On The Road To Seattle

I woke up at 5:30am, thirty minutes before my alarm was set to get me up. Had my regular large coffee and made the transition from semi-conscious to, well, a tiny bit more conscious. My friend, Ravena, came by to pick me up at 7:30. The drive to the train station was fast - less than 10 minutes. I often tease Ravena about her driving but she's actually a very safe driver!

There's no morning train to Seattle so one must take a bus instead. This one was absolutely packed. I'd never seen this before but perhaps it was because it was a Friday. I could also tell from accents that there were a lot of tourists on board.

Here's a strange sign that was in the bathroom at the rear of the bus. Any guess as to what it's trying to communicate?


Much of Metro Vancouver was covered in fog; not so much a blanket, but more akin to a grey umbrella blocking out the sun. The delay at the border was quite long. There were several other buses there, plus some sort of souped up motorhome was in front of us. It had no less than 4 air conditioners on the roof! I think there were musicians inside and it took a long time for inspection.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived, as scheduled, at 12:30pm. Union Station in Seattle sits on the far south side of downtown, right beside the magnificent QWest baseball field.


As we were arriving, my stomach commanded my eyes to be on the lookout for a place where a fill-up could occur. I spotted an interesting looking Vietnamese restaurant just 2 blocks away from the train station. I strolled past a deli and an upscale convenience store but decided to try out the restaurant I had seen earlier. I'm glad I did! It's called Cafe Hue and is located at 312 2nd Avenue South.


I consider myself to be quite a connoisseur of Vietnamese food, having tried it at many places in Vancouver. Cafe Hue didn't let me down! I ordered 2 seafood egg rolls and a large soup with wontons, plus a strong cup of Vietnamese coffee. Everything was incredibly delicious!

To help you locate the place, go to my favourite building in Seattle, The Smith Tower, and then walk 2 blocks south. You won't be disappointed!

The Smith Tower

Back in July I took a number of photos of the beautiful Smith Tower, located in the south section of downtown Seattle. I sent them to the people who manage the building. They were so appreciative that they sent me a free pass to go up to the observatory near the top - thanks, Jardima! So after lunch, Danny and I walked over there to check it out. Lo and behold, our plans didn't exactly turn out as we had planned. These photos will tell the story of our journey.








Yup, it was closed! Do you see the small squares that Danny is standing on? They're solid glass blocks that provide light for the large basement that exists below the sidewalk.