I booked a red-eye out of Seattle for our trip home from Leavenworth, because I wasn’t sure when the rest of the family would be leaving – and also because it was really cheap. Turns out people don’t like to spend the night in a tiny airplane seat …
With the family departing early in the day, that meant the husband and I had a long time to spare before our 11 pm flight. So we spent the day in Seattle!
I know I’m from Washington state and all, but I’ve never really spent much time in Seattle. With this latest adventure, that brings me to 4 whole days in the city. 🙂
On our way to Seattle, we stopped at Jack in the Box for lunch. I miss that place. I don’t understand why there aren’t any in Virginia. 🙁 If one ever opens in the northern Virginia area, I think it’s safe to say that the husband and I will single-handedly keep it in business …
Once we reached the city, we parked by the waterfront, and made our way to the Aquarium. There were a lot of people out and about, and the aquarium was no exception. We did get to see the feeding of the sea otters and the seals (or sea lions? I always get them mixed up …), which is always fun.
After the aquarium, we wandered up to Pike’s place market. And I mean UP. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously crowded, so we didn’t stick around to do any shopping. We watched the fish guys holler at each other for awhile, but there wasn’t much throwing going on, so we left.
We stumbled across the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever. The signage was a little disturbing – it’s a cookie masquerading as a cow-pie in a field – but we took the plunge. And it was oh so yummy! And the best part is … they deliver! I haven’t ordered any yet – they are a tad expensive, especially when you add the shipping in – but I have a feeling I will some day.
Next up was the Ducks tour, but they were sold out. Never underestimate the draw of the amphibious vehicle tour …
So we ended up across the street at the Experience the Music Project/Sci-fi Museum. Everybody (b2, the husband’s work buddies) kept telling us to hit EMP, but it was actually the sci-fi part that got us in the door. They have a great exhibit of sci-fi goodies: comic books, star trek props, star wars props, a fan-made borg costume (looked better than a lot of the real stuff, IMO), and an animatronic teenage mutant ninja turtle!
After we were done with that, we hit the EMP. It was a lot of interactive stuff that we passed on, but I think if we had been in the mood, it would have been a lot of fun to lay down our own tracks and shoot a music video.
After that, we made our way to the airport, turned in the car, and tried to check in. Except we couldn’t because the ticket counter was closed. And the auto-checkin machines were turned off. We were, admittedly, a little early, but if we’d have known we’d be sitting in front of the ticket counter for an hour, we might have laid down some tracks. Or at least found one last Jack in the Box …
Once we checked in, we went through security. As is expected when you fly. It’s the place where you remove your jackets, belts and shoes. And remove your laptop from it’s case. And empty the change and keys from your pockets. And put your 3 oz bottles of liquids and gels in a 1-quart ziploc bag in a bin such that it is visible to the security folks.
I know the drill. The husband knows the drill. Everybody who flies out of Dulles knows the drill. And thus I am spoiled and shocked when I encounter people who do not know the drill.
We were behind one man who had to go through again because he didn’t empty his pockets. And he GRUMBLED as he put his handfuls of change in a bowl. Seriously? Dude, you are walking through a METAL detector. It detects METAL. Like that $4 in change you just put in the bowl. Metal detectors are not new at airports, they were there even before the 9/11 craziness started. It’s not like they suddenly changed the rules on him. If he’s flown at all in the last 20 years (that’s when my flying experience started, so I can’t vouch for before that), then he’s been through a metal detector. Where he’s had to empty his pockets.
We were behind another gentleman who had trouble with the ‘remove your belt’ thing. He removed his belt, but then proceeded to walk through the metal detector with it IN HIS HANDS. Um, sir – they asked you to remove it so you could put it in a bin and NOT set off the detector …
And, lastly, a young man who was insistent that if he removed his belt, his pants would fall off. Which was true, but the TSA gentleman had a suggestion for him: HOLD ON TO YOUR PANTS until you get your belt back on. Which he finally did.
Everything else was uneventful, thankfully, and we made it safely back home.