Arrived at the hotel at Redmond just outside Seattle. Bit of a palaver of my own making. 1st mistake was to forget my backpack and had to get the next train once a friend had brought it to the station. 2 nd mistake is a big one. Collected an identical bag from the carrousel belonging to the captain of our flight. Must say he handled the situation very well when i handed it back at our hotel. So our main case is somewhere at Seattle airport. Oh well, we will deal with that but it won't affect our holiday.
Saturday night stay at the Radisson Blu left us refreshed for the flight. The Thomas Cook flight was ok and the legroom good. Once at Seattle we picked up a lovely Jeep SUV and got to the hotel easily with Google Maps barring some traffic congestion.
Bit jet lagged so an excuse to say, I'm "sleepless in Seattle". Groan data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Difficult adjusting to the time difference. Wide awake since 2:30 local time.
Buffet breakfast in the hotel then got the bus into the city.
First stop Pioneer Square.
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Then walked to the waterfront.
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And past the fire station.
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First thing we realized is that the north- south avenues are level walking, connected by streets with steep inclines. Up a load of steps to Pikes Market. The shelfish were huge.
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Then after a tub of shrimp went to the chewing gum wall. About 30m of wall like this. Yuk.
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Walked north following the monorail route.
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Passed a film crew. Didn't recognise the actors in the car.
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First glimpse of the Space Needle.
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Then a closer look.
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From there to the Museum of Pop Culture. Some familiar faces.
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A tower of geets.
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Walked a few miles so far so got the monorail back.
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To the light railway station.
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From there we rode back to the airport and tracked down the missing suitcase. *Sighs of relief data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Decided to visit a few parks today. So after breakfast we headed north to Redmond Beach.
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Lots of old logs on the shoreline.
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Random goats eating the berries.
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From there we headed to Discovery Park just outside the city.
Followed the trail.
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To some lovely view points.
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Turned left at the bullet holes.
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Then drove over to Westlake. Fancied a flight but my wife wasn't having any of it.
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Next stop Viretta Park. A small park at the side of a lake near where Kurt Cobain lived. Paid homage at the shrine, his house in the background.
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Took a walk to a nearby beach on the lake. Didn't stop. Everyone was stark naked. No pics. Back to the hotel then dinner at an Indian restaurant. Chose the goat Rogan Josh data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Left Seattle this morning. Had enough of the Whacky Races on the i5 so turned off and took the Pacific Highway 101. More Kurt, went to the small park in his name at Aberdeen. The sign entering the town said " Welcome to Aberdeen. Come as you are." Nice touch.
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Just round the corner from his childhood home.
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Stopped for a stretch a few times along the way.
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Then over this bridge into Oregon State and Astoria where we checked in for the night.
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Left the car behind and took the riverside walk.
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To Charlie's Chop House. Great steak and a couple of beers.
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Then walked it off on the way back.
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Starting to get a bit cool and misty.
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Could hear seals barking, but too far away to photograph.
Rained overnight, a bit cooler and dull this morning. Short walk to see who was making all the noise. These fellas.
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Paddle boat had moored up overnight.
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South on the 101 to Sunset Beach to dip our toes in the Pacific. Stretches for miles.
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Further along the coast to...
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A walk along the prom for a bowl of claim chowder.
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Then South again stopping for a stretch at the viewing areas.
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@davidjohnson
Only passed through Rockaway Beach. We intended to stop over but there wasn't much there. Maybe research it?
Started to drizzle so picked a hotel from Google Maps at Tillamook.
Walk on the beach again before the drizzle.
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Then to a burger house for dinner. Complimentary peanuts. Felt uneasy dropping the shells on the floor but soon got the hang of it.
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Charred. Exactly how I like it.
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