America Through My Eyes – Seattle (Last Part)

America Through My Eyes

Seattle (Last Part)

Telugu Original : Dr K.Geeta 

English Translation: V.Vijaya Kumar

          The day of departure from Seattle arrived. After four days of vigorous workout on time tables and restless visits to many places, that night we got some free time before the flight time. Still I had on my list to visit the islands off Seattle. I know how much time we can spare but  don’t know how it will take to see even one island. Our flight is at 9pm. At least we have to go to the airport by 6 o’clock. We decided to go early this time as our previous experience of traveling to Salt Lake City was delayed in returning the rental car at the last minute.

Alki Beach :- We vacated the hotel early in the morning and loaded the luggage into the car. The idea of seeing some islands is good but I don’t know where to go and how to go. So we gave up that idea and focused on other places in the list.

          The first of these is Alki Beach, an inland sea in the middle of the city of Seattle, on one side of which is the main city of skyscrapers, and on the other side this beach. Along the way there are industries and buildings that look a bit old, and after traveling along the roads, a wide road was seen when going towards the other side. The road is suitable for pedestrians and cyclists with shady trees in the middle. After going a little further, the cool air blowing from the glittering sea of ​​the waves, and the high-rise buildings of Seattle’s glittering skyscrapers on the side, interspersed with a well-sculpted waterfront, make for a spectacular city experience. I wanted to stop there and feast my eyes on the most beautiful scene. But as it was a holiday, there was a lot of crowd and we couldn’t find a car parking anywhere. We had to stop for five minutes in a temporary parking lot, get down and take pictures.

          It is a nice place to spend the whole day if you can find a parking place at that place. Even though it seemed to be bad luck at that time, I led the way forward, deeply believing that “something greater than this awaits, so what needs to be missed will be missed” Very soon, my belief had its impact on the next wonder.

Seattle Waterfront, Washington State Ferries :- We arrived at Seattle Waterfront. That is exactly the other side of the shore. But nothing else was seen except the giant wheel that stopped on the waterfront. I think it was because the road was being repaired and was diverted. We saw the ports where the ships leave for the islands were found nearby. They are Washington State Ferries. There is a navigable route around the main centers from the Puget Sound, and

          major hubs are connected by waterways. Puget Sound is the largest sea inlet that surrounds Seattle on three sides and is surrounded by land and has many bays. It is no exaggeration to say that it is so big that large international shipping vessels can enter there.

          These state ferries have good transportation to many coastal areas of Washington state. Not only that, there is a shipping facility to major places like Canada and Alaska.

BainBridge Island:- I turned my car towards there at least to know the particulars.There are various options in the journeys done in one day, such as a journey that takes five hours from up and down, a journey that takes three hours up and down etc. We had at least three hours of travel time so we excitedly bought tickets for one. We took the tickets and drove the car inside but did not know where to park the car. At some distance we entered the open shed with rows. In Fact we bought the tickets for BainBridge Island.

          The lighted board says that the line to wait until the ship arrives is about forty minutes. But if the cars in front of us park anywhere, we will slowly go into the line to park there. A few more cars came behind us and stopped in four or five lines at a distance as if the signal was blaring. But I noticed that the drivers and the occupants of the car were sitting in the car as if they had stopped the engines. I tried to ask someone nearby about the matter. I ventured out of the car and asked a passenger who was walking around about parking. His answer made me laugh at my ignorance.

          There people stood in line to board the ship along with the car! Even though we had plenty of boat trips till now, this is a unique experience.  There was great excitement for everyone.  Not only that, we can board the ship with the car, get off at the island on the shore, do everything with our car, and come back with the car.

          This is not a small ship for one or two, but can hold about a hundred cars. It’s a wonderful thing to imagine!  Our ship arrived at eleven o’clock.  The ships that travel from the ferries there are 250 galleys and big enough to carry 2500 men.  No matter what the things may be, we had to get back to the ship by 2pm or wait for the ship for 3.00 clock.  If it is later than that, maybe it will be hurried. We will be able to catch our flight easily if at least we leave by 4.00, but directly to the airport without delaying anywhere. I boldly told the plan.

