North to Alaska

[Justinf]

This was awesome. A big blue bear looking into a building.

 

[Justinf]

A legal pot seller merchant. And I don't mean flowerpots.

Union Station.

 

[Justinf]

Coors Field. The end of the tour.



A pic of our tour party. Pic courtesy of Denver Free Walking Tours Facebook site.



Can thoroughly recommend the tour. A great way to spend a couple of hours.
The tour runs from 10am to noon in winter and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the art museum and the humungous library.
back to my room by 4pm and headed out for a beer.


And the obligatory 'me' pic.


In bed by 10pm with some takeaway enchiladas and had an 11.15am flight tomorrow to Seattle to meet up with SIS.
I really liked Denver and wished I could have had a few more days there. Next time I will go to Boulder. I liked the vibe of Denver and it seemed like a pretty relaxed place. Certainly a homeless problem, as is the case in all big cities, but overall the small sample I had of this city, I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[Justinf]

Up early and got ready. Ordered an Uber out to the airport which cost $32, far cheaper than the cab option.
Security line was pretty quick. I dread going through security it the US. It stresses me out.
DEN was pretty quiet today



A Southwest 737 coming in to land with the Rocky Mountains in the background.


Today I was flying on Alaska Airlines flight 673 on a 737-900. Flight was delayed by 30 minutes which was a pain as SIS was flying in to SeaTac from LAX 30 minutes before me so it meant she was going to have to wait an hour. FA told me that with tailwinds, we should only be five or 10 minutes late. Flight time was around two hours to SeaTac.
I was in first and had seat 2D.
The meal consisted of a chicken salad type dish, which actually tasted OK, although I thought it was fairly poor for first, but then again as I said I wasn't expecting much from US domestic first and I've come to expect even less from Aus domestic J with the meals I've been served lately.
I washed it down with a couple of Alaska Amber beers, which I enjoyed a lot.
One thing I'd noticed on my two first-class domestic flights (both on United and Alaska) is that the main cabin PAX either have full access to the 1st lavatory or they FAs completely ignore it. One some flights a curtain is drawn seperating the two cabins, but it does nothing to deter the main cabin PAX from walking through it to use the lav. It was slightly annoying after a few Alaskan Ambers to see two main cabin PAX lining up to use the lav when I needed to go and therefore had to line up behind them so as to avoid anyone else coming through and lining up.



Sure enough, the flight was only about 10 minutes late and SIS was there at the baggage carousel to meet me.
We jumped into a cab and our hotel for the next two nights would be the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Seattle, a few blocks from the Space Needle. I'd stayed here before and liked it.

 

[Justinf]

We had a two-bedroom suite, which was the exact same room I stayed in with my Dad five years earlier. I can recommend this place a lot. It's only a few blocks from the Space Needle and the monorail.
The apartment was excellent.

 

[Justinf]

I was excited for Seattle. It's one of my favourite cities in the world. In fact I'd rate in the top five that I've been to.
The famous Seattle weather had decided take a day off for us today. It was positively gorgeous. Temp was around 15 degrees celcius with sunshine and barely any breeze. It felt positively balmy and I only needed a light sweatshirt.
We headed out and although I'd already been to the top of the Space Needle, the day was too good not to do it again.
Understandably, the views from the top were spectacular.

 

[Justinf]

We stayed up there for quite a while. The day was so clear and the views so good.




Selfie time.


We stayed for the obligatory overpriced drink served in a plastic cup.

 

[Justinf]

We didn't pay for this photo. It was free. You stand there, it takes your photo and you enter your email and they send it to you free.

We didn't pay for this one either. Same deal.



By some weird coincidence SIS found out that a former work colleague lived two blocks from where we were staying. She was busy tonight, but her plan was to meet her for a yoga class in the morning and have brunch, which suited me as I could go for a run and use the weights room at the hotel fitness centre.
But first we decided to head out for drinks and a meal.
We showered and then walked back to the Space Needle and jumped on the Monorail into downtown.


Obviously once the sun fell, the temperature did too, but not uncomfortably so.

 

[Justinf]

The Monorail ride (US$2.25 one way) takes about two minutes and it drops you off at the Westlake Centre.
We walked around for a while.
Street art.





We went bar hopping and actually strolled into a fairly seedy neighbourhood a few times.
But all in all, we ended up safe.
Had a few drinks and finished with some dinner in an Italian restaurant (interesting fact - we both hold Italian passports).

Back at the room, we put on the little fake log fire.

Tomorrow SIS planned to do her thing in the morning with her friend, while in the afternoon we'd planned to go to Pike Place Market and do the underground tour at Pioneer Square.
Went to bed quite 'happy' thanks to the bar hopping we did.

