Seattle is nice

Had to get up extra early Tuesday to catch the train out of Vancouver to Seattle. I didn't expect to see such a crownd at the station at 6:00 a.m. The train ride was amazingly smooth. Don't forget, my last trip on a train was the Polar Bear Express out of Cochrane to Moosonee. This was a nice trip as the train ran close to the Pacific coast most of the way. It was interesting to see the massive nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abe Lincoln heading out to sea.
In my haste to get going I forgot about one very important detail Neil had reminded me about the night before. Tuesday was the first day back to school for Tyler and Nathan. If I had remembered, I would have telephoned my best wishes. I blew it.
The train got into Seattle just before noon, and the hotel literature said the hotel was only half a mile away from the Amtrak station. NOT! I decided it would be a nice walk, but that was a stupid move. I was carrying my cams, my laptop and a duffle bag. Then I discovered that my trek to the hotel was uphill. I mean seriously UPHILL. I figured I'd give it a try, but after about three hundred metres in the noonday sun, a big yellow taxi pulled up to drop somebody off. "Thank you God!" I gasped. The driver let me hop in we drove to the hotel.
The room is fabulous with a nice view, but I didn't stay long. I had a shower, a 20-minute nap and out the door to cruise the streets. The downtown is nice with lots of boutiques, restaurants and pubs. I went on a bit of a pub crawl, enjoying appetizers and local beers in three different places. Manny's Pale Ale at the Hardrock Cafe was the best. The homemade crab cakes at the Pike's Brewing Company pub were awesome.
Today will be interesting. It's raining like crazy, but I am heading out to the Museum of Flight. After all, Seattle is home to one of the largest aircraft plants in the world, Boeing.