US Holiday - Day 25 - Seattle - Day 4

Day 25 - Monday 3rd October

Didn't have to worry about rising early today. Today is the tour of the Boeing Factory and only had to be ready by about 9.30am for the bus pick up. Well 9.30am came around and a small bus turned up with 3 other passengers from other hotels. We then picked up another 3 people and then headed out towards Everett. This is a different air field to the one I passed on the evening that I arrived in Seattle which had the two 787's parked on the tarmac.

As we drove out towards Everett the bus driver gave us some history of Boeing and the Seattle area. I didn't realise that Boeing actually manufactured engines (Pratt & Whitney) and also had their own airline (United) before a government anti-trust type of case caused their separation. Seattle is also very dependent on Boeing for employment some 75,000 in Washington state alone. So when Boeing sneezed, Seattle caught a cold. This has changed over recent years with Microsoft. He went through a lot more than what I've just rambled on about but I don't want to send you to sleep.

After we got to the Boeing plant, the largest building by volume in the world, we got off the bus and went to where the start of the tour at Boeing's museum of flight. As no video or photo cameras are allowed we had to check in phones and anything else we had on us to lockers and a short time after we were on a bus going over to the "big" building. We got off, walked down some stairs then along a large tunnel underneath the production line I would say for 200-300 metres. We then caught a large elevator up to a viewing platform and we had the chance to look out over a production line for 747 cargo plane. Even though it looked like nothing was happening you could hear riveting taking place, hammering etc. That view across was spectacular and as all guys are engineers (they are nodding as they read this), it is like the Mecca of Mecca. For you ladies, imagine it as a production line of your favourite shoes being hand crafted by the gentlemen of "The Thunder from Down Under". 

Once we finished there, it was down the elevator and back up to the car park where we got the bus to another section of the plant. This next section was for the 777 and 787. Again we went down underneath the building for a walk then up an elevator. The first line we visited was the 777. This production line was different. It actually moves at 4.6 cm per minute. This way they have been able to save on the amount of space it takes to build the 777. Again didn't look like anything was happening but here we had planes (or shoes) being built.

We then walked across to the other side of the viewing platform and we were able to watch the 787 being assembled. On the side of the planes they say which airline it's for and one of them was for Ethiopian Airlines. Gees, so that is where our aid is going to. The 787 is not that big really. To me it looked similar to that of a 737, but the big difference is the materials being used. Rather than using aluminium, a lot of composite material such as kevlar and other plastics. The lighter materials equating to light plane and better fuel efficiency. Some of the other nice features include better pressurisation of the cabin leading to reduced jetlag, larger windows and the ability for the plane to change lighting conditions depending on where you are going so that your body experiences day, evening, night, morning etc.

So we finished up there, back onto the elevator, the short walk back to the bus and the tour was over. We got dropped back at the gift store and only had a short time to look around the museum before boarding the bus for the return trip back into Seattle. This tour was certainly worth while and it comes highly recommended.

Got back into Seattle and was dropped off around the Pike Street Market. I grabbed some lunch on the way back to the hotel and chilled there for a while. Later on in the evening I decided to head out again to get some shots at night. A little bit of drizzle around but not requiring an umbrella. Reminded me of the UK.

For dinner, I dropped into a Thai restaurant and had some satay skewers and a ginger chicken dish. Very nice and very filling and a nice way to finish the evening. Got back to the hotel and  packed for the early morning departure to Vancouver. 

US Holiday - Day 24 - Seattle - Day 3

Day 24 - Sunday 2nd October

Yep the weather is better today which is a good thing. So first cab off the rank is the Underground Tour at 11am. I was up and out the door walking down towards Pioneer Square. As I walked down there was a number of people in NFL shirts. I was early for the tour so continued onto the area around the NFL stadium. People were already getting into the spirit of the game and making their way into the pubs surrounding the ground. The car park located next door was also starting to fill up and people were setting up for the tailgating. BBQ's and marquees were setup and music pumping. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. NFL is huge here.

So it was now about time to get back to the get my ticket for the Underground Tour. At about 10.50am they started filing everyone into an old bar from the late 1800's located next door to the ticket office. There were over 120 people on the tour which was an amazing number. We were given a history of Seattle and the Pioneer Square area and why the tour was created back in 1960's. I feel that the Rocks area in Sydney and Pioneer Square in Seattle still exist because of the same reason, people familiar with the area not wanting it to be dug up or redeveloped.

After the history lesson we were split into three groups and we led a short distance to where we went underground to street level back in the late 1800's. It is funny to see windows in a basement that would have been on the first floor many years ago. I won't go on any further about the reasons why, you will have to learn this for yourself when you visit Seattle. There were 2 other sections that we visited underground before being led into the gift shop. I didn't buy anything.

Next thing I wanted to cover off was the Seattle Space Needle. So walked back up the hill towards the start of the monorail built at the same time as the Space Needle in the early 1960's. Didn't have to wait long for the monorail and the journey time to the Space Needle was event shorter. Now don't think that the monorail in Seattle is the same as the one in Sydney. It isn't. The Seattle Monorail looks better and can fit more people on it. After getting off the monorail I bought a ticket for the Needle and in no time I was up the top on the observation deck. The views are good in all directions and put a perspective on the layout of Seattle, it's hills and water. After doing some circuits getting video and photos I made m way back down and caught the monorail back into town.

I walked through to Pike Street Market before heading down to the waters edge. I was going to finish off the day with a 1 hr cruise. That left at 4pm and did a lap of the waters on the western side of Seattle called Elliot Bay. We first headed north passing the area around the Space Needle, then some parks, a grain ship being loaded and then south and passed ice breakers, cargo ships, Coast Guard boats before returning to the pier. I then proceeded back to the hotel and had an early night.

Tomorrow, the Boeing Factory and the last full day in Seattle.

US Holiday - Day 22 - San Francisco to Seattle

Day 22 - Friday 30th September

Didn't get up early. Only had to be ready and checked out of the hotel by 10am for the airport shuttle. Did that with little difficulty. Had to wait about 15 minutes for the shuttle bus to arrive. I was the last on the run and had to stand all the way to the airport. It was a short journey of approximately 10 minutes. My stop was the last in the run at the airport itself.

The check in for the flight was pretty quick. Security checks was a lot easier then that experienced on Dulles Airport at DC. Flight was delayed leaving by about 30 minutes. The flight itself was short compared to the others, only about 90 minutes. Picked up my bag and then headed for where the airport shuttle in Seattle. That too was all pretty simple and within 10 minutes I was in a shuttle bus heading towards the hotel.

Of the three groups of passengers, my hotel was the first stop. Checked in and headed up to the room. Thought at this stage I would take advantage of the daylight that was still available so headed out to take a few pics. Seattle, in a way, is a bit like San Francisco. The city certainly isn't flat and has some step streets. The area of Seattle that I am in has a lot of modern buildings. Found my way down to the Pike Place Market. This is where they throw the salmon and do a lot of shouting in front of the customers. The original Starbucks is located close by. Lots of people walking through the markets, not a lot buying however.

Walked through some of the surrounding streets and then headed back to the hotel for a bite to eat and sort out some washing for the final week.

Have checked the weather for the next couple of days and not looking too good.