I used to have a T-shirt with a cute illustration and the slogan "Seattle Rain Festival—January 1 to December 31," a joke that everyone recognized and chuckled at. And yet, I've visited the area nearly a dozen times, and seldom seen much rain.
Arriving by air, passing Mt Rainier, and an amusing airport sculpture
What I have seen is a kaleidoscope of a city, with different things to see everywhere you turn. Aircraft factories and quiet gardens, a famous market and unusual sculpture, unusual architecture and unique cultural references. Taken all together, a fascinating place; the pictures I've chosen here are a small sample of the city.
Airplanes are a big piece of the Seattle scene, both historic and newly-built. Riding around the area gives a chance to see planes headed for airlines that never usually appear in the U.S. Germany's TUI and Russia's S7, above, at a Boeing factory.
But water is a big part of the area's story and history: above, the Wooden Boat Center on Lake Union; below, along the canal connecting the lake to the bay. Near the lock, a chance to view salmon climbing upstream through a 'fish ladder.'
Speaking of fish...this fellow was at the famed Pike Place Market, along with the pair of pigs... the market is both an important food source and one of the city's biggest tourism attractions.
In case you wonder, no, I don't share the sign-writers opinion of Brussels sprouts.
Looking out from the upper reaches of the market, a view of Elliott Bay and the inevitable big Ferris Wheel that nearly every city seems to have one of lately...
Here and there, an amusing sculpture or two...
And a building, the Museum of Pop, that's almost a sculpture itself... and is near a permanent collection of glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly.
As in most American cities, there are also unhappier sights to be seen; near the city's center, part of a park has become a tent city.
Seattle's Chinatown has roots all the way back to its earliest days. The arch and the nearby structure in a park reflect this, but share the space with a rather different sort of arch...
Nearby is a 'Pinball Museum,' which bends the idea of museum: The machines are historic and well-labeled, but most visitors just wanna have fun...
The purple glass is part of the skylights of 'Underground Seattle,' an area where streets were leveled up to their present height, leaving the former first floors of buildings under the sidewalk. Nearby, a small flock of geese do what geese do...
A quiet Kubota Garden, created eighty years ago by a self-taught Japanese gardener whose family gave it to the city...
And a street sculpture and park honoring one of the city's artistic greats, the late Jimi Hendrix.
Could you run out of things to see and do in Seattle? I doubt it!
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