Our journey around the US continues, and we are currently in Seattle with my younger daughter Elizabeth and her husband Drew. She just moved here in June so this is our first visit to this area. It’s so beautiful and we’re having a great time. I tried to cull through the photos to just show a few of the highlights, but of course being an active city in a beautiful area, I could fill volumes 😉
We left Santa Rosa in this little plane. I can’t remember the last time I’ve flown on a plane with propellers! It got us there fine though, and it was interesting watching the wheels outside the window leave the pavement on takeoff. Notice also that there were steps for boarding in both the front and the rear, so boarding was really fast and easy.
We went to Seattle by way of Los Angeles (I know, crazy!) But LAX is interesting – very active with planes from all over the world. And, they did get us to Seattle without a problem.
The next day we took the bus into downtown Seattle. The buses are great and as they get into the city they go underground in this very attractive area for buses and the light rail. So, here’s the family looking like tourists getting a photo taken at the bus stop!
Our first stop was a Chihuly glass exhibit at the base of the Space Needle. It was gorgeous!
One could spend a lot of time at the Chihuly exhibit with a camera! I took quite a few photos myself. There was also an outdoor area with glass among the plants chosen so their colors complimented the glass.
In the “Glass House” if you stand in the right spot you can see the Space Needle behind the glass.
After the exhibit we stopped for some Greek food. This huge limo was out front when we left. You can see what nice weather we were having.
Next we went to the Pike Place market. A wedding party was out front taking photos.
There were many street musicians at the market. This one was especially imaginative – playing harmonica and playing the guitar balanced on his nose while twirling a hula hoop!
Farther inside the market it was less crowded so you could move around more easily. There were tons of shops selling all sorts of interesting things. The flowers were especially beautiful.
The very first Starbucks is in the market area.
Drew works at Redfin in that building. He says he can see the water and the Space Needle from his office.
Next we went to Bellevue to see Elizabeth’s work area. I don’t know if she wants me to post her photo under the Microsoft sign, but I took quite a few photos of the beautiful buildings in the area. Here she is with her husband walking up to the lovely courtyard in front of her office building.
Later we went to a mall where Joel heard there was a Tesla store. The place was full of people! We’re not buying this $69K car, but they said they are coming out with a $35K model in three years. If I was in the US though and could afford it, I would definitely have my eye on a Tesla!
On Sunday we drove to some new areas so we could all explore a bit. This was a beautiful park overlooking the water and the city, a perfect photo op. I like this photo of Drew and Elizabeth looking at their own photos.
Elizabeth took this photo of us with the city in the background. We also enjoyed the neighborhood with its beautiful older homes.
Later we went to Alki beach a bit south of Seattle. The beach and the water beyond were so pretty. It was another beautiful day, warm and sunny. We also enjoyed driving through the neighborhoods on our way.
On the way back through the city we drove by the shipping area. There seemed to be huge areas full of containers stacked everywhere!
We finished the day on Mercer Island where Elizabeth and Drew live. It’s a beautiful, large island with a lot of really nice homes. The road around the island is a very popular biking trail. Before we went home we stopped for a walk in the woods in a park in the center of the island.
I really like the Seattle area. There’s a lot of interesting things going on and it’s really beautiful. There seem to be colorful flowers growing everywhere too. Best of all, my daughter and son in law say they are enjoying it, and the transition has gone very well for them. I’ll definitely be happy to come back here on future visits!
Our next stop is Alaska. We’re getting on the cruise ship tomorrow and will be gone for a week. There is internet on the ship but it’s a bit expensive, so I will probably be out of touch until we return to Seattle. When I return though, I’m sure there will be lots of news and photos. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see Alaska so I’m really excited!
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About Kris Cunningham
We live in David, Chiriqui Provence, Republic of Panama! This blog is about some of our experiences in our new country.
The Panama Adventure 
alaska???? i’m so jealous. it’s on my bucket list to take a small cruise ship in alaska, catch a salmon off the side of the boat, and eat it! enjoy 🙂
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I hope you get to do it! I’ll post photos when I get back to inspire you 😀
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We took a trip last June to Seattle (I still regret not going to Chihuly exhibit, but we spent hours eating in the Space Needle restaurant–awesome!) and then off on a cruise ship to Alaska. Enjoy your time there! It is amazing! Love Seattle as well and the bus system is funny being underground (ask your daughter about the Underground Tour given as well–very interesting). Happy traveling!
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We did the Chihuly exhibit but not the Space Needle (but it’s on the list for another visit). In one of my future lives I want to be a glass artist so I always have to check out beautiful glass. We considered the Underground Tour and may do it on another visit as well.
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I am jealous, have always want to visit Chichuly and take an Alaskan cruise, looking forward to hearing about the cruise, have a great time!
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Chihuly has work in a number of places so you never know when you may have an opportunity. And, now that you’ll be living on less, maybe you’ll have more money to travel!
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Live in Columbus, Ohio and we have a lot of Chihuly on display; so glad you were able to experience his works. Visit your family in January and let us know how you like Seattle then; used to live in Portland, Oregon and couldn’t wait to escape the endless gloom and drizzle. Assuming you went to Pike Market and watched the guys toss the salmon back and forth?
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We’re coming back in February so we’ll get to experience the winter wet, gray weather. I told the kids we may stay in their apartment and watch movies all weekend! LOL
Yes, it was Pike Market but we only saw them toss fish in plastic bags which I thought was less impressive. Catching a slippery fish would be more challenging. It was so crowded though that we were lucky to see anything!
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Glad you enjoyed Seattle and wow – the Alaska trip, that will be a refreshing memory once you’re back in Panama – safe travels!
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Thank you, we’re excited!
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Kris,
You’ll love it this time of year. David and I lived there for five years in the 70’s. Make sure you see Palmer where they grow all the big veggies and go down the Seward Hiwy to Kenai where all the fishing it. There is also a glacier off that highway you can stop ad see – actually walk to. I got some fantastic shots there because you can get real close to it – or you could in the 70’s. Have fun!!! Take a jacket.
Sunni
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You’re right, we love the Seattle area! Thanks for the tips too. We’ll be back so we’ll put them on our list of things to do next time.
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