Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

(Part One is here)

(Part Two is here)

The flight from Atlanta to Seattle was long, but at least we were comfortable. I requested a digi-player, so I could watch a movie to pass the time. I was finally able to view “The Blind Side“, which was quite good. I also watched the movie “Arranged” - which I also enjoyed. (On the trip out to Atlanta from Seattle, I watched the movie “Water“, a poignant film with the most amazing scenes. Throughout the movie, I was taking photographs in my head. It was truly a treat for the eyes - at least this photographer’s eyes.)

We landed in Seattle at 9:45pm. By the time we collected our luggage it was close to 10. We had a reservation at the Best Western Airport Executel Hotel - a no frills hotel that suited our needs (and wallet) for the short time we’d be staying there.

We had a 22-hour layover in Seattle, which we planned so that we could spend several hours exploring the city. The Best Western had a free shuttle that carried us from the airport to the hotel, and then back to the airport the next morning. It also offered a breakfast buffet, but we didn’t have time to eat at the hotel, as we wanted to take the Link Light Rail train to downtown Seattle as soon as we got ourselves up and dressed.

Steve was quite disappointed, however, that the breakfast buffet - which was supposed to last until 9am - was out of coffee (and creamer, and sugar, etc) at 8:15am, when he went down to get us some coffee. He had to ask the waitress to brew another pot, and then to find some sugar and creamer, and each time he made a request she rolled her eyes and huffed and puffed. Not exactly professional.

Before getting on the shuttle back to the airport, Steve called the USO at SEATAC airport, to inquire as to whether we could stow our luggage there while sight-seeing in town. We were thrilled to find out that we could (free of charge to military personnel), because there are few alternatives at SEATAC for storing luggage. One option (Ken’s Baggage) is a pricey alternative if you’ve got quite a few bags (we had five, to include carry-on bags and Steve’s computer bag). The USO was a life-saver, and our bags were stowed in a secure closet and could not be removed without a claim ticket.

We then walked about 10 minutes (level 4 of the parking garage) to catch the Link Light Rail to downtown Seattle.  The opening of this station is a real plus, and makes exploring Seattle without having a rental car (or using a taxi) easy.

We took the train to Pioneer Square Station ($2.50/pp, one way) - about a 40 minute ride - and then walked to Pioneer Square, which was only a couple of blocks, so that we could do the Seattle Underground Tour.  This tour ($15/pp) is about 90 minutes and takes you underground (literally) to see and learn more about the early days of Seattle, prior to the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. If you’re a fan of history, with a humorous twist, you’d enjoy this tour. We paid for our tickets, and then walked to Fado Irish Pub to grab a very quick bite to eat before the tour started.

Since I’m not very adventurous, I opted for a bacon cheeseburger. Steve chose the Pulled Lamb French Dip and declared it the best French Dip sandwich he has ever had. We washed our meals down with a Guinness (of course!), and then walked back to the meeting place for the Underground Tour.

The only thing that bothered me about the Underground Tour, was that our tour guide (Gail) had a habit of targeting a particular group when speaking, so that those of us who were standing to the side of her had a hard time hearing everything. She also spoke quite fast, which was hard to follow at times. Other than that, she was awesome. If you’re hard of hearing, or just have old ears like us, try to stand in front of her so you don’t miss a thing.

I found the below description of the Seattle Underground Tour online: (You can also read more details about Seattle Underground at Wikipedia)

In its early days, downtown Seattle was a chaotic place, built on tidal plain with poor drainage. After the Great Fire of 1889, city planners wanted to raise the streets to solve the city’s ever-growing sewage problems, but the downtown building owners, unwilling to wait for the city to get to work, rebuilt their buildings at the original level.

Years later, the city raised the streets, leaving sidewalks and entrances as much as 36 feet below street level. For a time, pedestrians clambered up and down between street level and building entrance on ladders, but eventually the building entrances were raised, and the old sidewalks covered over, creating the area called the Seattle Underground.

The Seattle Underground Tour begins in Doc Maynard’s, a restored 1890s public house, then the tour goes underground to visit the abandoned, sunken storefronts of what was once ground-level Pioneer Square. Their well-informed guides recount the role of the modern toilet in Seattle history and the origin of the term Skid Road, taking you to some places where ghosts are said to hang out, all the while telling funny stories and spouting Seattle history.

The photos below were taken on the tour. While you do walk underground much of the time, you also come up above ground for some portions of the tour.  What I found quite interesting were the skylights in the sidewalk. These skylights were/are windows on a shady underground world, and illuminated the ‘old’ sidewalks below.

The skylights have purpled with age. Some are almost indigo. Some are a pastel lavender and opaque. Some of the oldest were shaped into three-way prisms that draw extra light into the eerie underworld of spider webs. They turned purple over time because of the manganese added into the glass mixture, and its reaction to sunlight over the years.

Look how fancy the toilets were! I’d love to have such a pretty painted toilet in my bathroom. (The wood lid - not so much)

When the tour was over, Steve and I caught a bus (Riding Metro Transit is free between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily in Downtown Seattle) to Pike Place Market. I LOVED the market! The flowers and the vegetables, fruits, seafood, arts, crafts, colors, textures, aromas, etc. were fantastic! If I lived in Seattle, I’d be visiting the market quite often. We saw huge bouquets of daffodils for only $5. I’d be buying fresh flowers every week at that price.

Of course, one of the biggest tourist draws to Pike Place Market is the fish throwing, and we were lucky to catch one fish flying through the air. As for the fish - particularly the salmon - what a shock to see the prices! With all the salmon we have in our freezer, perhaps we should hire an armed guard to protect our assets. I’ll never complain about the cost of a king salmon fishing charter again. One good size King makes back that expense several times over.

After a quick (much too quick!) walk through the market, Steve and I headed toward the waterfront for our return walk to Pioneer Square.  It was a beautiful day in Seattle - sunshine and partly cloudy skies. The weather was warm enough to only require a light jacket, and also incited me to opt for a frappucino at the local Starbucks, rather than a hot coffee.

We didn’t have to wait long for the train back to the airport, and after picking up our bags at the USO and checking in for our flight, we went to the Boardroom (another perk of first class flying) to relax before it was time to go to the gate.

And now for some more photos…

I love to people watch, and this man thoroughly enjoyed feeding this pigeon that kept coming by for some crumbs:

And, at Pioneer Square, you will find this Tlingit Totem Pole, which was brought from Alaska in 1899:

The last photo above is of the Smith Tower, one of the world’s first skyscrapers. You can read more about the history of the Smith Tower at this website.

I really enjoyed our short visit to Seattle, and would love to go back and explore some more.  We were both very impressed by the transportation system, which made seeing the city possible without incurring the expense of a rental car. I am glad that we opted for the long layover, so that we could spend the afternoon sightseeing, rather than sitting in an airport. If your travels take you through Seattle when flying, and you’ve got a long layover, consider hopping on the train and spending a few hours downtown.

Then, to add to the ’special-ness’ of this trip, we were treated to a view of the northern lights as we flew over Alaska! The quality of this photo isn’t the best, but I managed to at least capture something from the plane window:

All in all, we had a fabulous visit with family and friends, and enjoyed the different sights along the way. But, there truly is no place like home, and we’re happy to be back in Alaska.