Our WONDERful first trip "home" to Alaska- A Trip Report -Finished 1/8!!!

[happenin2you]

Alison beat me to it! Yep I think it's the Crab Pot!

What a cool underground tour!

And love the joke about the Mariners no-hitter!

You got a really cool shot of a rainbow when you're looking up at the hotel. Very pretty and artistic!

I think you guys are right about the Crab Pot. It sounds familiar.

I didn't even notice the rainbow.... I had to go back and see what you were talking about. So much for my artistic skills! Thanks for the compliment anyway though

We went to the Crab Pot as well for lunch! I've lost track of what day we're on now but I think it was the same day. I'm going to see if you in my photo! Nope your not.

The crab pot was after disembarking the ship, the Duck was the next day. How funny that we were both in so many of the same places! Too bad we didn't meet and coordinate beforehand! We would have had matching plans

Yes the original Starbucks (which is only technically the original.....long story...haha) is in the strip at pike place. But let me tell you, I have been down to the market a lot, and have never felt the need to stand in that horrible line to get in! Haha! You found a better one.

Btw we went to crab pot this summer! We loved it!

That's what I thought, but I didn't see it in there, and there were things kind of outside the main market that were listed as being a part of the market, so I wasn't too sure. I'm pretty sure they're all using the same recipe, so unless it was going to be the best Starbucks of my life, I'm ok with the one across the street.

 

[happenin2you]

When we left off, the duck had just crossed the bridge and was heading towards the point of entry to the water. Here are some shots before we go in, looking back towards the city.

There are tons of houseboats in Seattle. Most of the boats you will see in the water pictures are houseboats. They actually had to pass some legislation limiting the number of houseboats because the water was getting really polluted. Also, there are no property taxes on the houseboats, so the city was not making as much money as it could have been. There's another duck coming out of the water.

Speed limit:

Our trusty captain driving with no hands.

The water is so close!

I really liked this houseboat.

This was some kind of oil refinery that was converted into a park. The spiel we got about the part of Seattle where we went in the water was that it was where all the crazy hippy, artsy people live. The guide said who else would be so weird as to turn a refinery into a park? It doesn't seem that weird to me I think it's better than all the abandoned sites they have in my hometown of Niagara Falls...

And the headline of the watertour: The houseboat form Sleepless in Seattle. Although I wouldn't know the difference because I haven't seen the movie

Our tour guide said the people who owned it during the filming of the movie paid around $250,000 for it, it most recently sold for over 2 million. If only my house could gain that much equity.

Some more city shots a little more up close.

Super old church. There was some story about it, but I don't remember

Up next: The rest of the duck tour and leaving Seattle!

 

[happenin2you]

It's crazy to think that after this update, my trip report will be done! Thanks for sticking with me, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!

As the duck was heading back to dry land, we passed another duck

And a bunch more houseboats.

There wasn't really anything else to see on the duck as it just drove straight back to our starting point and didn't point anything else out to us. Almost directly across the street from where we got off the duck, was this place:

If you watch Grey's Anatomy like I do, you'll notice that's Seattle Grace Hospital. It's the building they use as the exterior shot of the hospital. In reality it houses a bunch of offices and TV stations. The last place I wanted to try before we left was Top Pot donuts. Someone on here recommended it to me and I can't turn down a good donut

They were delicious! Sorry I don't have a picture to show you. I must have been too excited to eat it. After our little snack, we started slowly walking back towards Olive 8 to claim our bags and get going to the airport. I had researched how simple it is to take the Link Light Rail all the way to the airport, and how cheap it was, and we were going to try that. Chris was pretty nervous. I think he was picturing a packed NYC subway and was anxious about how we would manage our bags. He cheap side kicked in though and we went for it. The light rail was less than $3 per person and the taxi would have been over $60. The station was one block from our hotel, and a city block in downtown Seattle isn't that big. We walked to the corner from our hotel, which meant walking out of our front doors and walking past one other hotel, turned right at the corner, crossed one street, walked about another 10 yards and the station was just underground there. There are plenty of signs, which make it pretty easy. Chris and I had staked it out the night before, too, so we would know exactly how far we had to go, where to buy tickets, and where to get on.

