Classic Trip: Seattle, Washington - Part 2

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) We'd saw some overpriced baseball, met some TV stars, watched big fish swimming underwater, and just missed having to be evacuated from a monorail.

The next morning, we decide to walk downtown. A bit of a mistake when we pass a rough section where drug deals are taking place out in the open and a couple of guys start to fight because one thinks the other shorted him out of a couple of rocks of crack. It’s just a short strip down the wrong street but next time we’ll get back on the bus instead.

At the ferry terminal, we buy our tickets and take a 30 minute trip across the sound to
Bainbridge Island. It’s about a half mile walk from the ferry terminal to the middle of town…there are also buses if you can’t walk that far…where we find a delightful little farmers market going on with some unusual fruit and vegetables. We buy some to make a picnic with later. Down at the waterfront, we find a boardwalk and dirt trail along the water that allows us to hike about half a mile up an inlet where we see some old ferries being mothballed, many blooming flowers, birds, and some beautiful houses.

Back in town, we buy some burgers to go with our fruit for a waterfront picnic.

After spending the morning in Bainbridge, it’s back on the boat. My wife wants some seafood, which curiously, we cannot find a whole lot of here. Some guides suggest Ivar’s, near the ferry terminal, so we head to an outdoor counter there where you can buy food to eat in a nearby dining area.


Ordering here is unique…basically there is no line, no system. Everybody crowds in and when the order taker is ready, everybody just kind of shouts their orders in at the same time. I’m told this is just the traditional way to do it here. We do eventually get our food but it is very chaotic and confusing…not really my cup of tea. The food is good, but it is heavy on the “deep fried” variety of seafood.


Earlier in the week, we walked through the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located. We had learned that it would be $16 just to take a ride up in the elevator. That’s quite steep. I also learned there are a couple of alternatives.

The circa 1914 Smith tower (of Smith/Corona typewriter fame) near Pioneer Square is one of them. Just a bit shorter than the Space Needle (522 feet vs. 605 feet), the observation deck is actually 2 feet higher than the Space Needle, which has a deck at 520 feet. It’s only $7.50 to go up here to the famous Chinese room and to step out into the fresh air.


It’s very beautiful up there, and it’s not just the view. The owners have amassed a collection
of Chinese antiques and furnishings to enhance the surroundings. A chair up there is supposed to grant magical powers to single women that sit in it…they are to find their groom after doing so.


It is at this point where I’d usually say we went back, had another nice night in the hotel, and went back home but there is one more adventure that would await us. I called the same taxi company that brought us from the airport and reserved an accessible cab for noon the next day to take us back.


At noon, waiting in the rain in front of the hotel…nothing. At 12:20, I called the cab company and asked where the cab was. The man on the phone said, quote, “just because you reserved a cab doesn’t mean one will show up.” When I asked for an ETA, he hung up the phone somewhere between the letters T and A.



Where I come from a reservation means they will set aside the item to be reserved. Also, when a paying customer calls and…politely I might add…asks where the item to be reserved is and when it will be there, you don’t hang up on them.


We had a problem; the airport is 15 miles away on the other side of town. We had no idea when, or even if, our ride would get there. We had one slim chance to get out of town in time to make our 2:40 flight.


Grabbing our bags, we hoofed it to the busiest bus corner about two blocks away. When a bus pulled up, we ask the driver the quickest route to get to the airport. She said, “hop on.”

At Pioneer Square, she dropped us off at the Downtown Transit Tunnel and told us to catch a bus down there (the transit tunnel is like a subway, only used by buses instead). We find the bus, get on, and make it to the airport about an hour before departure. Indeed, Seattle transit workers are the nicest and most accommodating we’ve ever encountered…they really saved the day, and our vacation, by their actions.


As I’m waiting in the departure lounge, my cell phone rings. It’s the taxi driver. He’s in front of the hotel, wondering where the hell I am. I said to him “do you know what your dispatcher did to me when I called?” He said no. I pressed the disconnect button.


