Sections - Lava Cave | Waterfall, Market & Space Needle Fireworks | Tacoma Glass & Mt. Rainier | Microsoft! | Wine & Ft. Lewis IMG_9734 We visited Tumwater Falls, fancy fish climbing structures so the Salmon/etc don't have to attempt futility with the waterfalls (this doesn't look so easy though) IMG_9738 Who would WANT to swim there? IMG_9743 I'm not sure the fish got the message that the waters were closed IMG_9744 How can anyone manage to get that water into their mouth? IMG_9754 Tumwater Falls IMG_9758 IMG_9765 IMG_9772 Brad's extra off-camera strobes came in handy IMG_9791 IMG_9792 IMG_9794 IMG_9810 I hope these had some purpose back in the day? IMG_9813 I wonder if the employees of the Olympia Brewery Co understood the irony of presenting a water fountain to a park, maybe they were out of beer fountains IMG_9821 This "park meter" was an interesting idea for donations I hadn't seen before IMG_9823 Boeing headquarters, sadly we didn't get a chance to take the tour but I hear it is cool IMG_9824 In Seattle's historic Georgetown area the Old Rainier Brewery was the largest on the west coast until prohibition and the Stock House on the grounds of the brewery was used in ice making until 2003 when the freezer was turned off and the ground under the foundation melted causing the foundation and walls to crack. Part of it was then torn down for new development transforming the area into something other than the historic working class neighborhood it had been for decades before...and perhaps you can own the last piece of that! IMG_9827 The Seattle Public Library has a meager $43 MM annual budget, the central branch opened in 2004 and was designed by Rem Koolhaas. It was listed in the the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Americans' 150 favorite structures in the US (wow, I'd hate to maintain their lists, Pakistani's favorite structures in Mali, Brits favorite structures in Fuji, etc). IMG_9830 IMG_9833 IMG_9837 We've arrived - wake up Joshua! IMG_9839 Brad and the...pig of the market? IMG_9841 Ah, the memorable Bill Nye of the "Bill Nye the Science Guy" PBS Series of yore IMG_9843 Seattle Seahawk/Qwest Stadium with Mt. Rainier in the background IMG_9845 Pike Place Market opened in 1907 and is one of the oldest continually operated public markets in the US. Also more than 500 low income people reside throughout the facility which also includes a medical clinic and provides fresh food vouchers redeemable at the market. About 90% are low-income seniors with rent control. IMG_2182* We attended Mass at the super St. Leo's Jesuit parish in Tacoma, here's their baptismal font and chrism oils IMG_2184* Nice music IMG_2186* A Kattelmann family portrait! IMG_2187* LOTS of nametags for parishoners IMG_7047* Joshua entertains himself IMG_7061* The main fish thrower people in Pike's Place Market were off for the 4th of July, I was sad when I only encountered their ice IMG_9846 Brad and Alison get these fruit rolls each time they visit the market and I can see why - they were really cheap and very tasty rolled in coconut and flavors of cherry, kiwi, strawberry and more! IMG_9848 Pike Place Chowder (recently lost the ownership of it's website domain name) was the stop for lunch in Pike Place Market's Post Alley. It was very good (a bit heavy though) and has won the title of Rhode Island's "Nation's Best Clam Chowder" in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2006 it seems. IMG_9849 From this photo I can also tell you they save electricity with energy star CFL bulbs and close at 3pm on July 4th IMG_9852 A restaurant across the way was closed but had a window on an American flag - is this a metaphor? IMG_9854 An American pig, Pike Place Market holds a parade of pigs fundraiser each year IMG_9856 Happy shoppers in the market IMG_9860 Crabs... IMG_9862 How can you rather be shopping at Pike Place Market when you're AT Pike Place Market? IMG_9866 It is S-T-A-R.. IMG_9870 BUCKS! The first one ever...now I just have to figure out how to go back in time to stop this evil force from coming to pass. Daniel does like them though... IMG_9871 I thought I could find out what the heck this means, but no luck - I did find one other person who took a photo of the exact same thing on Flickr IMG_9872 Really nice flowerbeds on top of the parking garage IMG_9875 A free ride...joy! IMG_9877 Evil Real Networks - builder of the most annoying app in the world...