Seattle - Day 3

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The start of our third and final day in the Emerald City began with a visit to the Fremont Troll.  The creature, which measures 18-feet in height, resides under the north end of the Aurora bridge. 

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Under one of the Troll's hands is an old-school Volkswagen.  I heard that when the massive sculpture was originally constructed in 1990, the car contained a time capsule filled with Elvis memorabilia.  Go figure.

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With plenty of places to climb, the Troll is the perfect spot for an impromptu photo shoot.  As you can see, the boy couldn't resist taking a peek inside the Troll's nose.  You will be relieved to know that the giant was booger-free. 

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Directly in front of the Troll is this quiet lane, appropriately named Troll Avenue.  We decided to follow it and see where it led.  To our delight, we arrived on the shore of Lake Union.

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The lake is home to one of the largest houseboat communities in the country.  In fact, the famed houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle is the largest floating home on the lake.  Unfortunately, we were too far away to snap a picture. 

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We continued our drive along the shore until we reached the University of Washington.  In all honesty, I don't think that I have ever seen a more picturesque campus.  

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At my suggestion, we decided to spend the afternoon on Bainbridge Island.  We boarded the ferry for the 35 minute ride across Elliot Bay.  Despite the chilly breeze, we spent the duration of the trip on the observation deck so that we could enjoy the sights as we sailed. 

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The view that awaited us made me wish that I could race home, pack up my things and move to the island.  All I need to do is scape together a couple million bucks so that I can buy one of the homes along the waterfront.  Doesn't it look like a wonderful place to live?

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As we strolled through the town, we noticed that there were salmon prints dotting the sidewalks.  The boy joked that the "salmon tagging" must be the work of a gang of delinquent salmon that run wild after it gets dark. 

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Our next stop was Waterfront Park and Eagle Harbor. We spent several hours walking up and down the docks, looking at the 100+ boats that filled the harbor and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. 

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The boy wanted to stop every few steps to see the variety of creatures that had attached themselves to the sides of the dock.  He was especially excited to find the large orange starfish you can see in the picture above. 

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As we headed back to the mainland, the beauty of this city struck me yet again.  There just aren't enough words to describe how breathtaking it is. 

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Back in Seattle, we had one last stop to make... Pike Place Market.  You may recall that we stopped there on our first day in the city, but there were two points of interest that we had somehow overlooked.

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First, we paid a visit to Rachel the Pig.  The 550 pound piggy bank has been the unofficial mascot of the Market since 1986.  We heard that if you rub her snout it brings good luck.

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Second, and most important, we had to check out the Gum Wall.  I remember walking past the Gum Tree at the old Elitch Gardens amusement park when I was a kid, but I had never seen anything quite like this. 

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The wall was covered in gum, I'm guessing several inches thick.  Upon closer inspection it appeared that some people had managed to write words or create works of art with their gum.  The hubby and I had to keep reminding the boy to stop touching the wall.  Hand sanitizer anyone?

 My view of Mt. Ranier as we flew home to Tennessee.  
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The boys and I had a great time on our trip to Seattle.  The weather was absolutely perfect and to be honest, we were blown away by what we saw.  The area seems to have it all...  a big city, mountains, the ocean, thriving industry, countless universities...  It has definitely been added to my short list of places that I would like to live.  


Until next time, Seattle...