Darryl
Copyright 2009 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Classic Trip: Seattle, Washington - Part 1

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) The scene on TV is scary. About half a dozen firetrucks…lights flashing, ladders extended…were under the track of the monorail. Frightened passengers were climbing down waiting for the safety of solid ground under them.

That could’ve been us...


The flight to Seattle was nice. Southwest Airlines has vaulted its way to the top of domestic carriers with a simple strategy; keep it simple and keep it consistent. As “passengers with special needs”, we were able to board first and snag the bulkhead seats. One knock on Southwest is that there are no reserved seats for most passengers. It’d be nice to know ahead of time where you’ll sit but this is one time being disabled comes in handy.


The flight left from Ontario, California right on time at 9:50am. The baggage handlers deftly handled Tim’s 350-pound power chair, using a special lift right outside the jetway door. A quick stop in San Jose, and we’re arriving at SEA-TAC airport at 12:30pm.


I had called a taxi service ahead of time to reserve an accessible cab but they said just to call when we arrived. I did and we had a ride within 30 minutes. Don’t cheer too much, though, as you’ll see later.


It was half an hour and $42 dollars later that we arrived at our hotel, the Homewood Suites in the Queen Anne District, just three blocks from the space needle and across the street from the late Post-Intelligencer newspaper building with its beautiful globe on top.


I had called about two weeks earlier to make reservations and talked to an Ed at the reservations office. All the accessible rooms were taken but he assured me he’d have a bath chair put in the room if we stayed there. At $215 dollars a night, this was the cheapest decent hotel I could find so with a little trepidation, I made the reservation.


At check in, who else would be manning the counter but Ed who not only remembered our phone conversation but also told me to check out the room and let him know if the chair he put in was OK. It was and provided a nice level of access in the bathroom…all we needed, really.


The room itself was a spacious two-room suite with a separate bedroom and a queen sized sofa bed. It also had a small kitchen, walk-through closet, robes, ironing board, and just a slight view of Puget Sound out the window.


There is an evening manager’s reception…with beer, wine, and appetizers…along with a hot buffet breakfast served each morning. One notable thing is that a nice, local microbrew is poured along with the usual bud and bud light. The bar is manned by Ed who greets us and tells us what appetizers he’s serving. While Ed is pouring the beer I comment to him that he sure seems to be everywhere. He tells me that the managers take turns running the reception by picking what appetizers will be served and manning the bar. It’s a very hands-on approach and I don’t know when I’ve had better service at a major chain hotel.

That evening, at Ed’s suggestion, we walk a little over a block to Buckley’s. This is a local pub that serves great microbrews for $3 during happy hour and served one heck of a macaroni and cheese dish for $13. Bubbling with cheese and infused with bacon, it’s the best dish we’ll have this week.


We continue on to the Seattle Center…the former World’s Fair site…and try to ride the monorail into town. I say “try to,” because it is not working at the moment. The workers have no idea when it will be running.


After a delicious breakfast in the hotel’s very nice dining room…with its floor to ceiling windows giving a view out to the sound…we head downtown. There are two major bus stops near the hotel with frequent bus service. Unfortunately, we are just outside of the downtown free fare zone, so we have to pay but it’s not much and 20 minutes later, we’re downtown.


Our first stop is the Mariners Team Store to buy tickets for a game. The main reason we’re in Seattle at all is that we’re trying to add another stadium to our list. Tim’s goal is to see every major league stadium. We get tickets at first base at the top of the field level for $60 each. This is a bit steep when the same tickets at our stadium…Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California…are $24. This is also for a team that will go on to finish with the less-than-stellar record of 61 wins and 101 losses to finish in last place 39 games behind the division champion Angels.

It’s not a long walk from there to the Pike Place Market, home to the world’s first Starbucks and the flying fish guys. It’s a very touristy place and also has a lot of traffic on the street out front but there is some great produce here. We buy some fruit to take back to the hotel, watch the guys throw some fish around, visit a few shops, and head back to the hotel to rest up for the game.


