We flew to Seattle for this trip so we spent a day there before our Vancouver Island portion and then a day between that and the cruise to Alaska and then another day after the cruise so this has ended up as some assorted highlights of Seattle rather than a more comprehensive page. Last time we went to Seattle, the memory card in our camera was corrupted so at least we have pictures this time.

On this trip we went up in the Space Needle which is touristy, yes, but it's a pretty neat experience nonetheless. Another big difference this time is Mount Rainier (out there in the distance). We saw it every day we were in Seattle as compared to our Spring trip years ago when we saw it no days that we were in Seattle.

This is Lake Union as seen from the Space Needle. It's home to sea plane trips to assorted islands in Puget Sound. On the small peninsula bottom right is the Museum of History and Industry.

Another view of downtown Seattle as seen from the deck of a cruise ship. This waterfront area has changed quite a lot since our last visit. We didn't visit Pike Market this trip but it's still in there somewhere.

We also went to the Woodland Park Zoo on this trip, thanks in part to having three kids in the group. We actually spent an entire day at the zoo, basically from open until close. The red panda was particularly photogenic.

I'm still not entirely sure how we spent an entire day here. The zoo is certainly large although it's not outrageously so. There is, well, some of everything you might want to see at a zoo.

The Chihuly Garden was the highlight of Seattle this time around for us. It's definitely on the pricey side, although you can combine it with the equally pricey Space Needle in a combination ticket that is only marginally exorbitant. Despite all that, we're just about certain to come back here next time we're in Seattle.

So just in case some background is needed, Dale Chihuly is a glass artist from the Seattle area. You can see his work in assorted places all around the world but this is the single best exhibit we've seen. This picture and the last were taken in the indoor rooms of the museum.

They seem to have built this glass pavilion just to house this particular work. Or maybe it's for the fun views juxtaposing it with the Space Needle.

Outdoors is a fantasy garden of actual plants and glass plants. The bright yellow-green tower in the background is glass for instance. The outdoor garden is at least as impressive as the indoor rooms.