Today was Seattle Day! It was a full day of things to see and do, but we still didn't see and do everything. And, by the end of the day, we were all exhausted. It is a good thing that Kristina was thinking ahead and put a roast in the crockpot before we left that morning!
The first item on the agenda was a chocolate factory tour. Since we had a group of 6 people, Kristina made reservations. For ease of parking, she chose the 10:30am tour. Theo Chocolate is a local Seattle company that is organic and certified fair trade. The cool thing is that they offer factory tours to the public daily, and it is a cool process to see. Honestly, none of us had any idea how involved chocolate making was until the tour.
Before going on the tour, you have to sport this awesome hair net. Rhett is modeling this one for us.
Some of the finished product. As expected the factory had a wonderful chocolate aroma throughout and it was absolute heaven.
After the chocolate factory tour, we headed to "the locks". The locks are an interesting Seattle experience and it is always cool to see. Jared does a wonderful job of explaining how the whole process works and luckily today we had several vessels travelling through the locks.
There are FIVE vessels packed into here waiting to go from the ocean to South Lake Union.
Another cool aspect of the locks is the associated fish ladder. It is always a sight to see the salmon fighting their way up the fish ladder.
After the locks we headed down to the pier and had lunch at the Edgewater Hotel. We chose the Edgewater Hotel for the view. It sits right out on the ocean and has the most awesome view. Checkout the link for the Edgewater Hotel to see the view. It is panoramic and completely breathtaking.
Pike's Market was next. You can't go to Seattle and not visit Pike's. If nothing else, it is cool to see the fish throwing and do a little people watching. As always it is an interesting experience.
Maisie really wanted to visit the Space Needle while she was here. Jared decided that the easiest way to get to the Space Needle from Pike's Market Place would be to walk to the monorail station. None of us have ever been on a monorail, so it was new to all of us. We eventually found the station, hopped on, and headed to the Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is).
The monorail trip was a quick trip (less than 15 minutes). Once we arrived at the Seattle Center, we decided to ride the elevator to the top of the Space Needle and tour the Chihuly Garden and Glass. There are many other things to do, but we had to save those things for another visit. :)
Rhett posing in front of one of the glass sculptures.
Maisie also posing with some glass sculptures.
A family portrait...
And here's a final shot from the Chihuly Garden and Glass...
