We were instructed to arrive in Seattle a day early so we wouldn't miss the boat. Apparently there was one couple who didn't receive the same advice because we heard they were on the dock with their suitcases waving frantically to the boat as we pulled away. I don't know how often that happens or what happened to that couple but I know we didn't go back for them.
So we had a free afternoon in Seattle and since we had been to the Space Needle and the Fish Market on a previous visit we decided to check out Pioneer Square. We met a couple on the metro on the way there who encouraged us to check out Smith Tower. They said it was a great view and much cheaper than the Space Needle.
We were glad we did as they suggested.
Smith Tower - opened on July 4, 1914.
At the time it was the 4th tallest building in the world.
The brass Otis Elevators are still operated
by an elevator operator.
The Observation Deck is on the 35th floor off the Chinese Room which contained furniture and these beautiful ceiling tiles that were gifts from the Empress of China.
We had a nice day to see the town of Seattle.
Way back in the distance we could see our cruise ships.
A zoomed in view of the ships.
We had our view of the Space Needle.
The mountains in the background were a little cloud covered and
I couldn't tell you if that's Mt. Rainier or not.
We then went on over to Pioneer Square and
took an Underground Tour of the area.
The history of the underground town was a neat story
about how the area was repeatedly flooded out and
they built up the present town over the old town.
I didn't take any pictures though because it was mostly just
old concrete buildings, junk, ghosts, and rats.
But the square was lively and we enjoyed doing some people watching.
We were surprised how tired we were -
until we remembered we had gotten up at 3AM
and had a 2 hour time change.
So we headed back to the metro/hotel and
had dinner and crashed early.
