Friday was a continuation of the day before. Debbie started the day with laundry while I relaxed over coffee... doesn't seem right somehow. We decided to stay in the neighborhood for lunch rather than try to navigate downtown again.
Later though, Debbie ventured out, on foot, to find a shopping district we had passed coming into town while I went for the service on the bike. Neither of us were successful, as the dealership I found downtown was not the one I had called for service, and the Macey's and other stores that seemed just a few blocks away somehow disappeared overnight. Not to leave the state empty handed, we both got on the bike, headed back to the Harley shop where Debbie ran in for a souvenir while I sat parked in a loading zone, hoping I would not have to defend my position to the local authorities.
Seattle is a beautiful and interesting city with a rich history and an affection for the arts. We learned this and more when we took the Duck Tour of the town. This, if you are not aware, is a fun land and water tour aboard open air WWII amphibious landing vehicles called Duck Boats. We were driven about by our Captain, Chuck Wagon, who pointed out various historic points of town like the 605 foot tall Space Needle, built for the 1962 Worlds Fair... and there was West Seattle across Puget Sound, and the 416 Starbucks stores, the first opening in 1972 in Pikes Market. Oh, and we found the Macey's that had disappeared earlier. We crossed the 172 foot high Aurora Bridge with great views of the city, and into an area of Seattle called Fremont where the motto is “Delibertus Quirkus” – Freedom to be Peculiar. ... or something close to that.
At Union Lake we saw things from a different perspective as our Duck went from land to water and we floated across and back for more skyline views. We shared the water with yachts and kayakers, and saw the house from Sleepless in Seattle ( they told me it was a movie, that is all I know about that). There were house boats, floating homes and several parks along the banks. We have seen more bicyclists here than anywhere else. Our driver told us Seattle was proclaimed the most fit city in the nation, although he admittedly did nothing to help attain this honor. Much of what he told us was quickly forgotten, but the tour was worth the time and the weather was perfect for this adventure... at least for this 90 minutes we had no worry of getting lost or having some motorcycle related incident.
Tomorrow we leave for the 8 day round trip cruise to Alaska, taking time out from riding and writing. We are 1/2 way home now... as far as we will go before hanging a right turn and heading next for Montana and Yellowstone by way of interstate 90 East. So if you have followed to this point you also deserve a break... know that we continue to be safe... check back in August for an update.
Let me see if this works as Anonymous. If you are seeing it, it worked. Thanks, Jeff. This has been terrific watching you guys along the way. It's almost like taking a vacation without the cost for the rest of us! Snow in July, huh? Can't wait to see the photos from the cruise. Talk to you soon and stay safe! Dave and Corry
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