Sky high views of the city

We remember when the Space Needle was the Jestson-age landmark of the Northwest in the 60's, and when it was the presumed target of Y2K terrorists at the turn of the century. It's still an awesome sight, gracefully soaring into the sky with the barest of support. And the views from the top are panoramic. Here's the only picture we have of Mt. Ranier—a fake studio shot, but hey, the one and only time we saw the glacier covered mountain was when the clouds briefly parted while we were driving I-5 and the camera was out of reach. Too bad, it really is a jaw-dropping sight.

	The winds were whipping at the top of the tower and Cherie and Matt retreated to the interior to warm up with a Starbucks and a hug.


Totems were space needles of another age
The earliest settlers in the Seattle area continue to leave their mark on the former frontier town and staging area for the Alaska gold rush. Indian symbols such as totem poles are sprinkled throughout the Pioneer Square section of town, reminding today's residents of the aspirations of their forerunners.

And the Washington State History Museum Offers More Reminders
	Echos of the past haunt the state's history museum in Tacoma, where the dreams and nightmares (e.g., the death and disease brought by the European settlers) of the native indians are embodied in wooden carvings.
The skills of inhabitants in using native resources are displayed in this unique ivory cribbage board fashioned from walrus tusk.

Walking On and Under the City Streets
We left the car at the hotel near the Space Needle and walked the streets of town night and day, rain and shine, uphill and down, through warehouse districts, skyscraper canyons, along harbors, and even through the Underground.

Oh...please

At left, Matt and Cherie stop to join forces with the firemen memorialized for their bravery and service.

At right, they take shelter from the rain under the canopy of a souvenier shop along the harbor. And look...yet another totem, this one more modern, stands guard.


Walking around historic Pioneer Square brings other times and places to mind—cold war relics from the mid-century; old-fashioned skyscrapers from the early century; and Victorian-era town squares from the century before. That was the setting for delving even deeper into history, into the Seattle Underground Tour, which begins with a lecture on the city's founding fathers (who named the city after the local Indian chief Seattle), its fires, its horrible sanitation, its industries, the origin of the term skid row, its abnormally high population of "seamstresses" (wink, wink) and other marvelous facts. So through the door of a an old building, and down the stairs to the former level of Seattle, where, Matt still inspired by the Russian submarine, dances a jig through the old sidewalks of the city beneath the city of Seattle.

Above photo from: www.undercity.org/photos/seattletour

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