Seattle, Washington Part III
Today, August 7th, is the 100th day of our Epic Road Trip! We've completed 14 weeks on the road, including 5 weeks working in Seattle.
Seattle is a very walkable city, and we took advantage of our downtown location to explore the surrounding neighborhoods on foot. Seattle is hilly, like San Francisco, so we climbed our fair share of stairs and steep sidewalks.
Pike Place Market was practically next door, and we went there almost every day. We loved the golden Ranier cherries and the splashy flower bouquets. We noticed curious sculptures in alleys and stairways. We did a lot of people-watching, and even saw a couple of proposals happen right there on the cobblestones! (They both said Yes.)
Pioneer Square, just south of downtown, felt completely different. Most stores and restaurants were still closed. We did see an interesting art exhibit at the King Street Station, and then had cocktails in the speakeasy at the top of the Smith Tower (Seattle's first skyscraper). It was fun riding the vintage Otis elevator to the 35th floor observatory, with its 360 degree views. What would it be like to live in the pyramid-shaped penthouse at the top?
There was always a lot happening at the Seattle Waterfront. From our apartment on the 14 floor, we could see (and hear) the bongo drum busker and the Captain America pedicab driver. A walk along the water yielded more discoveries: at Ye Old Curiosity Shop, we learned more than we ever wanted to know about shrunken heads. The seagulls loved Ivar's fish and chips as much as the humans did. Beyond the cruise ship terminal, the Olympic Sculpture Park prompted us to look at things from a different perspective.
I really loved downtown Seattle's mish mash of old and new architecture, and the abundance of art in many forms.
I need to mention that were many more tents in downtown Seattle than we had seen on previous visits. This increase in visible homelessness was a sobering reminder that there is a national housing crisis, and for cities like Seattle that have been hit hard, there are no easy solutions.
