The Space Needle, Pike's Market, Lots of Coffee & A Wedding...but no Frazier!

We recently took a week off and drove to the Seattle area. The main reason for the trip was so we could attend my niece's wedding. Mary Hould is my sister Lavina's daughter and on July 18th, she married her soul mate, Andy Musson. Here's a photo of the happy couple. They are so happy together. It was a beautiful wedding and a very happy event.
We were in Seattle last summer too and wanted to take in a few "touristy" attractions this year. We started out by visiting Pike's Market. I would love to visit the Market if I lived nearby, but there's just too much to see in an afternoon when you're on vacation. So we were able to watch the men at the fish market throw some fish around to the crowd's delight, and then made a short afternoon of it. Did I mention that being in a fish market on a hot Seattle day is not my husband's favorite way to enjoy a vacation day? (Sorry Honey!)

One of the things we've been wanting to do is take the tour of Seattle's Underground. The underground has a fascinating story. When Seattle was first founded, the city was built right on the edge of the Sound and it caused big problems with the sewer system, primitive as it was, as well as flooding in the streets. In 1888 a huge fire took out 33 blocks of businesses. They started rebuilding immediately with the plan to raise all the streets one story. Businesses didn't want to wait to rebuild as there was a booming logging business and they didn't want to miss out on one cent of business, so they rebuilt and along with the entrances at the current street level, they build another entrance on the second floor. I can only imagine these great buildings being built with very modest entrances and doors and then on the second floor...there were elaborate entrances. Here are some photos of the buildings as they stand now, as well as a photo of the original doorways to one of the buildings. The original was
pretty bare boned compared to the ornate one of marble that was built on the then second floor. And did you know....they built the windows slightly smaller on every floor as they go up. It creates the illusion that the buildings are taller than they actually are. I can't go into a city now without checking to see if this holds true.

The underground is full of remnants of the age. There's a lot of debris that has never been cleaned up, as well as some relics that are very interesting. Seattle is rather proud to claim that they had the first toilets in the US so they have the first "crapper" of the underground on the tour. And being the tourist that I am....here's the proof!

So how do you top seeing one of the first crappers to be used in the US? How about Mt. Rainier looking like it is just sitting in the sky? I just love the way this looks during the day. It just seems to be floating there just out of reach. I know that Montana is the Big Sky Country, but it's pretty amazing how this mountain just pops out of the sky. And we witnessed some of the nicest blue skies that we've ever seen....outside of Montana, that is.
So I feel like I'm not a very good tourist. I have been to Seattle twice in the last two years and this is the closest I have gotten to the Space Needle. I hoped to go up in it, but with all the activity going on around the wedding...which was the main event after all...we just didn't make the time. I guess it just wasn't a priority.

And while I'm talking about priorities...there is one thing I regret that we didn't make the time to do. We didn't get to take a tour of Quest Field.....home of the Most Awesome Seattle Seahawks. My husband has wanted to go there for some time and I promised him we'd make the time this year. And I didn't make good on that promise. Maybe next year. (Again, Sorry Honey.) Guess this picture will have to do for another year. Of course, I'm sure a trip to a Seahawks game this season would make up for it.

As usual, the traffic in the whole Seattle area amazed me. I can't imagine having to drive every day in that kind of traffic. It's not that it scares me or anything...I'm just frustrated with waiting during the busy hours. It was like a giant parking lot the day I took the photo below.

And one more thing about Washington 2010: We were in the state for a whole week and during that time it did not rain one drop. It did however, pour rain nearly every day in Montana during that week. It wasn't until the day we left for home that we saw anything that resembled rain. And I really enjoyed the early morning clouds and drizzle. I think I'd like living in Washington. The clouds are very soothing.

It was a great week. Thank you Seattle and thank you Lavina...you were a gracious hostess. We enjoyed some (ok, LOTS) of the best coffee we've had in ages. And I was able to buy my first designer handbag (Pictures available on request!). But there was only one thing missing. As hard as I tried, I couldn't find the radio station with Frazier Crane's program. And I was all ready to call in!