Sightseeing in Seattle

We started our tour of the city by riding the monorail to Seattle Center. This is where the Space Needle is:

 

Before we ventured our way up, we decided to tour the city in style:

 

 

We kept seeing the Ducks all over town & we had heard this was the best tour to do with children because it is exciting & you get to tour by land & by water! Bryan even got sucked into buying the duck call so Sadie could practice making her quacking sounds all over the city:

 

 

In case you are wondering what she is looking up at, that would be this:

 

 

Sadie loved the wind blowing her hair as we cruised around town, while her Dad & I enjoyed all of the historical knowledge we learned about the city.

 

 

My favorite part was when we hit the water. I felt like I had seen most of the city since we stayed downtown & I had already walked around, but seeing the city from the water was beautiful:

 

 

And we even learned the difference between a house boat & a floating house:

 

 

Of course Sadie loved the water too, so much so that she wanted to jump in!

 

 

Our captain was very entertaining & knowledgeable. Plus, he made a good DJ! I would highly recommend this short tour to anyone with children because it will not disappoint.

 

 

The tour started & ended right at the Space Needle, so when we got off the Duck, we decided to make our way up. Unfortunately, Sadie was starting to get a little cranky by this time, but she did ok up there. She's definitely not scared of heights!

 

 

In case you wanted to see the cheesy picture they try to sell you, here it is:

 

 

No, I am not the sucker who pays for these pictures, because they offer them every where you go, but they did offer me the chance to e-mail it to myself for free, so I took advantage.

 

While we were at the Seattle Center, they also have a beautiful Chilluhy Exhibit. I have seen some of his work at the traveling exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum, but his glass sculptures are beautiful. I was too cheap to pay to go inside, but I could sneak a peak at a few from outside:

 

 

We ended our night by having dinner at Sunset in West Seattle, which is on the other side of the water so we had a great view of the city. After dinner, we walked around the boardwalk to the beach until it was dark.

 

 

We took the ferry back into the city & it was a beautiful ride:

 

 

Now that you see the great big wheel, that's what we did the next morning. The wheel was directly in front of our hotel & it had amazing views of the city & of the water:

 

 

Sadie thought she was such a big girl because she got to sit by herself :)

 

After we got off the wheel, we strolled the rest of the boardwalk & found a carousel:

 

 

We browsed all of the restaurants, shops & found a couple of cheesy signs that really made us look like tourists:

 

 

My favorite part of Seattle was:

 

 

If you have been to Seattle, than I am sure you have been there. It was only a few blocks from our hotel, so I went there every day :) It is always busy so there is always good people watching & there are street performers everywhere. Plus there are booths on every side full of fresh seafood, produce, flowers, etc. And the dive restaurants/bakeries were amazing! Let's just say I did a lot of eating while I was there :)

 

 

In case you are wondering what the busiest place in the market is, that would be the original Starbucks! The line for coffee was crazy long but they had the same musicians performing outside everyday & they were pretty good.

 

 

Our last night there, one of Bryan's clients who is also a friend, picked us up & took us to the horse races. She has grown up in Seattle & her family owns race horses, so she is always at the race park. She gave us the VIP treatment & let us walk around the stables & help feed some of their horses. Sadie loved seeing the horses from afar, but got a little scared up close!

 

 

Afterwards, we went out & watched a few of the races:

 

 

I had a good time learning about the races because I don't think I have really been before. Bryan had a good time also, but he would have had a better time if we would have made a little money off of the races! Unfortunately, he may have lost a few bucks....

 

After the races, Judy took us to Newcastle Golf Club, which is perched up high in the mountains & has a beautiful view of Seattle & Pugent Sound. We enjoyed dinner until we heard the bagpipes. Apparently, the bagpiper starts playing every night at sunset, so we had to hurry up & take pictures before the sun went down.

 

 

Thanks Judy for chauffeuring us around all night & giving us the VIP treatment at the horse races! We really enjoyed getting to spend time with you, especially me since I have heard about you for the past 6 or 7 years!

 

Overall, we had a great long weekend in Seattle & I really enjoyed learning about a new city. I have to admit that I love living in my little Dallas suburb, but I will always be a city girl at heart. There is something about the hustle & bustle of the city that beckons me! And I love being able to walk everywhere. Although, I don't know if I would like Seattle in the winter - I personally enjoyed the warmer/sunnier weather this time of year.