Day 8: Seattle

Day 8 stats:
Miles: 0 driven (about 5 walked)
Highway Patrol: 0 (but a few of Seattle's finest)
Tolls: 0
Hitchhikers: 0

This day was the first - and only - day I didn't drive. I did however take a monorail and walk a decent amount. I won't say I walked a lot, because for me a lot is about 12+ miles in a day. I was able to see a variety of sights in a a day.

1. Seattle Art Museum. Primarily a modern and contemporary art museum, but they did have a great exhibition called "Inspiring Impressionists," which talked about how impressionist were influenced by old masters, 17th century Dutch landscape painters and the works they say at the Louvre. On display were not only the impressionists works, but also their "muses." A great start to the day!

2. Pike Place Market. Kind of touristy, but lots of good fresh food.

3. Space Needle. I took the monorail to the Space Needle and felt like I was on a very large Disneyland "land" (e.g., Tomorrow Land, etc). Surrounding the Needle was like a carnival, complete with a Ferris Wheel, some spinning rides and of course the Bumbershoot music festival, which is apparently the largest music festival in Seattle. I didn't know this was going on until I arrived in Seattle. Thankfully it was a clear day - a rarity in Seattle - so I had some great views. But after looking at the views for about 5 minutes I realized I spent more time standing in the ticket and elevator lines than I was going to spend looking at the view. Oh well.

4. Seattle Waterfront. I decided to walk back from the Space Needle to Pioneer Square (birthplace of Seattle, but more about that later). My first stop on the waterfront was the Olympic Sculpture Park. Lots of very large modern and contemporary sculpture including a series of 20-30 foot tall orange traffic cones. And then a very disturbing fountain. I continued my walk along the piers.

5. Seattle Underground. No it's not a subway system. It is a tour that I would totally recommend to anyone going to Seattle. I learned so much about the history of Seattle...did you know that for decades the streets and sidewalks were 10-35 feet above the store fronts and people would have to go up and down ladders and stairs just to walk a couple blocks. Eventually a series of underground walkways were created, which considering the rainy weather...walking underground is much preferred than climbing a slippery ladder while wearing a petticoat (at least for women). We walked on and under Pioneer Square.

Homeward bound...