          Satya doesn’t like such hectic trips. If there is no sharp planning in advance, he will get tense. He didn’t believe me and said, “Oh, No! if we stand in the line for so long now, then the line on the return journey will be even more terrible. In any case, on the return ship we should be in the line at 2.00 o’clock. If we missed even that, waiting for the 3.00pm ship is quite horrifying” He started eating away my brain. I left the driving seat to him and got down the car, engaging myself in taking pictures.

          It’s time to board the ship. The car should be let into the ship slowly along the same lines. After parking there, you can go to the sitting cabins above the stairs and sit. It took a lot of time to park the car. The journey seemed to go by very quickly. We were exhausted walking around the ship and for some time we resumed our seats for a while. But it was a very interesting and nice experience. The Bain Bridge is one of the must-sees when visiting Seattle.

          It is an island that is more beautiful than the journey. The journey along the green trees on the winding roads is pleasant. My desire is to go to the end of the island and see the edge of the sea. Even if we hit there, there is a forbidden area where the sea shore is not visible. We lost our way and turned around twice. It is a very busy place compared to other places here. Not only that, but it is the most valuable place because all the super rich have their vacation homes.

          It was time for lunch before we even had our trip for an hour. We saw an Indian restaurant somewhere on the way. For that we turned the car around for a while. I had to park somewhere and walk to that restaurant. Everyone got tired after walking some distance in Downtown, as everyone was very hungry. We stopped looking for an Indian restaurant and went to the opposite Thai food center and took rice. Hotels with full vegetarian options. We quickly ate a delicious meal. But the stomach is not full with the orders taken. We couldn’t order again as we were running out of time already waiting there. On the way back, I had to wait in line again for more than half an hour. Then I realized that it was a place to stay for a day. All in all, it’s a wonderful and unforgettable experience.

Chittenden Ballard Locks:-

Until our ship headed back to Seattle and hit the streets of Seattle again, Satya was anxious. It was only 3.00 in the afternoon. I counted the time and said, “We can turn around for 2 to 3 more hours” and picked up the next item on the list, the Chittenden Ballard Locks.

          Locks are built to block the flow of water coming back from the sea. The Speciality of that location is visitors have to walk from the botanical gardens. You have to walk a little distance from the road through the variety of beautiful flowers, vines and plants with detailed names all along the way on both sides of that end. There are locks and gates covered with black water. A bell rings every half hour when the locks are opened.

          Just as we went there, the opening of the gates started.I remembered the locks in Samarlakota. But they are very small. No comparison is possible.

          Siri didn’t understand those properly. She enjoyed running here and there. Varu watched them very interested.

          There is a small passage for small boats and a wider one to large-scale ships. Fishing also has a special way.

          On one side of the lake are Salmon Bay, which is a channel to the freshwater lake “Lake Washington”, and on the other side is an intruded sea bed. These locks also protect fresh water from contamination by seawater. We wandered there for about an hour and a half.

Farewell to the city:- At about five o’clock, the kids got a pack of their favorite Panda Express Noodles, and we drank StarBucks coffee and said goodbye to the city of Seattle.

          We reached the airport around 6 o’clock as planned and checked in on time. During the checking, I was stopped for a while and special checking was done due to the water bottle being left in my bag by mistake. Satya got angry. He started shouting at me in front of them saying, “How many times have I told you to take care of the  water bottles?” Then he was stubborn not to eat anything. I tried to make him laugh and failed. When I was looking at others, my mind started to travel back. All those four to five days of reeling started moving one by one.

          Whatever events were happening before my eyes, my heart was filled with the glitter of the sea shore in the evening twilight all along the way. The happy moments left by the city of Seattle are dancing in front of my eyes.

          Even though I was very tired for four or five days, my heart, which was full of great joy with memories, was pained to leave the city.

*****

(The End)