Seattle 2024 June 11

Woke up very early—about 0330. I tried to go back to sleep, but my body was still on “China time”. I was also pretty hungry, which didn’t help falling back asleep. The hotel restaurant wouldn’t open for breakfast until 0600, but there was a 24/7 Denny’s across the street, so I opted to get dressed and walk there.

Enjoyed a hearty breakfast while researching things to do and places to see in Seattle. I had the entire day free on secondary standby. Checked out public transportation routes to get to/from the hotel and downtown Seattle. Afterwards, went back to the hotel for a couple hours.

Eventually got dressed, grabbed my camera, and made my way towards the airport light rail station. Purchased a day ticket and rode downtown.

The ride from the airport station to downtown was fairly interesting. Outside of the views through the windows offering me a nice tour of the Seattle metropolitan area, I sat across from a gentleman clearly high on methamphetamine. In the center of the light rail car a woman in a wheelchair spoke to herself and screamed out at random passengers, throwing a water bottle at one of them.

Got off a station platform somewhere downtown. Figured I’d walk to the Space Needle as it was further North of my position and the hotel was much further South. That way I’d be able to reach my furthest North point and then spend the rest of the day heading back in the direction of the airport.

Downtown Seattle was nice. Pretty typical for an American city. Not as bustling or crowded or populated as San Francisco, but enough life nonetheless.

It wasn’t too long of a walk to get to the Space Needle. The tickets weren’t extremely expensive either. The wait to get to the top, however, took the better part of an hour. The ride up on the external elevators was a little unnerving as well, though quick.

The views from the top of the Space Needle were fantastic. I took the majority of my photos here as it was such a wonderfully dynamic environment with lots of light and shadow. The top of the Space Needle slowly rotates at approximately a walking pace, offering visitors a 360-degree view of Seattle, the bay, and surrounding areas. The top of the Space Needle also features a bad and restaurant. I found the glass floor a bit uncomfortable, obviously, with the fear of falling through.

After about an hour at the top of the Space Needle I took the lift down to its base and made my way back into the city. I was beginning to get hungry as it was past lunch time, so I began hunting for some good food opportunities. I decided I’d navigate towards Pike Place Market considering it was also a landmark attraction also known for a variety of food options.

I walked along and under a monorail line that goes through about 1 mile of downtown Seattle towards the Space Needle. It’s not really a public transportation infrastructure only having 2 stops…more of a tourist thing. It was built as a demonstration item during the 1964 Century 21 Exposition, which also the construction of the Space Needle.

Pike Place Market wasn’t nearly as busy as I was anticipating it to be. Still a good amount of people, just not what you see in pictures. I walked through some buildings in the marketplace, passed some cafes and stores, and meandered through an open-air section. I found a stairwell that went down to a road running underneath the market whereupon I came across a bar known for good pizza. I was the only patron. I called my company to secure a release from duty and then enjoyed a couple local beers and a pepperoni pizza.

The sun was starting to wane in the horizon by the time I started to make my way back. And the comparative chill of downtown Seattle started to fall apart as homeless and drug addicts seemed to materialize from thin-air, increasing in number and brazenness as I made my way towards the light rail station. I watched as a police officer in a parked cruiser apathetically supervised a very obvious drug deal taking place, while a homeless man in a tattered suit urinated against the side of a building.

Without really being accosted individually I came to the light rail station and caught the next train towards the airport—the closest station to my hotel. Without any trouble the train delivered me back to my starting point.

I flew to Dallas, Texas the following morning.