We wandered Seattle’s Waterfront the other day.
The rest of the world was watching the World Cup Finals!
Other than the scores of people on this stretch of land.
It was a beautiful day in Seattle. We saw a lot.
A huge cruise ship on Seattle’s Waterfront
One of the first things we saw as we walked down the street was this huge cruise ship.
Frankly, the size shocked me. I’d never seen one so close.
It dwarfed everything–including the hotel on the wharf.
Later, we learned 5000 passengers could stay on this mammoth.
2500 people served their needs.
While I gawked, Mr. Engineer marveled at the propulsion power.
“This is an amazing piece of engineering, form, and function. She can spin on her own axis and is like an upside-down iceberg.
“A tremendous amount of engineering takes place below deck. She’s a ballet designed to turn around in just a few hours. Amazing.”
The colorful waterfront
Any tourist attraction is full of activity and color.
The views are simply fun.
Do you see Mt. Rainier in the center photo, poking up beside Mariner’s Stadium?
We walked past our favorite Ivar’s, figuring we’d have clam chowder on the way home.
The Sound beckoned. Over the water we could see our beloved Kitsap County, with the Olympic Mountains standing tall behind it.
Our plan was to ride the Washington State Ferry system across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island for lunch. (A 40-minute ride).
We’d then catch it back.
But, along the way, we paused at a sign.
Despite years of crossing the Sound on the ferry, we’d never taken an actual tour of Seattle’s waterfront from the water.
Why not?
We boarded the Argosy Tour Harbor Cruise.
Seattle’s Waterfront from the Puget Sound
Daniel, our excellent tour guide, did a fine job explaining the waterfront.
I’d written a novella many years ago, The Gold Rush Christmas, describing this very waterfront circa 1897.
I kept overlaying what I knew from the story against this modern metropolis!
He gave me the above details about the cruise ship, and provided history about the Space Needle, along with the Beatles’ 1964 stay at the Edgewater Hotel!
The Space Needle was built for the 1964 World’s Fair — the red sculpture beneath it depicts a flying eagle.
In the center photo, the building on the right with the triangular top was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
The black building on the left? The tallest skyscraper in Seattle today.
And the third photo is of the ferry we meant to take!
It is a working port — on both the north and south ends.
Here’s where grain is moved off trains onto cargo ships. It takes at least a day less in transit to ship grain from Seattle to the Far East.
The cargo ship is full when the red line nears the water.
The Southern End of Puget Sound
While the Seattle waterfront was a major working port in my story The Goldrush Christmas, most of the work takes place on the southern end of the sound.
The Coast Guard offices are there, along with a dry dock and, of course, all the offloading cranes.
Our guide Daniel did a good job describing the ships and how the container ships themselves work.
Like the cruise ship, the container ship and cranes also dwarfed us. In the center photo, the glass box at the top is where the longshoreman sits as he maneuvers the containers off the ship.
It takes him 60-90 seconds to lift the container off!
(Daniel noted the containers are not marked with what they carry–to discourage pirates. As many containers sit above the deck as are stored below deck.)
To the far right, the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a Coast Guard icebreaker.
If you haven’t seen a Navy or Coast Guard vessel in a dry dock before, it’s impressive — both the size and how it seems to balance upright!
Puget Sound and the Mountains
We saw Mt. Rainier looming on the horizon–it’s 60-miles south of Seattle!
But whenever I travel to or from the Puget Sound waterfront, I’m thinking of one place, in particular.
We didn’t get there this time, but the Olympic Mountains and the towns below them always beckon me: “home.”
Thoughts? Reactions? Lurker?