Kicking Up My Heels in Downtown Seattle

If I had to pick just five cities to explore for the rest of my life, Seattle would definitely be on it. Even considering all of the chances that I’ve had to walk around this place, I was still excited to visit the beautiful city today from Bremerton.

Here is a ferry arriving from Seattle…what a great view from my room!

Since there was a fun festival going on tomorrow, it was my hope to head over to Seattle on Friday and just enjoy a nice day in Bremerton today. However, after a quick check of the weather online, I knew immediately that today was the day to head over to explore on foot.

Last time that I took the ferry over to Seattle in inclement weather, I got the weirdest looks from people for not possessing an umbrella. I had a feeling that I would enjoy a sunshiny day a teensy bit more, so it was all decided. Today was it!

So I headed to the ferry station to catch my ride. The ferry is free in this direction, so I got in line with all of the others and waited to board the boat.

In case you’re wondering, there are tons of seats on board. Lots of people live in Bremerton and commute daily to Seattle using the ferries. And maybe I was just imagining it, but these seats look newly-renovated since the last trip over the “pond.”

I picked a window seat, of course, so I could maximize the beautiful views as we sailed on our hour-long journey through the Puget Sound to downtown Seattle.

Butterflies even fluttered in my stomach as I thought about the fun day ahead! Man, I’m lucky!

Since I hadn’t eaten yet, I grabbed a quick bite at Subway for the trip over. I must have been hungry, because I usually avoid Subway at all costs. In the case of today, it provided a light lunch until I could find a neat place to eat later on in the day.

And we’re off! So long, Bremerton bridge to Manette! I will see you tonight!

Adios, downtown Bremerton the the Naval Shipyard! Look at those gorgeous mountains in the distance!

As we putted along, we passed a tugboat doing it’s job on a crane boat. These are official names for everything, by the way, so I hope that you’re taking notes. I’m practically a sailor now.

There are two viewing decks towards the front of the ferry. I went out to take a few pictures, but it was still pretty early and, thus, chilly. Add about forty knots of wind from the speed of the boat as we glided along, and this Arizona girl didn’t stay outside for long.

But it was pretty.

We passed gorgeous homes along the way, and I found myself imagining what it would be like to own one of these beach-front properties in the Pacific northwest.

Can you imagine living so close to so much action, yet having a private oasis from it all, too? Well, I imagined it…

There are two ferries that travel between Seattle and Bremerton, each making the trip about every hour and twenty minutes. Today, I was lucky to be riding on the Walla Walla. Everything is named using the local Native American languages.

And it’s just fun to say. Go ahead, try it a few times! Walla Walla!

From the nippy observation deck, I can see below to the open area where cars, bikes, and motorcycles are also making the trip over to Seattle. Everything is chocked to prevent something coming off the brakes and making a run for it into the ocean.

And about half-way through our journey, we passed the other Bremerton ferry, the Kitsap, on its way to drop people off at the same dock from which we just left. They run these ferries like clockwork!

Oh boy. Here was my first glance of the downtown Seattle area. I can hardly wait to get ashore and explore!

That rhymed, for those keeping track.

And another ferry heading out! I love the shot of it in front of all those beautiful buildings!

Can you believe this gorgeous weather present for my day of running around town?!

You’re on the list today, Space Needle. I will definitely see you up-close-and-personal this afternoon!

This is the part of the ferry ride where I pick out which giant skyscraper I would like to live. This one? No, I like that one better. How about this one over there?

Honestly, I would take any of them if I could just live here for a few years.

This is CenturyLink Field, which is home to the NFL team, the Seahawks. I love that that everything is so close to the main downtown action.

Not that I would ever want to do it, but if I wanted to see an Arizona Cardinals football game, our commute would be over an hour to arrive at their stadium on the west side of The Valley.

I don’t know about you, but I just want to get on that Ferris Wheel right now. And I hate Ferris Wheels.

Seattle just does weird things to me, you know?

We were soon arriving at the dock to disembark.

This is a guide to help the ships get to the proper location for the unloading dock. See how it has all of those big wooden pads to help cushion the boat into the right spot?

Again, technical ship terms here, folks.

I love this view towards the rear of the ferry. You can see that the reverse motors are being used to slow us down and align us properly.

And then, when the ship is docked within range, this fancy little hydraulic stair comes down to the deck of the boat. This is what me and dozens of other ferry riders will use to cross from the boat to the dry land of Seattle.

As you can see from this ferry worker, it is a pretty laid-back procedure.

Once I was off the ferry and walking past the terminal, I turned around to grab a shot of the awaiting cars heading back to Bremerton. Wait until you see how many cars ride back with me later today!

