Epic Seattle Adventures, Part One

I had an unexpected opportunity to see a few of THE things to do in Seattle. Here are a few photos from our first stop -- the Space Needle! First time I've been up there since my son became a t**nager lo, those many years ago. (When my kids were adolescents, I vowed I would not say that particular four-letter word.)

Wheel Ferry Crane Port

it was kind of wet that day

"Rain Gets in Your Eyes"

it stopped raining for a while

fall colors

Sea plane! Sea plane! Landing on Lake Union

those hills are pretty marvelous way out there

the Stadia, and that remarkable red building

For authentication purposes, here's a self portrait from the glass-floored observation level. Sorry I didn't think to adjust the lighting, but this is obviously me. You can even see the tread on my left boot.

Postscript -- The Invisible Hotel

Did I mention how much I enjoyed Omaha's architecture? The big, beautiful, memory-filled old houses? The brick buildings everywhere? The age of the city? Once I got settled back at home, I wanted to pull up Google maps and check out the street views that I would recognize. Think again.

First of all, the Google maps' street view photos were taken in spring or summer, when there were GREEN LEAVES on all the trees. That was an improvement as far as being easier on the eyes, but not so good for being able to see any homes that aren't right on the street.

The second problem is the invisible hotel. Here's the satellite view of the hotel, by address:

View Larger Map

That's it, right where the arrow is pointing. See it? Yes, the vacant lot behind the old Model T factory. If you can't quite make out the hotel from above, go to street view. Find the intersection of North 16th and Izard, stand next to the street sign looking east. Do you see that big yellow building-under-construction? That's it!

Funny, when I stayed there, I never once heard the pounding of hammers or the whining of saws. Oh, the wonders of modern construction.