Rainless in Seattle
Rainless in Seattle
From the start, Dane wanted to go on a train trip for our honeymoon. After learning that Glacier Park, our first choice, might be closed due to snow, we settled on Seattle. Dane had been there before, loved the city, and was eager to show me around. We couldn’t wait to be together near the sea. But he also warned me that Seattle is wet, so I packed my rain jacket, rain hat, and umbrella in the outside pocket of my carry-on.
We hopped on the train in La Crosse on Tuesday evening and arrived in Seattle Thursday afternoon, ripe with train sweat. We took a taxi from King Street Station to our hotel, but when the driver dropped us off at a skyscraper, we knew we were at the wrong place. He’d mistaken our hotel's name, ACE, for the Marriott’s AC Hotel, so back in the cab we went for another wild ride through the busy streets.
The brick ACE Hotel at the corner of 1st Avenue and Wall Street offers a great view of the ocean. The room was cozy and perfect in every way, except that the hot water wasn’t working. The staff were kind when explaining about plumbing and old buildings. Anxious to get out and see Seattle, Dane only splashed the water halfheartedly on himself as I howled and immersed myself in a cold-water plunge.
Holding hands, we stepped out jacketless into a glorious, sunshiny late afternoon. We headed toward Pike Place Market, where Dane bought a colorful shirt. We ate a late lunch/early dinner at a Thai restaurant; took in a tourist attraction called Wings Over Washington, highly recommended by the hotel staff; boarded the Bainbridge Island ferry to take in the sunset; and rode the famous Seattle Great Wheel.
Wings Over Washington is a thrilling state-of-the-art flying-simulation theater that had both of us gripping our seats. I don’t think we were ever more than a foot off the ground, but the illusion of flight was so strong that Dane kept gripping his backpack, afraid it would fall out!
The ferry ride wasn’t at all what I expected. Unlike the small boats that ferry us to Washington Island, this was a massive floating kingdom with multiple floors, restaurants, plush seating, gift shops, and elevators and escalators.
As we’d anticipated, once the sun set, the evening skyline was aglow with lights of every color reflecting off the calm waters of Elliott Bay. After disembarking, we headed to Seattle’s Great Wheel and rode in one of the gondolas, marveling at the gorgeous evening and how warm it still was.
By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted and thankful for hot showers before bed.
For the next few days we played tourist, starting with a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. We spent most of a day immersed in the brilliance of Dale Chihuly’s glass art, enjoying the outdoor garden, restaurant, and a theater where we watched a glassblowing demonstration. We also toured the Museum of Pop Culture, but weren’t able to see it all before it closed.
Our friends Cynthia and Chris had given us a gift certificate for the woman-owned Elliott Bay bookstore. As soon as we walked in, Dane went one way and I the other. Later, our arms full, we checked out with huge smiles on our faces.
On our last day in Seattle, we took a slow walk through the parks and along the bay, ending up back near Pike Place Market. For lunch, we decided on Beecher’s Handmade Cheese café, where we each had their signature salmon mac and cheese and shared a tuna melt.
After walking more than 25 miles in just three days, we were ready to sit back and relax on Amtrak’s Empire Builder. As we sat in the observation car, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows, we felt like we were watching a moving art show. We appreciated the seven stops between Seattle and La Crosse where we could get off, stretch our legs, and get some fresh air.
The last of those stops was in Minneapolis, where we eagerly headed for the coffee shop at the train station, since the train served only instant coffee. I spied a lovely bookstore with a sign that cautioned us not to let the resident cat out. Dane and I spent way too much time inside, browsing the books and petting the cat, and missed our train.
This gave us a few extra hours to wander around Minneapolis as we waited for a commuter train (the Borealis) to take us home. Thankfully, our luggage was there waiting for us. My rain jacket, rain hat, and umbrella had never left the pocket where I’d put them.