But for now, I am just giddy at the chance to spend an entire day in one of my favorite places. How better to start things off than with a beautiful American flag using downtown Seattle as a backdrop?

Man, I love my job.

From Ideeho to Bremerton

We were headed for lunch on Wednesday, which was our day to return six passengers to Bremerton. My coworker mentioned that he had eaten at Café Rio the night before. Those magical words were all he had to say to me.

Have you been to Café Rio? I think that it is my favorite fast food restaurant out there. I usually get the pork carnitas burrito, but I’ve been adventurous lately by trying things like nachos, tacos, nachos, salad, nachos, and nachos.

And nachos. Holy smokes, I love this place. So much that I don’t think I could ever say no to it! I splurged today and tried one of their fruit lemonades to wash all that nacho goodness down.

With a happy tummy, it was time to head to the airport to ready Gladys for our short flight home. It would only take about forty-five minutes in the air to be “home” today.

When we got the airport, we discovered that Gladys hadn’t been pulled up front like we requested.

In fact, she was out in the sticks with some giant tumbleweeds. Can you see her?

Yeah, me neither.

Turns out that their big-airplane tug had gotten a flat tire that morning and had to be sent out for repairs. They tried to move Gladys with this little yellow tug but didn’t have the right fittings. Rather than try to connect with the wrong tow bar, I decided to leave her where she was.

I hate scratches. They’re just so permanent.

But good news came…our passengers were running about an hour late, and that gave us the time for the tire to return and the tug to be used to move Gladys. Otherwise, can you see the tumbleweeds that would have restricted access to get out?! Those things were huge!

This beautiful Falcon was still on the ramp, too. Turns out that there was a giant charity golf event in town while we were here, so I wonder if that is why this big guy showed up for a few days.

Goodness knows it wasn’t to enjoy the cooler weather!

Soon we were in the sky and waving goodbye to a beautiful town. I would say that my first experience with Coeur d’Alene went pretty well. And I even know how to pronounce it now, thanks to my Mama. Put the emphasis on the last syllable, so the “lane” comes out the strongest.

I could almost pass as a local. Almost.

We were bound to pass some pretty territory on our short hop back to the Seattle area. Doesn’t this make you want to sing “The Hills are Alive?” I get that feeling a lot in this airplane…

We stayed low for this short flight, heading home at just 23,000 feet. It gave a pretty good view of things going on down below. Hi, Columbia River!

And it was hard to fathom after a few scorching days in Coeur d’Alene, but there was still snow on top of the mountains just west of town! I had to take a picture to prove it to myself since it didn’t seem possible.

As we got closer to Bremerton, we also got closer to the typical overcast layer associated with Seattle. Here you can see where it starts just to the east of the city and continues until we descend beneath it on the approach.

And here we are underneath! I love how the lighting changes when the clouds cover everything. It was a beautiful day, and I had a hunch that opening the door to get out would feel a lot nicer than ninety-six degrees from the previous two days!

I hate to say it, but my hunch was right. It is a perfect sixty-four degrees today in Bremerton! May I please just stay here for the next four months?

Seattle is such a beautiful area, thought I as we got closer to landing. Sometimes, especially in the summer months, I long to live someplace similar to this. Where it’s green and cool and your fingers don’t melt when you accidentally try to plug in the metal seatbelt.

It’s the little things in life that make all the difference, you know?

I also love all of the water in this Puget Sound area.

Yes, I could live here. And this month, I practically have.

Hi, Little Bremerton! Yes, we’re back again. This time for a few days, and I have big plans during those few days! It’s nice to be back to cool weather and green sites. I know that I was only away from Bremerton for a few days, but I always love returning.

And Kyle from Avian Flight Center was there waiting for us to marshall Gladys in. He has done this a lot in the past few months!

After loading about sixty bags into their awaiting car, my passengers were on their way. Then it was time to get the crew bags out of the nose baggage compartment. She can store stuff in all sorts of spaces! I love this airplane!

This is where she will hang out until Saturday, when we will have a very busy work day.

Well, busy for this new job. It would be considered a typical day in the job I left in February to come fly Gladys.

Meanwhile, we hop in the crew car for a two-day stay in Bremerton! I had rooms arranged for us at the Fairfield Inn yet again. It almost feels like I should just pay these folks monthly rent! I’ve been here a lot this summer!

And I love it…

I asked for and received a harbor view this time around. Since I would be here for a few days longer, I cared about what I saw outside the window. I love this scenery because I can watch the Seattle ferry come in and leave again.