The train wasn't very full. We got two seats together and there was a little place for luggage, bikes, and other large items right next to us.

Some of the places we passed:

I think I was trying to show we were in a tunnel here

Convenient way to get to the stadiums.

I think this was the old Rainier brewery? I could be totally wrong though.

Some cool artwork at one of the more suburban stops.

Passing another train.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. It was a rather long walk from where the train drops off to the actual airport check in area. We didn't think to check in for our flight in advance, so when we got to the SouthWest counter, Chris was assigned a boarding group and I got a ticket that said to check in at the gate for my real ticket. I was freaking out! We headed straight to the gate and they were able to print my boarding group, same as Chris's no problem. Thanks SouthWest for some unnecessary anxiety. That is one reason I prefer to pay more and fly a different airline. The price difference has to be very significant for me to go with them. Anyway, after that little issue was resolved, we wanted to grab a bite in the airport before our flight. They have an Ivar's fish place there, and on our duck tour someone had said they have the best fish in Seattle, so that's where we went. I had scallops, I don't remember what Chris had, but everything was deep fried. I wasn't that big a fan. Maybe we'll just have to try the real restaurant next time. Some more evidence of hippies in Seattle.

We made sure we separated our waste, snapped a pic of Ivar's, and we were on our way home!

Our flight was uneventful. We made it home safely. The funny thing about living in Vegas is that the plane is always filled with vacationers. They are always so happy to be going to Vegas and they want to chat about where they're going and where we're going. They're always in such awe when we say we're going home. It's really funny, too, when they are amazed that we're coming back from vacation. It's as if Vegas is the only place to go, and we should not have to go anywhere else because we're already there. Same conversation on every flight haha!

Thanks for reading! When I have time I'll load up some other random pictures and videos. Hopefully I can get my computer to load my Aerosmith concert pics and video I'm so glad I was able to finish this before the start of the spring semester. I'll be taking 15 credits and spending time in the classroom doing my Practicum I in preparation for my student teaching so I'm not sure where I would have fit this in. I start in two weeks, so until then I'll be catching up on all your TR's!

 

[franandaj]

Thanks for finishing this....though I'm sad to see it end. And just when I got a new phone that I can read people's TRs from!

It was a great journey and you really helped me out with my entree for the last night of our cruise (see most recent update).

I saw the picture you posted on Alicia's TR. Wow! You guys live waaaaaaaay out there. At least it's a quiet neighborhood, not like if you were right down on the strip. I hope you get to take another trip soon!

Thanks for the great report!

 

[Momma2Jax]

Great ending! I love reading people's experiences touring my town, I always see things I never have! Like I never knew about the exterior shots of Greys! Cool! Now I need to find that building!

That's what I thought, but I didn't see it in there, and there were things kind of outside the main market that were listed as being a part of the market, so I wasn't too sure. I'm pretty sure they're all using the same recipe, so unless it was going to be the best Starbucks of my life, I'm ok with the one across the street.

I think the whole street down there is referred to as the market. But the Starbucks is across the street from the actual "fish throwing flower buying" part. It's next to the other little separate stores. But you are so right... It's the same drinks, without the lines! there are some cool photo ops, but other than that, same!

 

[Leshaface]

Wow, what pretty shots of the city from the boat! OMGOSH! The house from Sleepless in Seattle!! How cool! I love that movie. I actually just watched it two days ago

UGH SO JEALOUS!!! TOP POT!! What kind of donut did you get? I'll get there someday.

So how long do you think it takes rom the time you get on the light rail to the airport? That's something I think we would use if we ever made it to Seattle - if we flew that is.

Thank you so much for doing this TR! You did such a fantastic job and I loved seeing all the pictures you took! Hopefully another one will be in the making soon

 

[happenin2you]

Thanks for finishing this....though I'm sad to see it end. And just when I got a new phone that I can read people's TRs from!

It was a great journey and you really helped me out with my entree for the last night of our cruise (see most recent update).

I saw the picture you posted on Alicia's TR. Wow! You guys live waaaaaaaay out there. At least it's a quiet neighborhood, not like if you were right down on the strip. I hope you get to take another trip soon!

