Seattle So Soon......19,036

   On Tuesday (my second "down" day) Angie (granddaughter) and I are texting. She says she has to drive to Seattle early on Thursday for a 9:30 appointment at the passport office.  (Without traffic congestion that is a 3 hour drive. With traffic, well......"forever")  I ask her who is going with her.  No one, she answers.  After a bit I text back to offer to ride along with her.  Thanks, Gram, she replies, I know I could count on you. But she didn't want to ask. Then we could make a day of it and explore Seattle.
     I am thinking that we would have to leave very early and still get into traffic and still have to find the building and still have to fight traffic for 3 hours driving home.  So I text back.  How about driving up and staying overnight on Thurs.  Yah, Gram, that would be great.  So I get busy looking up motels.  
    Soon she texts again. She has to babysit 8 AM on Friday.  I reply, how about driving up on Wed and staying that night.  Great idea, Gram,  I get busy finding a hotel for the next night, Wednesday.  (At this point one can't reserve a room and be able to cancel without loosing one's money.)  Nothing to be found downtown Seattle except for $1,260 a night.  Nope.  Eventually I find one in Seatac, about 15 miles out of Seattle.  Reasonably priced and about the only one to be found.   
   We are on the road 12:30 on Wednesday after a 
 McDonald's stop for snacks.  Midway we stop for more snacks and a double Espresso for Angie.  

Meeting up with traffic.....
 

Arriving at our "sketchy" 
motel...
I don't complain much but this one was worthy of complaints, and caution.   Not clean, not cared for, etc.  It did the purpose of sleeping us but not without trepidation. Not worth the amount we paid.  No other choices.   But why??

     A concert by One Direction, of course....
Every hotel and motel in Seattle area completely booked.....unless one had $1,260 for a one night stay.  

That did not deter us from sightseeing and an evening at the Seattle waterfront....

Loading cranes at the shipyard..
under other streets

















      Home of Starbucks!!!!

Finally, Pike's Market!!

It closed at 6PM, but we got a look around

Selfie with Seattle Great Wheel in back
(and bad hair month for Gram)

To the Waterfront

And a ride on the 
Seattle Great Wheel.......

But First...Gram "Me hungry, me want food" (Okay Angie, I will get YOU next time..)

Enjoy views from Seattle Great Wheel....

Does Does 
Does Angie's smile hide her nervousness?

one selfie

Sunset over Puget Sound...

Great attraction....

Highly recommend it

3 times around for about $14.

($11 for senior citizen)

Actually 4 times around if you include the sitting and swaying up top while other units are being emptied of riders.  

Fun facts about the Seattle Great Wheel
The Seattle Great Wheel was built in less than a year, but its story goes back much further than that. Seattle businessman Hal Griffith had envisioned a Ferris wheel in the city for nearly 30 years, but it wasn't until he realized he could build one on his own pier that his dream became a reality. The Seattle Great Wheel opened to the public on June 29, 2012. Since then, it has become an icon of the city and a destination for tourists and locals alike.

• The Seattle Great Wheel is the largest observation wheel on the west coast, standing 175 feet tall.
• The wheel has 42 fully-enclosed gondolas. 41 white gondolas each seat up to eight adults.  Cabin #42, the VIP cabin, has leather bucket seats, a stereo system, glass bottom floor, and can seat up to 4 adults.  In total, the wheel can hold over 300 passengers at any given time.
• The wheel was manufactured in various parts of Europe and the United States, and assembled right at the end of the pier.
• The wheel extends nearly 40 feet beyond the end of the pier, over Elliott Bay.
• The Seattle Great Wheel is open year round. With fully-enclosed gondolas and a covered waiting area, the rain can't stop the wheel from spinning!
• The wheel weighs 280,300 pounds.
• 550 tons of concrete were poured to create the foundation for the wheel.
• (Info from SGW website)

   Time to head back to Seatac and a questionable night's sleep at 

Hotel Sketchy....

We'll keep the light on (for sure)

Don't come in....

    This has been a good "sightseeing Seattle" day in the life of Grandma G.

  "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband."  (Revelation 21: 2)