Seattle Day 1

The boys were excited to fly again.

We were out of the house by six o'clock in order to catch our 8 am flight. Amy was nice enough to drive us to the airport. Everything went really smoothly and before we knew it, we were on the ground in Seattle. We even commented on how quickly we got our baggage and rental car. Speaking of the car, it cost about three times as much as the plane tickets. This is primarily due to the pandemic, though we did have to have a big old Tahoe to hold all five of us and our groceries and baggage. 

After shopping for a few essentials, we made our way north to Port of Edmonds. Our first, adventure was whale watching. We were soon checked in and boarded on a rather large boat. We zipped out through Puget Sound, watching closely for any sign of fins. The boys like to spot anything, so the jellyfish, crabs, starfish, and even the rat weren't disappointments.

Seth was so excited to see the cart elevator at the grocery store.

The rest of us were excited to see some orcas.

We were hoping the looked just like this one!

We loved the egg yolk jellyfish by the dock.

The waterfront on Puget Sound was beautiful.

As we got down south toward Seattle, we saw a few harbor porpoises. They flashed above the water only briefly, much like the Hector dolphins we saw in New Zealand. After a few minutes, Dax spotted the orcas. It was amazing to see their massive fins that rise six feet out of the water! We watched for a long time, as three pods (families) splashed and rolled in the water with the city of Seattle skylined in the background. We had a great guide, who kept up a running commentary on everything from facts about orcas to their family groups. We watched for more than an hour at a distance of about 100 yards.

Mark (seen here spotting Seth) was our key spotter.

Seth loved being on he boat. Mom did great, too.

It got pretty windy when the boat was really moving.

Like really windy!

It was fun being out in the wind.

Get ready for a lot of pictures of orcas.

This picture was kind of a fluke.

The research boat got really close.

Orca belly!

We could have watched them all day!

If you looked away, you missed something.

We were amazed at how far out of the water the orcas came.

Too soon, the captain took the boat over close to Seattle. The city was really beautiful from the water. The Space Needle and the Mariners' stadium framed the huge buildings that were downtown. We took a few photos and then turned back. Suddenly, the orcas came up right next to us. They were only about 20 yards away! Before we could really even get the cameras out, they moved quickly away, hunting porpoises right there in Elliot Bay. It was an exciting end to the excursion. 

We splurged on blueberry crumble.

The view of Seattle was beautiful.

The porpoises were so small compared to the orcas.

Seattle is beautiful. 

It was a great boat trip.

For dinner we splurged on a seafood restaurant right down on the pier. The food was really good, and most of us ate everything on our plates. Then we took a short walk along the fishing pier. There wasn't much to see other than a beautiful sunset. By the time we packed up and drove south to Lacey it was after 9 pm, and two-thirds of the boys fell asleep on the 90 minute drive. It really was an unforgettable day!

Port Edmonds was lovely.

Dinner was delicious and everyone ate well. It was amazing!

Perfect end to the great day.