What started 11 years ago with a pipe dream that was sparked by a Hall of Fame induction came to fruition in the Summer of 2024 with the completion of a bucket list adventure for our family to see a game at all 30 Major League Ballparks. It was a huge challenge and took longer than originally planned, but we did it! We started this in 2014 and the goal was to complete it by the time our oldest son, Trey, graduated from high school. Well, he graduated in 2023 and due to many difficult family losses that year, we had to postpone the completion of our goal to another year. We had one park left - Seattle. And as you know, for someone living in North Carolina, getting to the Pacific Northwest poses a real challenge. But we planned and saved and budgeted and decided to get it done in August of 2024.
But this trip was not just going to be a trip to see a ball game. We decided to finish this quest of making memories by finishing it up in style. After seeing a game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, we would then get on a big boat and go on a 7-day Alaskan cruise! This was going to be an epic trip. On Wednesday, August 8th, with the threat of Tropical Storm Debby coming in from the Gulf of Mexico and drenching the Deep South, we flew out of Charlotte on a 5 1/2 hour flight to Seattle.
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| On the approach to Seattle, we got a good look at Mt. Rainier |
Upon arriving at the airport, I got my first experience with a company called Turo. Rather than deal with a rental car company, you can now rent people's cars from them directly, just like you would rent a house on Air B&B. Tammy had used this service before when she had gone on a trip to Wisconsin and she was very happy with how the process worked. So we tried it again. We picked up our car that was left at the airport parking garage and off we went to find the Air B&B that we had booked for our 3 night stay in Seattle.
We arrived at our place and found it to be quite accommodating and comfortable. We then headed out to get some dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and picked up some groceries at an Amazon Fresh, which was a pretty neat little grocery store. We headed back to get some rest as the next day we would go downtown to see the sights and check out the city, and check off number 30!
Of course in Seattle there are a few attractions that you must see. The first stop was the Pike's Place Market. It was jam packed with so many vendors peddling fresh vegetables, crafts, baked goods, and of course, seafood. The market took up probably 3 blocks down along the waterfront next to Puget Sound. It was bustling with activity. We picked up a few things and grabbed some lunch trying out some of the local seafood. The busiest place of all was probably the shop billed as the original Starbucks, which some of the locals will dispute saying that the original shop was a little farther away, but it did not deter the dozens of people waiting in line out the door to get in.
Next we made our way a little farther north to find the Space Needle, the iconic attraction built for the 1962 World's Fair that many people think of when they think about Seattle. At one time the 605 foot high tower was considered the tallest structure west of the Mississippi. It was an impressive sight and a huge attraction as so many people were there. The surrounding areas are like a carnival in that many shops and vendors try to lure in the many patrons of the Space Needle. As you may recall from our St. Louis trip, I am not a big fan of heights and I was not about to go up in that thing. But Tammy and the boys were excited to go up. So they bought their tickets (at $40 a pop!) and got in line while I found a Starbucks and got me a coffee and found a shady spot to sit down and listen to the sweet sounds of a Guatemalan Pan Flute Band (They were fantastic and Zamfir would have been proud).
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| World Famous Seattle Space Needle - 605 feet tall |
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| Trey and Tate at the top with Puget Sound in the backgroud |
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| Chillin' from 600 feet up |
After a busy morning and early afternoon, we were feeling a little "Sleepless In Seattle", so we decide to head back to our place and get a little rest before heading to the ballpark.
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