Hire car - check!
Passports - check!
As much other paperwork you can find so they don't think you're trying to sneak into their country - check!
We woke up early on Saturday morning and headed to SEATTLE!!!
Since we're over here we thought one of the best days we could choose to visit the States would be the fourth of July - Independence Day.
It's only about 3 hrs drive from Vancouver to Seattle. We had beautiful weather all weekend (I'm talking blue skies and 30 degree days) and had such a wonderful time everyone just *has* to go visit! Here is a pic of the famous 'Space Needle' - more on that later.
Anyone recognise THIS?! Yup, The 'hospital' helipad of Seattle Grace from my fave Grey's Anatomy!!!
Nearby, we decided since we only had 2 days we should get the capsule tour of the town. So we boarded our 'duck' for a fun filled tour around the city and on Lake Union. I haven't included pics here in case you take the ride yourself. While I had second thoughts just after we bought our tickets (it is a bit cringeworthy lol) I do have to say it is well worthwhile.
Here's a pic showing one of the ducks going from land to 'sea':
After our duck tour, we decided to take the monorail downtown and have a look around on foot. We checked out a must-see of Seattle - the Pike Place Market.
It is a hustling bustling market to rival the best of them, and home of the first Starbucks store. Lach said his coffee was fantastic, so we're not sure what happened after they opened their other stores. lol
The main 4th July festivities were taking place at Gasworks Park, and we tried to get across there - it's north of the Lake, but we were staying South of the lake in the downtown area. BUT after getting into 2 different cabs and the drivers not knowing where the heck we were talking about, we aborted that mission and just decided to walk around to find a good pozzie for the spectacular spectacular. Well! What a fantastic idea that turned out to be because we got to experience the excess and grandeur that is associated with America - we ended up walking behind the houseboats (worth a few million thank you very much!) where people were having parties on their roofs. And by party we mean full on with live bands and all. Crazy!
We found ourselves in a kind of street party, with a stellar view of a fantastic fireworks show. Completely amazing. Here is a sample.
While we weren't exactly 'sleepless in Seattle', it was a jam-packed day that we thoroughly enjoyed. Sunday we explored Pioneer Square (old Seattle) and actually went up to the observation deck of the Space Needle.
The afternoon included shopping at the outlets and a leisurely journey home via Chuckanut Drive, where we discovered beautiful views and a wonderful restaurant called The Oyster Bar. We'll definitely be back.
