say enough about the vibe here. It is a big, happenin' area, but the locals I came in to contact with were very relaxed and cool. The entire area just seemed pleasant. I stopped for coffee and asked for room for cream. The kind staff told me to come back after I doctored my cup up for a top off if I wanted! People just seemed nice everywhere!I won't type a lot about it, I will let the pictures speak for them self. There are a few things that really stand out though.
Everywhere is photogenic. I took a lot of pictures that I have framed and put on the wall.
We went out to the Mount St. Helens area and my mind was blown. Probably an hour from the actual volcano, you start seeing the blackened grounds left from the 1980 eruption. Like some of the other amazing sites (The Grand Canyon, Mammoth Cave, Alcatraz) you don't realize how spectacular this site is until you are there. When we were there some smoke was actually coming out of the volcano. I had heard that the visitor area was closed off some months before because of rumbling.
They did something really cool at the visitor center. They show a movie about the volcano, and its eruption. At the end of the film, with David Johnston's, "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" being played, the film screen is pulled back to display the actual Mount St. Helens.In the same area, we found a gift shop with a bigfoot focus. They had a small museum and gifts relating to the cryptid. Out front was a really cool huge statue of it.
we spent some quality time at the Pike Place Market. They have the famous guys tossing fish around. There were many vendors selling about everything. I found some very unique local art there.
We also had coffee at Starbucks #1 in the area.
We did the obligatory visit to the Space Needle. I love Space Needles. This one really offers a view of the entire area. Like Mount St. Helens, this is such a landmark that you have to do it.
Right underneath the needle are the newer notable museums. The "Experience Music" and the Sci Fi Museum are there. I was on a bit of a time limit, and was forced to pass on the music museum. I really enjoyed the Sci Fi one though. Maybe it is because I love Sci Fi, or maybe its because they just had some cool exhibits, but I had a lot of fun here.
We REALLY loved taking the Seattle Underground Tour! AMAZING! Its a long story (check out the web site, or the wikipedia entry) but Seattle is built over what Seattle once was. I would describe the Underground Tour as kind of like going through Seattle's basement.
http://www.undergroundtour.com/
I am a Washingtonian and was so pleased to read your blog and learn of your delight with our area.
ReplyDeleteWhen researching for my recently-released novel, TENDERFOOT, I, too, was facsinated with Mount St. Helens. The mountain plays an important part in my story. I talked with many people who were directly involved with the 1980 eruption--a forest ranger, search and rescue, law enforcement, American Red Cross. It was a huge event, affecting many surrounding cities. In fact, residue from the ash was experienced many miles away.
www.MaryTrimbleBooks.com
Hey Mary, thank you for checking out my blog! I really appreciate it, and I will have to check out your new book!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful and mysterious area- in appearance and in it's place in history!