 

[Justinf]

One thing I'd noticed on my two first-class domestic flights (both on United and Alaska) is that the main cabin PAX either have full access to the 1st lavatory or they FAs completely ignore it. One some flights a curtain is drawn seperating the two cabins, but it does nothing to deter the main cabin PAX from walking through it to use the lav. It was slightly annoying after a few Alaskan Ambers to see two main cabin PAX lining up to use the lav when I needed to go and therefore had to line up behind them so as to avoid anyone else coming through and lining up.

 

[Justinf]

Had a good sleep and woke up quite late at around 9am. Went for a 40-minute run on the hotel treadmill and did a few token weights to make me feel like I actually did something.
Made an in-room coffee and waited for SIS to return, which she did around 11am after a yoga session and brunch.
We decided to hop on the monorail and head into downtown to the Pike Place Market. Markets are not really go. A bit like museums and art galleries. I have the attention span slightly akin to my wife watching cricket.
However I certainly wasn't bored with Seattle despite having been before. I was loving it. Temperature a bit cooler today, but still quite OK at around 12 degrees and sunny with no wind, which made it seem warmer.



Oh seafood, you complete me.




It was Valentine's Day and the sheer amount of people (mostly male) buying flowers was simply astonishing. It is a MUCH bigger event in the US than it is in Australia.
After the market and a visit to Starbuck's, which believe it or not, I find the best place in the US to buy coffee, it was time to walk down to Pioneer Square for the Underground Tour.

 

[Justinf]

We thought there was only one underground tour which left on the hour every hour. It turned out there are a few to choose from. We had to walk from the market to Pioneer Square in 15 minutes to get there at 2pm. With some very swift walking we made it with a minute to spare to find that the tour was leaving at 2.30pm. No problem.
The tour itself was good. It went for an hour but only around 20 minutes were actually spent underground. The rest was around Pioneer Square. Our guide told us of the old days and when we were underground, that actually used to be street level.

 

[Justinf]

The tour continued through Pioneer Square.



The Indian chief who the city was named after. He didn't want his name used, but after he died, they did it anyway, such was the contribution he made. A man ahead of his time. A compassionate and humble man who we learned a lot about.



Smith's Tower which was recommended to us to great views and a drink.

 

[Justinf]

Back underground now and these 'lights' are actually shards of glass that illuminate the room. No electricity back then.


Another look at the Smith Tower. we decided that we would go after the tour and everyone else on the tour went as well.

Vietnam War memorial.

 

[Justinf]

I hope everyone is enjoying my TR so far. I know you all want to fast forward to Alaska, but you'll just have to be patient for a little while longer.
After the underground tour we took the short walk to Smith Tower and after some trouble actually finding the entrance (it's through a cafe), the effort was worth it.
We got a discount for entry for having gone on the tour. As we made our way to the elevator, we passed through several rooms that displayed some really interesting 1920s memorabilia. Phones, clothes, desks etc. It was actually quite good.
The elevator was an old 1920s style with an attendant dressed to match.
When we got to the top, we were greeted with incredible views.
Obviously if you go to Seattle and if you can only make it up to one viewpoint, you would do the Space Needle. But I encourage anyone to make the effort to go here as well.
Smith Tower gives better city views and I reckon the views are just as good from up here. Plus the bar is much nicer and the restaurant food looked good as well.


Look closely in the middle and you can see the Space Needle.

 

[Justinf]

It made me appreciate this wonderful city even more. I really love Seattle. Probably it was because the place my Dad and I spent together before he died. We had such a wonderful time.



The bar had four beers on tap. The bartender let me sample all of them before I settled on a very nice IPA. It was refreshing after a long day. Bartender also let SIS try a few white wines that she couldn't decide on. She settled for a pinot grigio.

 

[Justinf]

After a drink, we decided to walk back to the monorail and catch it back to the Space Needle, which would bring us a five-minute walk back to our hotel.
We stumbled across this sculpture.

We had no plans for that night but my sister's friend who loved nearby was going out for a Valentine's Day dinner with her partner so we arranged to meet them for a drink at a bar literally next door to where we were staying.
It was NYP Bar & Grill and it was your typical American sports bar/pizza joint. It suited me perfectly.

Sometimes when you're in Rome, you just have to...

Interestingly, my SIS's friend's partner lives only 15km from me. Small world. We enjoyed each other's company for half an hour before they went off on their dinner.
I did hear one person refer to Valentine's Day as 'Happy Single Awareness Day'. Whatever.
SIS and I had a few drinks and some pizza and went to bed reasonably early as we had an 11am flight to Anchorage (yes, yes we're getting closer) the following day.

 

[JohnM]

The statue looks like an original Botero. Go to Colombia especialy Medellin, his home town, to see an amazing array of them on public display.

 

[TomVexille]

I did hear one person refer to Valentine's Day as 'Happy Single Awareness Day'. Whatever.

That comes from the term "Valentines Day is SAD"

 

[GarrettM]

We stayed up there for quite a while. The day was so clear and the views so good.
View attachment 92505

Is that Mt Rainier?