Thanks for the great report!

I'm glad I could help you find an amazing eat! I'll have to go see which one you had!

Our house is pretty much due north from the strip. Some friends we have that live in the south end of town joke that we live in Utah It's nice being so far away though. We have all the advantages of our crazy city like nightlife and fine dining, but we're also kinda small town where we are. We like it.

I'm already trying to figure when we can fit in another Disney trip. Some friends are coming in from Ohio and they want to go to DLR, but they're coming during the week in February, and with my work and school schedule and my husband having all his vacation time tied up until April, we can't take any extra weekdays off during that time. I'm hoping they'll announce soon if there will be food and wine at DLR this spring, we might be able to get to that. Otherwise, I'm thinking about trying to motivate Chris to start training for the DLR 10k in late August, and considering trying to get to Food and Wine at WDW in Oct or a Christmas trip as soon as school is out for me in Dec. With so many possible plans in the works, one of them has to work out, right? My best friend just got engaged, as well, and wants to do a destination wedding in the Bahamas, but hasn't set a date yet, so that is a factor to consider, too. We'll figure something out.

Great ending! I love reading people's experiences touring my town, I always see things I never have! Like I never knew about the exterior shots of Greys! Cool! Now I need to find that building!




I think the whole street down there is referred to as the market. But the Starbucks is across the street from the actual "fish throwing flower buying" part. It's next to the other little separate stores. But you are so right... It's the same drinks, without the lines! there are some cool photo ops, but other than that, same!

The Grey's building is pretty much right across the street from the Space Needle. I was standing infront of it when I took the pictures of the Space Needle with that guy looking straight into my camera all creepily...

I LOVED the fish throwing! It's kind of silly, but I think I could have stood there and watched them for quite a while. I would not be interesting in catching one, though. Gross... Maybe someday we'll make it back to Seattle and I'll find the real first Starbucks

Wow, what pretty shots of the city from the boat! OMGOSH! The house from Sleepless in Seattle!! How cool! I love that movie. I actually just watched it two days ago

UGH SO JEALOUS!!! TOP POT!! What kind of donut did you get? I'll get there someday.

So how long do you think it takes rom the time you get on the light rail to the airport? That's something I think we would use if we ever made it to Seattle - if we flew that is.

Thank you so much for doing this TR! You did such a fantastic job and I loved seeing all the pictures you took! Hopefully another one will be in the making soon

I'm going to have to see that movie I'm so bad about remembering things I want to see. Chris will ask if I want to rent or see a movie and I'll have no idea about anything I wanted to see...

At TopPot I had a custard filled donut. They're my absolute favorite! And it was perfect! I know Chris really liked his too, but I was so into my own, I don't have any idea what he got. I know I tasted it, and it was good, just not as amazing as my custard filled one.

I think the Light Rail was only about a 20 minute ride. Momma2Jax might be able to confirm that info. It was so quick and easy, I'd absolutely do it again. Seattle is on our list of great cities to get back to, but we have a few new places to see before we go back anywhere. DC, Philly, Boston, Chicago, NYC, and Europe are all places we want to get to before we start revisiting places. I've been to NYC and Europe and Chris has been to DC, but we'd like to get to those places together. Also Veracruz, Mex, which is where my husband was born and where his dad's side of the family is from, is on our list, but we're going there during spring break in March. Seattle would be a great place for a bunch of our friends to all fly in and tackle the city together. It's just so conveniently walkable and good for drinking, eating, and hanging out. I can't wait to plan another trip there.

Thanks so much for the compliments! It's the first TR I finished, I abandoned my last one about my honeymoon after a few days... I don't think I realized how much time and work went into it. Thanks for reading!

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad I could help you find an amazing eat! I'll have to go see which one you had!

I'm already trying to figure when we can fit in another Disney trip. Some friends are coming in from Ohio and they want to go to DLR, but they're coming during the week in February, and with my work and school schedule and my husband having all his vacation time tied up until April, we can't take any extra weekdays off during that time. I'm hoping they'll announce soon if there will be food and wine at DLR this spring, we might be able to get to that. Otherwise, I'm thinking about trying to motivate Chris to start training for the DLR 10k in late August, and considering trying to get to Food and Wine at WDW in Oct or a Christmas trip as soon as school is out for me in Dec. With so many possible plans in the works, one of them has to work out, right? My best friend just got engaged, as well, and wants to do a destination wedding in the Bahamas, but hasn't set a date yet, so that is a factor to consider, too. We'll figure something out.