A couple of blocks away, we’re able to catch a bus that will take us all the way to Safeco Field, home of the Mariners. We get there early and the Pyramid brewery and bar are right across the street having happy hour but Letty and Tim aren’t interested. We get in and, as we do with any new stadium, take a lap around to see what’s there.


We find our seats and are shocked to find they are completely blocked by a TV camera platform. I can’t believe they charged us $180 dollars to sit here! I find an usher and complain. He says I have to wait for a manager who, when he shows up, allows us to move.

Mind you, this game is far from a sell-out. Less than half of the seats will be filled tonight…this is just unforgivable that the team would sell us such lousy seats at these prices when many better locations were available.

At our new seats…about fifty feet away from our original location…we settle in for the game. I get us some of the local specialty snack…Ichi Rolls from the Sushi stand…and watch at Ichiro, Arian Beltre, and company go down in flames again.

One very nice feature to the stadium is that in rainy Seattle (yes, it rained nearly every day, even in August) there is a roof over the park to keep it out. It is still an outdoor stadium; it’s just that the retractable roof rolls over like a giant umbrella when it starts to rain. That’s what makes it funny when I see during the next season that they had a rainout in Seattle. Really?
They couldn’t put the roof on?


After the game, we go outside to catch a bus going back. We find out that one bus comes by around every twenty minutes. One…for the several thousand fans that are exiting.

Luckily, the bus driver sees us and holds everybody else back so that Tim and his chair can board first. We also find out that we have to transfer to another bus at Pioneer Square to continue on to the hotel.


Now I have to note that there is a commuter rail station right next to the stadium but it doesn’t occur to anyone here…supposedly the greenest city in America…that it would alleviate so much traffic to the game to run trains? Only on certain weekend games to they run Sounder trains…not during the week. Only that lonely, solitary bus coming by every twenty minutes.


(Note: The new Link light rail, which opened up a year later, now serves the stadium)


I have to say at this point, however, that the bus drivers in Seattle are the best and nicest transit drivers we’ve ever come across. They always strapped down the chair, were friendly, and never hesitated to give us information about the town while we were there. They would also turn out to save our bacon in a major way later.

The next day, we walk over to the Seattle Center. The monorail is still broken. Inside one of the halls, we have a very good hot dog and go outside to see the fountains. They have this cool fountain set in a large bowl that the kids can go play in. It even has a wheelchair ramp that spirals down the side. After much coaxing, Tim finally goes down and has the time of his life dodging the spray.

I notice a monorail moving along the beam. We hurry to the station, buy tickets, and we’re off on the cheesiest transit you’re likely to come across. The driver dresses like he’s on Star Trek and sings Elvis songs during the one-mile journey. The train is old and, of course, looks like what people in 1962 thought trains would look like in the future.


At the other end in downtown, we explore the area, have some coffee, visit the Nordstrom’s flagship store before hopping back on board to the Seattle Center.


Next, we get some sandwiches from a nearby deli and catch a bus to Ballard. Another bus takes us the last mile to the Ballard Locks, a Corps of Engineers project that allows vessels in from the salt-water sound to the fresh water Lake Union and on to Lake Washington by lifting them in the twin locks.

It’s an interesting process to watch…you can go right to the edge, talk to the people on the boats as they wait to be raised or lowered. Afterward, you can go across the locks to the salmon ladders on the other side.

A ramp lets wheelchairs into the underground chamber where you can watch the massive fish swim upstream. Going out to sea, large pipes act as waterslides giving the fish the ride of their lives as they shoot into the ocean.


Back on the Ballard side of things is a nice park and pretty garden where we have a picnic of our sandwiches on top of a green hill looking down on the locks.

Instead of the bus, we decided to walk back to Ballard going by way of a few shops along the way to buy some smoked salmon to take home. We also see a couple of genuine TV stars…the Wizard and the Northwestern. These two boats are featured on the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch and are based here in Ballard, as are a few other boats from the series. Didn’t see any of the Hansen brothers though.


Back on the bus, we get stuck in a massive traffic jam but finally make it back to the hotel. Some more light rail or even a few ferries would make this city much more bearable.

