The Rest of July

I have finally gotten sometime to update my blog.  Unfortunately, this means there is a lot to cover.

July went by so fast!  From what I can remember and from the pictures that I took there were 4 major adventures.

Mariner's Game


One of the intern activities was attending a Mariner's game.  The seats were right next to the right field foul pole and had a great view of the field.  For the most part I watched the game, but I had a lot of fun eating and just hanging out.  It turned out that I didn't miss too much because the Mariner's lost by a significant count.

After the game, our group got lost trying to find transportation home.  On the plus side, we were able to walk up to Chinatown and grab some boba tea.

Most inventive use of baseball bats I have seen!  

Woo! Hoo!  SafeCo Field "Home of the Seattle Mariner's"

Best seat I have every had for a baseball game!

Our intern group!  The smirking guy is not in our group.  Does this count as a photo-bomb?

Great view of the field after the game.

Cherry Picking in Yakima

A couple of interns and I decided to take advantage of the wonderful produce in Seattle.  We found a place in Yakima that had Ranier Cherries for $1.50 a pound!  It was such a great deal we decided it was worth the 2 hour drive to Yakima.

Such a beautiful day for cherry picking!

I first thought this contraption was a potato gun, but it is used to scare away birds from the orchard.

Cherry Tree!

A close-up view!  I was amazed by the way the cherries grew in bunches!  They reminded me more like grapes.

Golden Garden's Beach

I had to make it out to the beach before I left Seattle!  Ended up that we picked a gorgeous day.  The location amazed me because of the juxtaposition between the mountains of Olympia with the sandy beach.  

Kayaking on Lake Washington


I figured since I was near large bodies of water I would take up a water activity.  Actually, this was an intern activity organized by the recreation center.  Nevertheless, it was a great experience and the day was so sunny.    We ended up kayaking near the University of Washington stadium, which is one of the few stadiums in the nation located on a lake.  Overall, a great experience.

Being a Boss!

A view of Lake Washington.

Some of the floating boats.  They were also featured in the film Sleepless in Seattle.

Bird's Eye and Underground of Seattle (7/8/11)

Although it was sad to see Dad leave, we had an amazing sight-seeing day.  We started the day in the Seattle Underground Tour.  The tour took us to the original sidewalks of Seattle.  Modern downtown Seattle is actually built upon burnt ruins.  After a devastating fire in 1889, the city decided to fix a plumbing problem by raising the city.  Unfortunately, increasing the altitude of the city meant a 3 to 5 year construction time in the business district.  The local businesses decided the construction time was too long and rebuilt their businesses at the pre-fire height.  Undeterred, the city decided to just raise the streets.  This created 10 foot ditches on either side on the street, where the sidewalk and business fronts were located.  Eventually, the ditches had to be covered up because of fatalities and the Seattle underground was born.

Walking in the Underground.  The guide said there were reports of ghosts.

Maybe if you look close enough you might see one!

 Junk in the underground.

Skylights were built into the sidewalks when the underground was first created.

The tour group in a large portion of the underground.

After the Seattle underground tour, we got tips that a great view of the city was from the top of Smith Tower.  The tower was built in 1901 and was the fourth tallest building in the United States.  Although no longer the 4^th tallest building in the United States, Smith Tower’s observation deck provides gorgeous views of the cityscape and Pudget Sound.

After viewing Seattle from a great vantage point, Dad and I traveled to Chinatown for a bite to eat and then went to the Klondike Museum.  The food was great in Chinatown and the museum was very interesting.  Afterwards, I said goodbye to Dad and plan on relaxing tomorrow.

A beautiful view of Pudget Sound from Smith Tower.

The observation deck was originally called the China Room.  The artifacts were gifts from the emperor of China.

Retro-Elevator that we took to the observation deck.

This is a view of the Seattle Downtown area.  In the distance you can see the Seattle Space Needle.

According to the guide, this chair is 200 years old.

Olympic National Park (7/7/11)

Today we left Victoria and headed via ferry to Port Angeles, Washington.  The ferry ride was a little choppy, but we did manage to get some awesome shots of Olympic National Park.  Once we got back stateside we headed to an Indian Buffet.  The buffet was really filling, but it also put me and my Dad into a food coma.  We headed to the Olympic National Park visitor center and watched a 27 minute film.  Dad and I promptly fell asleep.  After the 27 minute nap, we took a drive up to Hurricane Ridge.

View of Victoria from the Ferry

View of Olympic National Park from the ferry.

U.S Coast Guard Training on the Juan de Fuca Strait.

Waterfalls fed by melting mountain snows

Awwww.  The fawn was so cute!

Afterwards we ended up going to Bainbridge Island and taking the ferry back to Seattle.  Tomorrow is Dad’s last day in Seattle and we are planning on going to visit the Seattle Underground!

Seattle Skyline on a hazy day.

Little India, Gastown, Chinatown, Victoria, and Beacon Hill Park (7/6/11)

Today was a sight-seeing day.  Both Dad and I got an early start to the day by driving through Little India on the way to Gastown.  Little India was true to its name.  The part of town named Little India was a two block section that was anchored by Punjab Market.  It was so brief that I don’t have any pictures! 

Gastown was larger and consisted of multiple streets filled with shops, bars, and nightclubs.  The sidewalks were brick and lampposts were ornately decorated with hanging flowerpots.  Home to the one and only Steam Clock, Gastown features Victorian style buildings and a mountainous backdrop.  Gastown was also within a two block walk of Chinatown, which was our next destination.

Victorian Style Apartments

Brick sidewalks with picturesque streetlights.

Random Fish Fountain.

Gassy Jack!  A man integral to the first days of Gas town.

Steam Clock!  Every 15 minutes it chimes a melody and the hour.

Chinatown is similar to U.S Chinatowns, but was definitely cleaners and more well-kept.  The streets were filled with people purchasing a variety of goods at local shops and elderly Chinese on their daily walk.  Historic buildings are juxtaposed against modern high rises and commercial shops.  Some of the few buildings we visited were the Millennium Gate, the skinniest building, a Chinese garden, and the monument to Canadian-Chinese.  After viewing the sites we stopped for a dim sum lunch and bought some Chinese pastries at a local store.

The Millennium Gate!

The 6 foot wide building!

This certifies this building as the skinniest building!

Lotus flower.

The Chinese Garden

Monument to Canadian Chinese

Vancouver was a pretty place, but after visiting Chinatown we decided to head to Vancouver Island.  The only transportation to and from Vancouver Island is by ferry, which departs from North Vancouver or Tsawwassen.  After taking the ferry and viewing the majestic beauty of the San Juan Islands, we traveled to Victoria.

Me and the beautiful ocean.

I don't know what mountain this is, but it is very majestic.

Part of the San Juan Islands.

More pictures of the San Juan Islands.

A beautiful day for sailing!

Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia.  It is a small city that has historic government buildings overlooking Juan de Fuca Strait and Olympic National Park.  Once we checked into the hotel, we walked to Chinatown, viewed the multiple government buildings, and visited Beacon Hill Park.

Chinese Public School

The entrance to Victoria Chinatown.

Victoria City Hall

James Cook

The seat of government for British Columbia, Canada.