Our first stop was lunch at Chinook's, at Fisherman's Terminal. They've got a pretty large menu, but for some reason we wound up having the same things we did in June. This time I managed to get a shot of my crab and shrimp caesar salad before digging in, but Heather was too quick with her steamed clams and mussels, so no pic of that one. (You can check the blog post in mid-June if you're really curious.)
After a bit of wandering we wound up at Seattle Center, where we spent some time watching the big fountain with all the kids playing in it, before heading over to the Science Fiction Museum.
The Science Fiction Museum is along side (and part of) the Experience Music Project. It's not huge, but it does have some really fun stuff, including my favorite . . . Gort, from The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original version, from the mid-1950's).
In many ways the building was as interesting as the exhibits. I highly recommend this museum if you've got some time while in Seattle.
From Seattle Center it was off to our newest favorite hotel (in Seattle at least) the Arctic Club. The building was built as a private men's club in the early 1900's, and a few years ago was fully renovated into a boutique hotel. About a year or so ago it became the Doubletree Arctic Club. Anyone who has spent much time in downtown Seattle will know the building with the walruses.
One of the best parts of the hotel is the Polar Bar, which is a very pleasant place to sit and relax, even when the bar itself is not open. When they are open Victor makes a pretty good Caipirhinha.
They've carried the walrus theme throughout the hotel. On Sunday morning I asked the front desk clerk if I could borrow one for some photos in the bar. (Heather stayed in the room for this one, she was convinced that the staff would think I was crazy, but I knew that they would know how to humor eccentric guest requests . . . like borrowing a walrus for half an hour.)
They actually have these guys for sale in the guestrooms, I surprised Heather with one the last time we stayed here.
Another thing that is quite impressive about the Arctic Club is the ballroom, the Northern Lights Dome Room. It may only be big enough for 440 people, but it certainly has the best ceiling of any hotel ballroom I've seen.
We made a brief stop at Kubota Gardens on our way to the airport, but it was over 90F so we didn't stay long.
The flights up and back were uneventful, and I even managed to get a window seat and a few pictures this time. The weather in Seattle was sunny, clear and hot, but there was a fair amount of haze in the air, making Mt. Rainier look a bit fuzzy in the distance as we were taking off.
San Diego of course still has our "June Gloom" well into August now. There was way more sunshine in Seattle this past weekend. You can see the marine layer hanging just off shore in this early evening shot.
Click here to see more shots from our weekend in Seattle, August 13-15, 2010.
Click here to see more shots from our November 2009 trip to Seattle, with more from the Arctic Club Hotel.
Looks like you guys had a great time.
ReplyDeleteExcellent images from your trip Frank. I love that the kids get to play in the big fountain. In these times when everything is a liability, it is good that they haven't closed the fountain off to play because some kid could slip and get hurt.
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