At the hotel that night, I’m watching the news where a scene of multiple fire trucks have their lights on and ladders extended. It seems that the monorail broke down again…just a few hours after our ride…and the passengers were being evacuated down those ladders. I don’t really want to know how they would have had to evacuate Tim.


Stay tuned for part 2...
 
Darryl
Copyright 2009 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

FIELDS OF DREAMS - Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington

Currently residing at #14 on our list of Major League Baseball stadiums is this park with a giant umbrella in rainy Seattle.

Safeco Field is home to the Seattle Mariners of the American League. Yet to play in the World Series, the team has won the American League West Division Championship in 1995, 1997, and 2001. They were the wild card selection in 2000. The Mariners also share the single season record for wins with 116 wins in 2001 (also Chicago Cubs, 1906). Many All Star and Hall of Fame caliber players have called this team home over the years; Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey, Jr., Rickey Henderson, Edgar Martinez, and Ichiro Suzuki who was recently lost to the Yankees. Each year it seems, baseball analysts pick this team to win their division but lately have been falling short. 

In 2010, a management bloodbath led to the coaching staff being fired. This season, they're saved from the cellar by the new American League West member, the struggling Astros.

Safeco replaced the unloved Kingdome.

Here are the stats…
Year opened: 1999
Surface: Kentucky Bluegrass/ Perennial Ryegrass blend
Construction cost: $517 million
Capacity: 47 ,116
Field dimensions: Left field – 331 ft.; left center – 390 ft.; Center field – 405 ft.; right center – 385 ft.; Right field – 326 ft.
Home teams: Seattle Mariners (American League, MLB) 1999 –present
Events attended: one game

Safeco Field sits south of downtown Seattle proper, just outside of the free bus zone. It is an outdoor stadium that also has a retractable roof to protect it and the fans from the city’s frequent precipitation. The naming rights were bought by an insurance company.

The park feature four levels of seats, the field level, a terrace level, a small club and suite level, and the upper deck. There are also seats in the outfield. The concourse is open, so you can still see the game when you go to get your snacks.

There is wheelchair accessible seating throughout the park at all levels. We did not have any problems buying more than one companion seat. Tickets are now under dynamic pricing where demand sets the price...seems kinda unnecessary for such a lackluster team. We bought our tickets one day in advance at the Mariner’s Team Store in downtown Seattle. Ticket prices range from $7 bleachers to over $400 in the Diamond Club.

Yes, this is the mid-game crowd.  Why couldn't we buy better seats?

Another problem I had was that these tickets placed us right behind a camera well, severely obstructing our view. This was a game with maybe 3-5,000 fans in attendance. Luckily, the ushers let us move to better seats but why sell us such bad seats, at the high end of their ticket range, when we asked for the best seats, and many more better seats were available? And why such high prices for these seats, especially with a bad team and very low attendance? Lower the prices and get more fans to show up for the games.

The team was terrible the year we were there and their play showed it on the field. Hopefully, the team will someday resolve its issues and give the people of Seattle a better team but as of 2013, that day is still on the horizon.

Food here is good but expensive, just like the tickets. The signature item here is the sushi. A lot of stadiums now serve sushi but it’s usually premade like you’d find in a supermarket. I have to give a lot of credit to this stadium due to the fact that they have sushi chefs on site that make your order as you watch…a true sushi bar.

Besides the usual hot dogs and such…which are good…there is also Ivar’s, a local fried seafood landmark, barbecue, Mexican food, and a rotisserie stand. Across the street is the Pyramid Brewery which has a large beer garden and hall with a happy hour before the game. I highly recommend going there and having some of their great hefeweizen with great prices to match before entering the park.

Public transit got a huge boost when the Link Light Rail opened up. Frequent service to the stadium from downtown and points south is now available. When we visited, there was some commuter rail service to selected games (not ours) and inadequate capacity bus service from King Metro. There is also loads of parking nearby.

For a newer stadium, I have to say that Safeco missed many marks. The food is excellent as is (now) the public transit. Other than that, you’ll be paying a lot for a mediocre to average baseball experience. That’s why it only rates only a dismal 14 out of 18 on our stadium list. Still, it’s better than three other west coast parks…Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, and Oakland…but that’s not saying much.

