Seattle - Aquarium

Andrew and I took a mini vacation last week and headed down to Seattle for a couple of days. We took the Victoria Clipper which is a passenger ferry that runs between Victoria and Seattle and offers ferry/hotel combination deals. 

We left late afternoon and took a water taxi to downtown so it was an easy walk to the ferry terminal. 

A 2 3/4 hour ferry ride later, over quite rough waters across the Juan de Fuca Strait, we arrived in Seattle and it was a short walk to our hotel for the night. 

We love aquariums so this was our first stop on Day 1. Although we've been there several times before, it's been a few years, there's always lots of interesting things to see. 

In addition to photos, it's fun to watch the movement of undersea life. 

There were also a few birds in the outside areas.  :-) 

 

Train Trip 2013 - Alpine to New Orleans

Very sad train station in Houston

We left Alpine in the evening and arrived in Houston just before noon. An ugly white non-descript building, Houston most definitely does not have one of America’s great stations! 

Surrounded by highway overpasses with skyscrapers in the distance, we didn’t hold out much hope for finding a nearby coffee shop during the short stop here. However, a newer looking building with a section of green roof and wind fans on top caught our attention. Upon closer inspection we learned it was the City of Houston’s Green Building Resource Center and inside was a small area of displays featuring green building and other green innovations. It was an interesting way to spend our 40 minutes. 

Houston's Green Building Resource Center

We arrived in New Orleans about 9 p.m. The next day we took the Charles Street Trolley and went to the Audubon Zoo. Rather than take the shuttle from Charles Street to the zoo we walked the mile + through Audubon Park which is one of the highlights that I remember from our trip here about 12 years ago. Trees, water, flowers, old southern homes lining one side . . . gorgeous!

I didn't take many photos at the zoo because I knew Andrew was getting some really good ones! 

The next day we went to the aquarium (more of Andrew's photos) in the morning. It was a warm but windy day and with threatening rains so we spent the afternoon at a couple short Imax films (The Last Reef and Hurricane on the Bayou) and Andrew went to the Insectarium while I went to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

The Museum mostly featured the history of food and beverage in Louisiana --  sno-cones, sugar cane/sugar factory, cajun influences and MRE's (meals-ready-to-eat) a la Hurricane Katrina -- but there was also some information from other southern states. Did you know that Alma, Arkansas, is the Spinach Capital of the World, hosts a yearly Spinach Festival and their town water tanks are painted to portray large cans of spinach with a picture of Popeye on them?

Oh, and have you ever wondered how to make moonshine? How to modify your vehicle so that the weight of the moonshine doesn't give you away? How best to keep yourself from getting robbed while transporting moonshine? Well then, this is the place for you!

Train Trip 2013 -- Seattle to Salinas & Monterey

The Amtrak Station in Seattle is nearing the end of a very, very long (10+ years) renovation project! It was built in 1906 but in the 1960's "The ornate plaster ceiling of the waiting room was covered for the next three decades by a fabricated, lowered false ceiling. Handsome metal chandeliers were replaced by florescent lighting and marble and mosaics on the wall were covered with plastic laminate."

False ceiling and plastic laminate covering marble?!?!? Seriously, someone should have been shot for doing this!

Seattle Train Station

The train south from Seattle seems just a little bit more upscale than the one from Minot to Seattle. There's a separate "parlour" car (with movie theatre) for sleeper class only. There were cloth table cloths and real cups and glasses at lunch and "greenware" eco-friendlier, made from vegetables, glasses for our welcome glass of champagne!

The excitement on this train was the drunken, drugged up couple (throwing f-bombs, yelling at each other and pretty much everyone else) who eventually got kicked off at Eugene, Oregon. A long way from their intended stop!

From Salinas we took the bus out to Monterey as we wanted to go to the aquarium -- one of the best anywhere! And I would have to agree with that assessment. We spent the entire day there from 10 a.m. when it opened to 4 p.m. with only a short break for lunch. It was great to see how much they emphasize protecting the ocean environment, all the things that live in the ocean, best fishing practices, and what fish and seafood are sustainable to eat. It is also one of the most kid friendly aquariums we've been to. Lots of very interactive displays -- which these two adults liked as well!

5 Eels and 3 Shrimp

See Andrew's excellent photos from the aquarium and other Monterey locales.

We stayed at the very lovely old Green Gables Inn (B&B), right beside the ocean and a running/walking/biking path with fabulous views in all directions. Very nice breakfast; wine & cheese served each afternoon.