USA

We stayed at the Marriott Downtown Waterfront as we had some points and certificates to use for a stay. It is a very nice hotel right on the main drag of Seattle’s waterfront. It is almost kitty corner from the famous Edgewater Hotel. The Edgewater Hotel has been there for decades. It juts out into the bay with its rooms all over the water.

The Marriott hotel is a U shaped building with the inside of the U a courtyard facing out to the waterfront. We had a room facing into the court yard. If we could see past the other side of the U, we would have seen the newest addition to the Seattle waterfront. The Seattle Ferris Wheel is pictured below.

We were really surprised in the morning! We took the elevator down and walked towards the front of the hotel where the restaurant was located. There was a HUGE cruise ship docked right on the other side of the road! That I did not expect to see! I guess there is a new cruise ship terminal in Seattle now at Pier 61! That is where Norwegian Cruise lines docks their HUGE ships. Today it was Norwegian Bliss that was in port. There were thousands of people on the streets – both out front and in the lobby of the Marriott. This is a pretty popular hotel for cruise ship passengers to stay at pre and post cruise. We later found out the passenger terminal is just across the street.

Breakfast in the restaurant, Hook and Plow, was very delicious! I had an omelette with gluten free toast. I chose the substituted fruit and yogurt because the potatoes were not gluten free. Andrew had the corn beef hash. It looked more like corn beef hunks and potatoes to me. There also were eggs on top! It was a very satisfying breakfast to start the day. This was courtesy of Marriott and their Elite program for loyal customers.

Next we were off to visit my aunt Linda (yes that is why my name is spelled with a Y so not to be confusing) and Phil in Puyallup. Andrew was driving and I was the navigator. As I know Seattle pretty well I did NOT consult Google Maps to get us to Puyallup as I know the highway system very well and have driven it many, many times previously. That was a BIG mistake!

We drove from downtown Seattle across I90 east to get to I405 which I use to get to 167 down to Puyallup. However the signs were saying that I405 was CLOSED south of I90 and we could see all the traffic lined up along I90 going west to get to I5 instead. OOPS! No issues – I know another way where my friend Karen had taken me previously to get to a meat store that she liked down the Coal Creek Parkway south which then meets up with Sunset near the Renton Boeing Plant and then I405 at that point was open (and empty) and we popped on and drove 1 exit down to 167 and proceeded to Puyallup to visit my aunt and uncle.

We had a great visit with first my aunt who is recovering from a small stroke and then with my uncle where we had dinner where my aunt and uncle are moving into a new residence in Puyallup. We had a lovely lady join Andrew, Phil and I for dinner, who my uncle Phil and aunt Linda know and she was 92 years old and really entertaining! For me, what was a pleasure was I had not make ANY arrangements to eat at the bistro in the Independent Living facility where my aunt and uncle were moving. I was just hoping to get something gluten free suitable for someone with Celiac Disease and then once back at the Marriott Hotel I thought I could get something safe to eat. Well, the bistro at Westley really surprised me! Not only did they have gluten free items listed on their menu, the chef, once the waiter told him that there was a person dining with Celiac Disease, suggested I have a lettuce wrapped chicken “burger” as that was the safest he could prepare! I had it with steamed broccoli as the fries were not safe – all this was told TO ME – I did not have to ask the standard questions which quite impressed me! They even had no sugar gluten free ice cream for desert! I am ready to move in! Andrew might have a few opinions on that though…

Getting back to Seattle, finding a gas station and then dropping the car off ended up being quite the procedure that we did not expect! It seems there are not a lot of gas stations in downtown Seattle – at least that I could find! So we eventually found on in Queen Anne area I think and then drove back into Seattle downtown which was VERY busy on a Saturday night. We soon found out why – it was Homecoming weekend – which for the Canadians reading this message – is the first big dance that US High Schools have in their year. The Hyatt Hotel where we needed to drop off the car was VERY busy…. We made it out and into a taxi back to the Marriott in time for Andrew to get a beer and relax prior to calling it a night!

As an aside, the Seattle waterfront is very pretty a night – here are some pictures of the waterfront and the 2 stadiums.

Tomorrow is a BIG DAY! We FINALLY board the Noordam ship taking us to Australia! I cannot wait!

The journey has begun! Andrew and I arrived at the Pacific Train Station in Vancouver. A lovely rain shower greeted us as we prepared to board the train. It was a fitting send-off on our vacation to warmer climates Down Under! Our 2020 reverse trip to Australia was finally getting started… albeit about 5 years later!

We got through customs with our paper forms in hand. They have not upgraded to kiosks yet like the airport. As soon as that happened, we were walking towards our car next to the train taking us down to Seattle. We were in the liquid sunshine and getting totally soaked! Andrew checked our 2 bags. I got onto the train, akin to how it is done in Europe with a hand cranked wheelchair lift. We had booked accessible business class seats. However, as I do not travel sitting on my walker, so they put us in regular seats. I was surprised that, for business class, seats were not assigned. We ended up sitting at the front of the car. The chairs had no tables. My seat was broken—the leg rest would not go up! To raise the leg rest was a bit of a feat as the train was swaying along the tracks! One had to get out of their seat and lift it up where it would lock into place. Then they had to crawl back onto the chair. That was some extra exercise I did not need!

Here are the pictures of us departing from Vancouver –

The train actually departed Vancouver early which was great! We left at 4:30 instead of the 4:45 pm departure time. At the same time, the Seattle Mariners started playing Game 5 of the Divisional Playoff Series. They were playing in their stadium in Seattle right next King Street station. The series was tied 2-2. It was down to one game against the Detroit Tigers. This game would decide who moves on to play the Blue Jays!

The view out of the train was very nice going south! Eventually we stopped at the Peace Arch crossing for the border guards to inspect the train (we had gone through customs in Vancouver).

I was keeping tabs on the Mariners game on my phone the “old fashioned” way by watching the box score. The gentleman behind me was listening to the game on ESPN. He lived in Seattle and loved going to and watching the Mariners games. As we traveled down to Seattle, the broadcasters live on ESPN radio would announce the game quickly. They were faster than the box scores showing up on the internet. When we got closer to Seattle, between Everett and Edmonds, the box score got faster. The ESPN broadcast seemed to have a time delay! This frustrated the man behind me – as we arrived into Seattle during a very crucial inning! Detroit players were walked onto the bases. I knew what was going on from the pitching display, however, the broadcasters were slow with updating the action!

All was good though. Seattle got out of the disastrous inning and was up to bat. We were in the train station. We could hear the yelling of the crowd! We retrieved our luggage and got a taxi. My biggest concern was not getting a taxi as the game would let out at the same time. We arrived at the hotel, and we were finished traveling for the day!

Tomorrow is a day trip to Puyallup to visit my aunt and uncle and also to see what other mischief we can get ourselves into – Seattle style!