-Darryl
Copyright 2010 – Darryl Musick
Updated for 2013

TRANSIT REPORT - Seattle

Transit in Seattle got a huge boost when the Link light rail opened up to the SEA-TAC airport. No longer are wheelchairs at the mercy of taxi companies or have to find an accessible bus, this is a huge leap forward for visitors to the Emerald City.

The Link runs from Tukwila…just a bit north of the airport…to Westlake. That’s the downtown mall where the monorail runs from the Seattle Center (Space Needle).

When we went to Seattle in 2009, one of the things we noticed is that the transportation from the airport was OK, but could be a lot better…we saw the Link under construction and thought of how convenient that would be. Going back to the airport, this will be a godsend. I remember being left high and dry when the taxi I reserved to go back never showed up…I’ll be glad never to have to use them again.

We also went to a Mariners game and noticed the atrocious lack of public transportation from the stadium (there was limited train service during weekend games but none during the week). After the game, thousands of fans would be elbowing for a spot on the one bus that came by every 20 minutes or so to go back downtown (a transfer was also required). The Link service would be much nicer.

The Link joins the Sounder Commuter Rail service, which really only helps the rush-hour 
passengers, and the mostly excellent King Country Metro Transit bus service.

One thing we really liked about Seattle is that the Metro bus service went nearly everywhere, with multiple lines, frequent accessible service during the day, and some of the friendliest transit workers we’ve ever encountered. We took the power chair to Seattle and had virtually no problems getting around.

Another great feature of the Metro service is that trips beginning and ending in the downtown zone are free during the day.

Another unique transit option here are the Washington State Ferries that shuttle commuters along the Puget Sound to destinations like Bainbridge Island and even Victoria in British Columbia.

Seattle is famous for its monorail service, built in 1962 for the World’s Fair. It is still in service and is accessible but seems unreliable. After about 3 tries, we finally got to ride it but most of the time we were there it was broke down. One time, we saw the fire department evacuating the trains with ladder trucks due to another breakdown. I don’t recommend it at this time.

All services listed above are wheelchair accessible.

-Darryl
Pictures courtesy of Wikimedia
Atomic Taco under CC-SA license
Joe Mabel under CC-SA license
Klaus with K under CC-SA license

BootsnAll: Nine of the Most Wheelchair-Friendly Cities to Visit Now

I just had this article of mine published at BootsnAll.com ...

"Most travelers only worry about getting a decent hotel, finding a place to eat, and maybe getting a deal on a rental car at their destination.  Wheelchair users must also worry about encountering stairways, narrow doors, accessible bathrooms, and transportation. In some places it can be near impossible for a wheelchair user to find an affordable accessible hotel, let alone navigate the city streets and public transport. In others, it’s a lot easier.

Knowledge is power, so with that in mind, here are some of the most wheelchair-friendly cities for travelers..."

To read the rest of the article, go to BootsnAll.com , Nine of the Most Wheelchair-Friendly Cities to Visit Now.

Thanks,

-Darryl

BEER AND WINE WEEK EPILOGUE - The Hangover

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

AgnosticPreachersKid under CC-BY-SA license

Now that we're wrapping up our week dedicated to beer and wine here at The World on Wheels, we're putting up a list to all our reports that have to do with the two drinks.   Here you go, happy trails...

Viktulienmarkt. Munich, Germany

BEER
Bavaria, Germany - Beer heaven.  I thought pubs were about the most fun you could have until we found the beer gardens.
England, Ireland, and Belgium part 1, part 2, and part 3 - Pubs are still a lot of fun, though.  Belgium is the pinnacle of beer making.
Seattle, Washington part 1 and part 2 - One of America's great beer cities.
The World on Wheels Beer Taste Off

WINE
Amador County part 1 and part 2 - My favorite wine country in California.  Part 2 has most of the wine related information.
Napa Valley part 1 and part 2 - The world's most famous wine producing region.  Great wines but you're going to have to fight to find it.