Last Day in Seattle

Check-out time at the College Inn is eleven in the morning, but my train to Bellingham didn't board until about seven in the evening. I'd packed a week's worth of clothing and essentials in two light panniers, which could be strapped together to make one piece of luggage for the train. These were easy to carry on the back rack of my bike, but turned out to be uncomfortably large and heavy to lug around town for several hours.

To spare my back and biceps, I saved a trip to the Burke Museum of Natural History, at the University of Washington, for my last day. After checking my panniers at the desk, I spent about three hours in the museum. Admission is $10 for the public; UW students get in free. The museum has permanent displays of Pacific Northwest plant and animal fossils, and exhibits on geology, volcanoes and earthquakes. The bottom level showcases artifacts from different cultures with many similar traits, from all around the Pacific Rim, including Alaska, BC coastal and Puget Sound tribes, Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand and more. I didn't take any photos in the museum, but appreciated the refresher survey course on the natural history of my home state.

  

After a snack and coffee in the cafe, I caught a Metro bus to downtown Seattle, then walked toward Pioneer Square, stopping in at the Seattle Public Library on Third Avenue to check my email. In the summer, footsore tourists can choose from several types of wheeled tours. I spotted a pretty white horse carriage with a driver in black jacket and top hat and a team of white horses, an old wooden open trolley, and an amphibious "Ducks Bus" all from one street corner in Pioneer Square - in addition to several energetic and good-natured pedicab drivers.

Car traffic and construction made street conditions congested, noisy, dirty and confusing in Pioneer Square. Besides, there was a football game of some sort going on at that new stadium they built a while back to replace the KingDome. I think it was the Seahawks, but it might have been soccer. There were lots of people wearing that vivid green shade that so many bicyclists prefer.

King Street Station has been cleaned up and refurbished, with most work completed early this summer. The old sound-dampening low ceiling panels were torn out, and high arches and ornate plaster trim restored. The waiting area was light and airy in the evening sun, without the cavernous echo people used to complain about. Or maybe I'm thinking of the KingDome.

My train was delayed for about an hour. During the wait, several green-wrapped airplane fuselages, about the same size as a train car, passed through. I guess they must have been on the way from the Everett Boeing plant, for another phase of assembly at the Renton plant. I don't think this was the reason for the late arrival of my train. Oddly, we were delayed again a bit north of Everett because a boat fell off a truck while crossing the railroad tracks.

Strange how paths can cross.