"" Writer's Wanderings: Flat Stanley: Will the Seattle Fog Lift?

Friday, January 25, 2013

Flat Stanley: Will the Seattle Fog Lift?

Poor Stanley. So much to see in Seattle and too much fog to see it. Those are the chances you take when you travel even if it is in an envelope.

Saturday morning began with dropping off the grands at their Japanese school. The Seattle area has a large Japanese population and there are small schools in the area that offer the opportunity for kids with Japanese heritage to learn Japanese writing, reading, etc. as well as culture and tradition. It was still pretty foggy  and frosty when we dropped the older kids off at their Saturday morning school.

Instead of driving into Seattle, we opted to head back to the house to warm up again and share some pictures and stories of other trips to Seattle in much nicer weather. We told Stanley that when we visited the Space Needle, the iconic landmark of Seattle, it was a much warmer day in June and there was no frosty fog. The views of the city and Puget Sound were breathtaking.

The Space Needle was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. The original sketch was made on a napkin and was the idea of Edward E. Carlson. It took 13 months to build at a cost of $4.5 million. A hole 30 feet deep and 120 feet wide, filled with cement, anchors the Needle which was engineered to withstand 200 mph winds.

But everything that's interesting about Seattle can't be seen from above ground. Below the ground level under the sidewalks and streets is a maze of tunnels that allow you to explore some of the oldest parts of Seattle. The city was originally built on soggy tideflats and was subject to nasty flooding every time it rained for any length of time. After the Great Fire of 1889 the city was rebuilt over the top of the old city and retaining walls were constructed to control the flooding. It's quite an interesting tour to take on a warm day when you want to cool off.

At street level, in the heart of the city is another iconic landmark of Seattle, the Public Market Center, a huge market with vegetables, flowers, meats, and the entertaining fish markets. The fish company is noted for their fish toss. When someone places an order, they toss the huge fish to the butcher who prepares the order. It is a fascinating place to wander through and plan to eat lunch at.

But alas, the weather was just too bad for all that touring and unfortunately most of us had nasty colds and were feeling bad so we spent the Saturday cuddled up near the fireplace enjoying each other's company and playing games. Stanley fit right in.

We wondered though, would the sun break through on Sunday?

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