take a dive

We really liked the slogan on the bikes. That has sort of been our theme for the past year or so :) Once down near the waterfront, we passed the popular ferry to Victoria, which many people recommended to us. If we are in the Seattle again, that is top on our list. Did I mention how much walking we were doing.....and how hungry we were as we were walking on the waterfront? We had our pick of restaurants, and it wasn't long before we had a delicious seafood meal on the deck.

our motto...Explore. Dream. Discover.

ferry to Victoria, Canada (we didn't have passports with us)

good place for lunch!

Cheers!

aahhh....chowda'........

and a seafood lunch

salmon fish and chips!

Refreshed and re-energized, we were ready to continue our exploration of Seattle. The weather was just perfect! Nice and cool...no need for jackets, or cooling kerchiefs either! We continued back up the waterfront to Pike's Place Market, where we had to climb about a million steps to get to the top. For more information, click here. (Very San Francisco-ish!) The crowds had arrived!! All the stalls were open now, and things were very busy, mostly with tourists just wandering through (like us)! I really really wanted to buy some of those gorgeous flowers, but since we were going to be traveling for a couple of days and sitting up front in the RV, it wasn't really worth it. We love having fresh flowers in the camper and we do get them quite often, but they are never as nice as the ones we saw at Pike's! We did make a few purchases (the bakery!) and I supported an local glass artist with my purchase of some very cool jewelry. All in all, we did well. Would have loved to have gotten some nice fresh salmon too...

Seattle Aquarium or Seattle Art Museum....hhhmmm

let's do the art museum

lots going on here by the ferry

really?

I think there are a few stairs here

this is just the beginning .... I think there are four of these!

Feed the pig!! (for the food banks and other charities)

Embracing the Diversity of America

cool light in the market hallway

smells so great!!!

one of my favorites!!

so so pretty

the original Starbucks...and the line wraps around the block! Wow!

the market is packed now!

doesn't it all look great?

oh boy!

one cookie each....that's it! (we should be buying the fruit and veggies)

music to shop by (or eat cookies by)

Since we were up early and beat the crowds at the Space Needle, we had time to check out the Seattle Art Museum too! When we walked into the lobby, there were about 4 cars hanging from the ceiling, and we thought maybe this was a modern art museum, but actually, they had a little bit of everything. Going up the escalator, what was the first thing we saw? Chihuly glass art! It was beautiful, and really stood out in comparison to the other pieces of glass art by other artists. I guess I'm a little biased now, after that amazing Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit.

ready for the art museum?

you look it! hahahahahah

gotta love art!

Chihuly pieces

Jo-would look great on your coffee table!!

Some of the exhibits were mind-boggling. Tom spent some time trying to figure out some of the artwork. There was a bit of everything at the museum, and the special exhibit featured Disguises-Masks-African Art. It was really interesting, though some of the masks were a little bit creepy looking. We also enjoyed an exhibit that used Fluorescence from the Sterling Mine in NJ! It was a really cool exhibit!

I don't get it!

mesmerizing

native art

more native masks

African Art...Disguise exhibit

a little creepy

lots of interesting masks

the Porcelain room

back to the Disguise/Mask art

the whole room was filled with the deer

enlarge to read details...used fluorescence mines in Sterling, NJ!....check out ChemaTEK to learn more

the exhibit using the fluorescence

It was late afternoon when we headed back to the ferry. We really enjoyed our day trip to Seattle, playing tourist in a city (which I love to do). Tom had fun too....really, he did! Well, except for maybe the art museum. That was too much for him. Hahahah.

very hilly!

back at the ferry...after a fun day!

the waterfront has lots of eateries

we did a lot of walking today! (24,000 steps on the fitbit)

bye bye Seattle

lots of little sailboats at the ferry terminal

docking....the first ones off were the bikers (as in bicycles) down below on street level

commuters patiently waiting...its Friday!!

We had a good time on the ferry back to Bainbridge Island-and felt recharged again by the time we docked. We walked around Bainbridge for a bit before having dinner on the bayfront. Delicious! Afterwards, we were going to walk back to the ferry parking lot via a path along the waterfront, but it ended before we got very far. We continued the walk back through the center of town, window-shopping, to get back to the car. What a fun day!! Lots of walking (and eating)!!