Thanks for the dining help. No. They're not going to have F&W this spring. There is too much excitement with Carsland. The word from employees what I've heard is that they are waiting to see how things go with crowd levels and the new attractions. However, one did tell me that they make more money on the stupid Mad Tea Party for one night than they did with F&W in a week. I guess stupid 20 somethings who blow their money on overpriced watered down drinks are a more important clientele than those of us willing to blow thousands over a six week period on good food and nice wine. Perhaps the overhead is lower since the 20 somethings aren't as discerning and they don't have buy expensive ingredients like they do for the wine maker dinners and such!

No, I'm not bitter!

 

[happenin2you]

Thanks for the dining help. No. They're not going to have F&W this spring. There is too much excitement with Carsland. The word from employees what I've heard is that they are waiting to see how things go with crowd levels and the new attractions. However, one did tell me that they make more money on the stupid Mad Tea Party for one night than they did with F&W in a week. I guess stupid 20 somethings who blow their money on overpriced watered down drinks are a more important clientele than those of us willing to blow thousands over a six week period on good food and nice wine. Perhaps the overhead is lower since the 20 somethings aren't as discerning and they don't have buy expensive ingredients like they do for the wine maker dinners and such!

No, I'm not bitter!

Darn! I'm the rare 20 something who wants nothing to do with watered down fruity drinks. I've proudly been a wino since a little before 21 I'll take the yummy food and an offensively full of tannins red any day over a mixed drink. Actually, that sounds pretty good right about now.... you know I'll be doing tonight

 

[Chilly]

We didn't do the duck tour although it had been considered, love the houseboats and the one from Sleepless in Seattle especially.

We took the train to the airport as well with no problems part from there was no luggage rack so the cases were just in front of us and on wheels so kept trying to roll away!

Good luck with all your extra credits. Thanks for sharing your report I enjoyed it.

 

[franandaj]

Darn! I'm the rare 20 something who wants nothing to do with watered down fruity drinks. I've proudly been a wino since a little before 21 I'll take the yummy food and an offensively full of tannins red any day over a mixed drink. Actually, that sounds pretty good right about now.... you know I'll be doing tonight

I hope you didn't mean that I was insulting 20 somethings, just the ones who are out there spending too much money on "nightlife" when the rest of the world wants wine and lovely dinners!

When you come to town again, we must go out to dinner! I will bring a bottle (or two) of our reds although they won't have much tannin as they have been aging in my cooler for many years and much of the tannins have relaxed. In fact I rarely drink red wines with tannin as most of my wines are from the early 2000's or 1990s. I'm happy to share with folks who would enjoy them. I'm sure Steakhouse 55 would be a GREAT place to enjoy some of these wines!

 

[happenin2you]

I hope you didn't mean that I was insulting 20 somethings, just the ones who are out there spending too much money on "nightlife" when the rest of the world wants wine and lovely dinners!

When you come to town again, we must go out to dinner! I will bring a bottle (or two) of our reds although they won't have much tannin as they have been aging in my cooler for many years and much of the tannins have relaxed. In fact I rarely drink red wines with tannin as most of my wines are from the early 2000's or 1990s. I'm happy to share with folks who would enjoy them. I'm sure Steakhouse 55 would be a GREAT place to enjoy some of these wines!

Oh no, no insult taken here! And the idea of dinner sounds amazing! I would love to get to Steakhouse 55, and sharing dinner with friends and a delicous vintage could only make it more exciting! I'll definitely let you know whenever we do finalize our next trip to your area.

 

[franandaj]

Oh no, no insult taken here! And the idea of dinner sounds amazing! I would love to get to Steakhouse 55, and sharing dinner with friends and a delicous vintage could only make it more exciting! I'll definitely let you know whenever we do finalize our next trip to your area.

Who knows, we may get to Vegas sometime this year too!