Tomorrow, I am going to take that ferry over to explore the city!

But until then, I will recover from such a “strenuous” day at work. Can you believe that my job allows me to fly all day and then get neat views from a calming hotel in downtown Bremerton?

Pinch me.

This might be why I like the Fairfield Inn most of all…the gigantic walk-in shower! I hate tubs for every reason, so this shower feels made just for me.

Come back tomorrow for a great day exploring downtown Seattle!

How to Enjoy a Day in Coeur d’Alene

The morning in Coeur d’Alene started out wet and loud! We got an awesome thunderstorm that lasted almost until noon. I loved it, while watching from my hotel window.

I totally took advantage of my favorite type of weather by reading a book in anticipation of the upcoming book club at my family reunion. Have you read Watership Down? It was my first time, but I enjoyed it.

I always request a high room when I stay in hotels. They provide the best view possible. This particular view provided beautiful mountains and lots of green stuff.

After a few hours of letting things dry up, it was time to wander around on foot to find a place to enjoy lunch. It ended up being ninety-six degrees today and was still quite humid because of the earlier thunderstorms.

Yuck. I was hoping to spend most of my day outside, but it was simply too mucky for that to happen!

Thankfully, lunch happened. This place was just a few blocks away from my hotel. Mexican food always sounds good to me!

Well, the menu looks pretty authentico. I think that we’re off to a good start.

I wish that I could say that I got a salad. But underneath that lettuce is a delicious burrito. It couldn’t be helped today. I’m sorry, gym clothes.

I found a different way to get back to my hotel, just to ensure seeing as much of town as I could. Again, the heat was stifling. I then felt silly for expecting northern Idaho to feel cooler than home.

Golly, it’s been so long since I’ve been home. Maybe I’ve just forgotten what it’s like!

Eventually, I made it back to the Holiday Inn Express. It was now time to enjoy my free pass to Triple Play, attached to the hotel!

While walking around the hotel to the Triple Play entrance, I was teased by the view of a water slide. This place houses a giant indoor water park, so it would be a wonderful stop for kids year-round.

You know, in case you’re ever wandering around northern Ideeho and are looking for a place for kids to play. I’m sure that happens to all of us now and then.

Good grief. How cool!

On a side note, I guess the owner of these facilities, who picked up my passengers and gave us a day pass to Triple Play, had a little accident while they were swimming today. His wife hit something while coming down a slippery slide. She ended up breaking her collarbone, which makes me cringe just thinking about it. As I was walking around town, I heard and saw an ambulance at my hotel. The next day I found out that it was there for someone that I knew!

Luckily, she is OK. But I felt that a sound decision was made by me to not utilize the swimming facilities.

Besides, it’s just no fun swimming alone.

Anyway, it was time to enjoy my free pass in ignorance of other’s pain.

This is a map of Triple Play, which offers bowling, miniature golf, go-karts, water raft bumper cars, laser tag, and the water slide.

I was the only one on the course, after a slow family let me go a head of them on the first hole. They quit after the first hole, so I was all alone outside. I think the temperature got to people.

And now I know…that it is way more fun to play miniature golf with people. When I tried to cheat, it wasn’t funny to anyone but myself. And you can only laugh at that joke once or twice before it starts to get creepy.

The course was cute and well-done, but it was just too sweltering outside to enjoy it. I played my fastest round ever, and not just because I was a superb golfer. All I could think of was an air-conditioned room!

The bumper boats probably would have cooled me down, but who likes to get pool water sprayed all over them? I loved the awesome pirate’s ship in the center of the course, though. It reminded me of Disneyland, the most magical place on earth.

Just two days after seeing this boat in person, I found out that we were headed to Disneyland for work just the following week! Woooooohoooooo!

Maybe it was an omen…

Anyway, back to the present. It was time to get some wind blowing through my hair on the go-kart course. There was no line.

And for some reason, I considered flip flops appropriate attire for such an event. Maybe that’s why I lost?

This is the sight that I beheld for pretty much the entire race. The guy teenager running the show probably didn’t know it at the time, but he gave me the slowest kart on the track. It was just embarrassing. I’ve always thought myself better at go-karts.

Reality can be a bummer at times.

But I played along. I pretended that it was fun losing to small children. And, other than the fact that I was way behind by the time the finishing bell rang, I did enjoy myself. It cooled me down, at least.

And I am always going for that wind-blown model look, you know?

On my way back to the nice, cool hotel room, I stopped to take a picture of the indoor pool area. Don’t you love the dinosaur theme? Look closely…there is a T-Rex at the far end of the pool.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t get in…