Day 9: Seattle (part 2)

Well, all good things must come to an end. Today we awoke to our ship pulling back into port at Seattle. The trip we had waited for all year, was finally coming to a close. As we looked back on the trip, we realized how much we enjoyed everything; the atmosphere, weather, food, scenery, family, food, and weather. Did I mention the weather? The weather was as perfect as anyone could have asked for. The kind that you see in Alaskan video's and travel brochures. We realized that this trip was probably a rarity that not many people get to experience.

Will we go back again? You better believe it
Will we expect the same kind of weather? We know better than to do that
Will that then prevent us from going? of course not!

We enjoyed it so much we made plans to go back in 2030...since that is so close. But more than likely we will make it there before that.

After packing up our bags and waiting to get off the boat, we met up with my sister as she was our tour guide for the rest of the day. Sara and I had decided to spend an extra day in Seattle to spend some time with her. She was gracious enough to help shuttle Sara's aunt and uncle to a nearby hotel while they waited for their plane latter that evening. After dropping them off, we headed off to explore the town with a semi-local.

The first stop was by her current apartment, and then over to the home she was house sitting for the week. It turned out the family was nice enough to let us stay there with her for our extra night in town. Before heading back out, both Sara and I realized how exhausted we were from the week of adventure...so we took a nap on the comfy couches while watching the Olympics.

After a little lunch we headed out for a tour around the town. Here's a run down of the places Carolyn wanted to show us (follow along the on the map above);

- Magnus Park. A place near her apartment that she sometimes visits and runs around.

- Gas Works Park. A park on the bay that over looks the city. There are places where you can play, eat, or have a wedding reception.

- Theo Chocolates - a local, free trade, chocolate factory who specialize in unique chocolates. We were unable to do a tour, but did try some of their fine chocolates. I was surprised to know that just by using beans in different regions, you get different flavors. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves chocolate.

- The Troll. This is a sculpture underneath one of the Seattle bridges. The engi-nerd in me also was fascinated at the mini-round about the intersection by the troll.


- Ray's boathouse. A neat bar that overlooked the sound. If it didn't start to rain, it would have been fun to sit on the deck and watch the boats go by. However we were able to get a window a seat, and catch a glimpse of our cruise ship heading back out for its next cruise....what are the odds! The rain also created a bit of fog over the water, and the gave the ship an eerie pirates of the Caribbean feel as it passed.


- The Deadliest Catch Boats. What a find! As we were driving back after our dinner we passed boat after boat that was parked along an inner channel. While stopped at a red light, then front nose of The Wizard was poking through the trees and caught my eye. We did a quick 180 and headed down to the dock to get a picture. I snapped a couple shots, then walked out on the public dock to get a better view of the ship. Once out, I turn and saw the Northwestern sitting beside it. It was like seeing a celebrity, except you didn't have to worry about then running from the camera. however I guess it would only be exciting if you watched the show. (last time we were out there we saw the floating house from sleepless in seattle)


- Greenlake. Another public park that she likes to run/walk around.

- Improv. Ok, its not a place, but we went to see an improv group perform.

- WOW! Bubble Tea. I was hooked, I had to have another one before we left Seattle.

After an afternoon and evening full of adventure, it was time for bed. One last night before we head home and face the working world again... :(