|
| Last time I was in Seattle for almost two days between Amtrak from Vancouver and Amtrak to Fargo, I spent the first full day at the Museum of Flight. On line reviews of the factory tour were not as encouraging as the Museum of Flight. If you inspect every exhibit and poster a day might not be long enough for the Museum of Flight. Being at Boeing Field and starting in Boeing's first buildings it has a strong Boeing bias, but includes Lockheed and Cessna since those men started out their aircraft careers working for Boeing. It has a Concord and a 70s era AirForce One on display with provisions for walking through. Next time in the area, I plan to be there longer and to visit the Boeing Factory.
I also got to the Space Needle riding the monorail round trip and to Pike Place Market. There is a section near the train station that has been built up and so has an underground tour. I didn't take that tour, but walked the area on the modern surface. The Continental Center on Continental Avenue has an observation deck near its top that is twice as high as the Space Needle with practically no people and in 2008 cost $3 senior while the Space Needle elevator had a half hour long line at $16 senior fare. The Continental observation space is enclosed, the Space Needle is open to the weather.
My current plans include several museums, plus half a week or more on Vancouver Island and several days in Vancouver BC. I'll rent a car on the island and around Seattle, but not in Vancouver.
There are several on line tourist information sites for those cities and most will send printed tour guides. I plan on visiting some national parks too. There are Moon tour guide books for Seattle and for Washington state that are good directories of what to see and where to sleep and eat.
Hotels in the SeaTac area are about $100 a night cheaper than in downtown Seattle and there is now light rail service from the downtown to the airport and beyond. I stayed at a Clarion there in 2008. Then the light rail was being constructed and I depended on regional buses. Fare to downtown wasn't expensive, and the Museum of Flight is on the same route and street as that motel and the entrances to the airport. There was also an express bus run from that street to downtown Seattle. Search for Seattle transit and you can find all kinds of information on their public transit. Daily and weekly passes look like they will pay compared to car rental and parking costs, at some cost in travel time in some cases, but in part of downtown the buses have their own private tunnel and street. And with a route map in hand (available on each bus) getting lost is harder than when driving.
Gerald J. | |
|
Boeing Factory Tour Seattle
