Seattle: Bill Speidel Underground Tour

This was a strong contender for my favorite attraction.

It was also the one that gave me the hardest workout.

Going underground, I expected there to be stairs. I didn't realize how many there would be.

There is a lot of underground territory for the tour, but not all of the areas are connected. 

Sometimes, even if they are connected, it might not be a connection that can be safely traversed down there.

If you can do it, I think it's totally worth it.

There was so much history, with fascinating details and humor.

Details were also given in an order that built up logically.

Introduced to the skylights and how the minerals turned purple over time, suddenly you see them everywhere, and know where they came from.

Plenty of the aboveground history was explained too.

There were some photos and artifacts throughout the tour, then we ended in a small museum where there was more to look at and more opportunities to ask questions.

It was a great time.

COVID: While between underground sections you do spend a fair amount of time aboveground, though the group was pretty dense. I sometimes took off my mask above, but mainly kept it on.

Accessibility: Not good. It's not just that there were at least ten flights of stairs, but sometimes even the flat areas were pretty rough and the door frames were low where you did have to be careful. I made it and I had a good time, but in addition to not being well-suited for mobility devices, mobility issues like bad knees could be a real problem. 

Just be prepared.

https://undergroundtour.com/ 

Seattle: Monorail

Like the Space Needle, the monorail was built in conjunction with the Century 21 Exposition. Surely at the time it seemed very futuristic.

Unlike the Space Needle, it's not that fun. This makes it not even my second-favorite attraction associated with that fair, because that's the Almond Roca store in Tacoma.

                                                        

More to the point, the monorail is not that efficient. There are two stops: Seattle Center and Westlake Center Mall. This would also be more impressive if Westlake was a better mall, and it probably used to be. Lots of malls have started emptying out. Wikipedia says Westlake has "fallen into dead mall status":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlake_Center 

The monorail stays open longer than the mall does, so there is a separate exit and entrance. It seems logical to me that there is a way to enter the mall directly and that there must be an elevator, but the flow of traffic carried us down several flights of stairs and dumped us outside of the mall, which we then re-entered, because, hey, we were there.

Because I am not sure about that, I feel like this isn't a very good review, but it wasn't a very good attraction. (Also, I filled my photo card right when I was finishing up at Chihuly Garden and Glass, so these are phone pictures.)

It seems like there should be convenient transfers to other public transportation, though that is uncertain. 

https://www.theurbanist.org/monorail-to-nix-transfer-credits-raising-costs-on-some-orca-card-users/  

I suspect the primary attraction is that the valet parking at Seattle Center is $25 and there must be cheaper parking near the mall. You do pass through the weird architecture of the EMP.

COVID: There were lots of people, with not many masked besides us. It does seem popular, even if I don't get it.

Accessibility: The FAQ for the monorail says they have ramps, but they also suggest asking for help... my confidence is limited, which may be unfair. 

https://www.seattlemonorail.com/

Seattle: Chihuly Garden and Glass

In some of the earlier posts I have been inserting "museum" into the name.

They don't use the word, but there are some things that are very museum-like there.

I have been a fan of Dale Chihuly since a Portland Art Museum exhibit many years ago. (I think it was the late 90s.)

A lot of the work was at least somewhat familiar. 

Part of what made it museum-like is that there were sketches and artifacts that gave an idea of the sources of inspiration.

That occurred mainly in the Galleries, which are what you go through first.

There are several different sections.

After the Galleries is the Glasshouse.

It has one long sculpture that reminds me of what I could see of his work in the Tacoma Courthouse.

The last stop is outside into the Garden, with trees, plants, and glass. 

There were series represented that I had not seen. I don't remember the baskets being part of that earlier exhibit. 

(Then again, I didn't see any of the Irish cylinders here, but they were my least favorite.)

One of my favorite spots was the Persian Ceiling Gallery.

It reminded me a lot of the West end of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass in Tacoma.

There were similar shapes, colors, and the sense of abundance.

The difference was how the light shone through and reflected on to the walls.

Beautiful.

It is a beautiful place to walk around, and probably my favorite of our activities.

You should do this!

Well, unless you don't like beauty.

COVID: This is mostly outside. While not terribly crowded, I stayed masked until I entered the garden.  

I will add that while the Glasshouse is spacious, it is built rather like a greenhouse and can be kind of stuffy.

Accessibility: This was pretty good. There are lots of sharp things around that could shatter, but you are not supposed to touch them.

In addition to smooth paths and mainly being single story (there is a bar that is connected, but we didn't go so I can't speak to it), the way the art is arranged it is fairly easy to have a good vantage point, regardless of height. 

 https://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/