(but to be fair in the early days of the internet before mp3/etc their compression was advanced) IMG_9878 Seattle has a very odd fire hydrant design...(perhaps it's all of WA since Tacoma/Ft. Lewis also had these) IMG_9879 Pretty downtown buildings in Seattle IMG_9881 Who will worship at the Labor Temple? IMG_9885 Zipcar! IMG_9887 I think this was a local TV station with a helicopter/pad on top IMG_9889 Sun shining through a sculpture near the Space Needle IMG_9890 The needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair and amazingly was built to survive 200 mph winds and a 9.1 earthquake, actually I suppose it's not amazing until it survives one or both of those. It sounds more sinister if I tell you it was build by the "Pentagram Corporation" (it was!). Rennovations in 2000 cost $21 MM and fireworks planned for the year 2000 were cancelled due to perceived terrorist threats on the structure. IMG_9896 Hannah Montana is EVERYWHERE - even this arcade near the needle IMG_9899 Brad and Alison play Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME edition as their child dreams of walking someday IMG_9900 Bumper cars in fast motion IMG_0008 That's the prettiest needle I've seen! IMG_0011 Brad isn't sick, at least not physically - he's trying to get a good photo of Alison, Joshua and myself with the needle towering above IMG_7122* The result IMG_0012 No that's not 520 degrees, but 520 foot view... IMG_7130* Does this mean Joshua is blessed or cursed? IMG_0013 The Seattle Center Monorail is an engineering marvel, but sadly only has 7,000 riders per day. It cost $3.5 MM to build also for the 1962 World's Fair when it had 8 million riders and now it has about 2.5 million per year. IMG_0015 Here comes the mo-no-rail IMG_0024 The rails of the monorail IMG_0025 IMG_0031 View of the market from hillside above IMG_0038 Lights in Pike Place Market IMG_0040 IMG_0041 IMG_0042 The tiles at the market are numbered IMG_0044 Yummy, the market was closing up and I hear someone mention fruit flies...fun! IMG_0048 Floor of Pike Place Market (usually you can't even SEE the floor when it's packed) IMG_0049 Leftovers! IMG_0052 Nice mural seen from the elevator near the market IMG_0056 This isn't the Seattle Hotel as that has been torn down replaced with an odd modern parking lot called the "Sinking Ship" - it was the first razing planned as a part of a project to tear down all historic buildings in the district that only succeeded in tearing down that one structure. The pictured building is the Smith Tower at 42 stories was the tallest building on the west coast from 1914 until 1962 (when the space needle overtook it). At the top is an eight-foot diameter glass dome that is lit by a blue light 11 months of the year and in December it is green. IMG_0059 In the Beacon Hill neighborhood sits the Pacific Medical Center formerly a Marine hospital now Amazon.com headquarters IMG_0060 It's TACO TIME - I hope they get a better font soon - I swear their main sign is in Arial IMG_0088 Brad and I went back to Tacoma to drop off Alison and Joshua (Alison gets crabby if she doesn't hit her bedtime on the dot - just kidding :) ) then we went back up to Alki Beach to see the fireworks IMG_0108 Competitor! IMG_0119 Pretty cityscape IMG_0122 IMG_0126 Seattle Space Needle IMG_0131 Then suddenly when Brad was letting me use his nice tripod the fireworks started IMG_0154 Even though Brad was yelling at me to immediately give him the tripod I snapped a few shots before I feared for my life and let him use it IMG_0176 IMG_7326* I wish we had a video camera or patience for time lapse photography - the fireworks smoke drifting through Seattle would have looked quite neat Sections - Lava Cave | Waterfall, Market & Space Needle Fireworks | Tacoma Glass & Mt. Rainier | Microsoft! | Wine & Ft. Lewis Return to Features