Yesterday I posted about the first day of our 2 day trip to Seattle. On the second day we spent most of the time at the amazing Museum of Flight, a must-visit for aviation and travel enthusiasts. But let me take you through our day.
We woke up from a great night’s sleep at our Airbnb accommodation, took a delightful shower, said goodbye to our friendly host, Maikel and his super friendly kitty, and by 10 am we were out the door and on our way to find a brunch place in Kirkland, East of Seattle. It is very unlike us to leave so early especially on a Sunday; we are morning sleep monsters, but we were excited to explore some more of Seattle. We ended up at
It is very unlike us to leave so early especially on a Sunday; we are morning sleep monsters, but we were excited to explore some more of Seattle. We ended up at Cactus, a Mexican restaurant that was serving brunch.
It was only until we talked to our waitress that we found out that we had just had the daylight savings time change. Now it made more sense how we so easily got out of bed unaware of the extra hour of sleep.
I ordered a basil, chorizo, and cheese egg scramble with cumin potatoes and corn tortillas. Josh ordered the eggs Benedict with spinach, avocado, and chipotle hollandaise. They were good.
Next, we were trying to decide whether to drive to Mount Rainier or to the Museum of Flight. I opted for the museum because I love airplanes, and maybe we could go see Mount Rainier after the museum on the way back to Portland.
Museum of Flight, Seattle
I was a bit scared that we would be disappointed by the museum because we were low on funds and admissions are $18 dollars per adult. But it did not disappoint; I think we spent about 3 hours exploring the museum.
Russian space food.
The story of the “Carrying the Fire” pin in the above picture is interesting and moving, read it in the photo below:
The Apollo Command Module 007 (1966) was built for training and Earth-orbit mission. It is identical to the capsule (Apollo 1) in which astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee died in 1967.
The International Space Station
There are two of these, one here and one in Space.
Exiting the International Space Station we came across the sleeping pod. You can see the “doorway” on the right side of the photo above.
Flight Simulator
We both wanted to ride the flight simulator. We thought it was included in the admissions ticket but when we found it, it turned out it was $6 dollars per person. Nonetheless, we decided to go for it anyway, and although fun, we were both disappointed for different left and right brain reasons.
Josh didn’t think it was accurate enough, and I didn’t think it was exciting enough. I recommended it for children only. Or those who aren’t military engineers or adrenaline junkies, and would enjoy a mild flight simulator journey.
The Lockheed SR-71 (above), is the world’s fastest jet.
Sitting inside the cockpits of these planes was more fun than the flight simulator.
Airpark
After exploring all the fun airplanes and exhibitions indoors, we headed towards the tunnel that leads to the outdoor airpark exhibiting several decommissioned commercial planes. And where you can go inside some of them.
The Concorde (pictured above) is fascinating to me and it was so fun to be able to see one in person and even go inside it. The Concorde holds the speed record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean standing at 2 hrs 52 min and 59 sec.
I realize now that I could’ve raised my arms higher and made it look like I was holding the Concorde. Super cheesy, but at least more original than holding the Tower of Pisa.
Then we went on board the Air Force One that served presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.
Yup, there was a doggie door in the Air Force One.
Space Shuttle Trainer
The Space Shuttle Trainer is used to train every astronaut at Johnson Space Center in Houston. When we came across it I saw some stairs that led to the exit and I got excited that we could go inside it. We walked around to find the entrance only to find a couple NASA experts who give tours of the space shuttle several times a day but with an admission cost of $30 dollars.
The woman who was wearing a space suit told us that it cost them millions to get the shuttle in there. Also, she mentioned that they brought in the shuttle trainer instead of a real one used for missions because if it was the latter, nobody would be able to go inside it and there would have to be cones surrounding it.
She also told us that if we got tickets for it, we probably would get a tour and the space shuttle all to ourselves since it was Sunday and crowds were low. We wanted to go in, I think it would’ve been very interesting. But $30 each was a bit too much for us at the moment. So, sadly, we walked away.
The Red Barn
After a lot of fun at the Airpark, we crossed the bridge back and went in the Red Barn, the original Boeing factory where you can explore the birth of aviation with the Wright brothers and William E. Boeing artifacts.
We finished off by visiting the museum store full of awesome souvenirs. We didn’t buy anything, but I totally would’ve liked to buy a mug, a leather wallet for Josh (he really needs a new wallet), a rocket tea infuser, and a vintage Pan Am bag.
Mount Rainier
I think it was about 3 pm when we left the museum and decided to drive to Mount Rainier and then back to Portland. We saw the best rainbow of our trip on the way there but the closer we got to Rainier the cloudier and darker it got. We got to Eatonville, a town about 30min from Mount Rainier where it was still sunny, but Mount Rainer was nowhere to be found.
Josh said that we should have seen it by now. It seemed completely cloudy where the Mount was. I wasn’t very hopeful but we went on driving anyway. The sunset was also coming early because of the daylight savings. Even though it was dark and cloudy, we made it all the way to the entrance of Mount Rainier Park. Disappointed, we turned around and headed to Portland. I was not able to see Mount Rainier at all, even up close.
Disappointed, we turned around and headed to Portland. I was not able to see Mount Rainier at all, even up close.
It was about 6:30 pm and completely dark when we decided to stop for some quick food at The Pour House Grub and Pub in Eatonville. I had been craving fish and chips all weekend, and that is what I ordered.
And that was the ending of our 2 days in Seattle. Except for Mount Rainier hiding from me, I had a wonderful, wonderful time and would love to come back and explore further.
What other activities would you recommend for a visit to Seattle?
A New Life Wandering 