Yes, we humans did stuff! Our first adventure was a tour through the Boeing Space and Flight Center. We toured the factory where they build and test the famous Boeing aircraft, the world's number one aerospace company! This amazing 1.5-hour tour showcased the magnificent 747, 767 and 777 aircraft used worldwide, as well as the new 787 Dreamliner which is currently in production, all housed here in the world's largest building.
Below is the Dream Lifter. This aircraft is used to fly the pieces into the Boeing site for the new Dreamliner from the various country's and cities that build the units. All final assembly is done here in Seattle.
The line up of completed planes below are all waiting for their owners to send pilot's to pick them up and fly them home. Unlike Pizza, Boeing does not deliver!
And as you can see, this place is .... well .... HUGE! The building below is where aircraft is assembled.
Of course Boeing also has a museum (and gift shop). I visited the gift shop and watched everyone else buy 'stuff' ... believe me when I say we do not need anymore 'stuff' in our RV ... but did snap a few pictures of what the museum had:
Once done with Boeing we are off to lunch at the shore. We ate in a restaurant on the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park complex. We had lunch in a restaurant that is housed in what used to be the City of Mukilteo Bus Garage! The food was very good and there was a lot of it! So to work off some of that delicious food we toured the lighthouse which included climbing to the top.
The Mukilteo Historical Society is committed to preserving the Mukilteo Light Station and the history of Mukilteo. The Mukilteo Historical Society assists the U.S. Coast Guard and the City of Mukilteo in the preservation, maintenance and accessibility of the light station for all to enjoy.
The Mukilteo Light Station continues to play an important navigational role with its Fourth Order Fresnel lens that has a range of 12 nautical miles. Below are the photos I took of and from the lighthouse:
Our next adventure included beautiful trees, gardens and flowers! The Botanical Gardens of Seattle.
I think photos tell it all:
As you can see below there were tons of stunning plants. I am sure I would bore some readers if I include all the pictures I took so I will only include some....if you would like to see more write a comment at the end of the post including your email and I will send additional prints to you personally. Meanwhile, enjoy the beauty of nature:
You just can't beat Mother Nature :)
We also visited a Fire Station Museum. Not a usual museum but it was very interesting! The Last Resort Fire Department Museum, located at the Seattle Fire Department Headquarters, built in 1928, along with additional historical memories located in the L.R.F.D. Shop Facility, which we were also fortunate enough to tour became a surprising highlight to our visit to Seattle.
Most interesting to me was the 1834 Hunneman hand pumper - the "Sacramento". It took 8 to 10 men grasping the rocker arms or the brakes at each side of the wheels to move the 'engine' and 'pump' water. Whew!
I was truly impressed with the attention to detail found on all of the various equipment. Like the wheel on the "Sacramento".
Then, the next most fascinating to me was the first 'steam pumper', which was horse drawn, known as the 1899 American "Metropolitan" 1st-size horse-drawn Steamer #6.
The photo on the right shows the seat for the driver and the yokes which connected to the reigns for the horses the pulled it.
Here are additional photos of historical fire fighter equipment:
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| More intricate detail above! |
" Seagrave" Ladder Truck
The photo below is a strainer. When firemen had to pump water out of a lake, river or pond they would attach the hose to the truck and sink the strainer into the water. As the water was pumped up into the truck the strainer would prevent and debris from being sucked up and plugging the hose. The rope was used to pull it out of the water, and at clean up the rope would again be wrapped around the strainer for safe keeping.
Below is a really old Fire Extinguisher .... and it still works! Just not quite as good as the ones we have today.
All the brass was always kept polished as you can see in the photo below.
And before the siren of a fire truck the was the 'fire bell' to alert people of the approaching vehicle.
Of course we went to the top on the Seattle Space Needle. Towering 605 feet tall it was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. Here are some views from the Tower:
Hey Stadium fans... check out the Stadiums side by side in Seattle: CenturyLink Field where the Seattle Seahawk's play and the Safeco Stadium where the Seattle Mariners play.
And the Seattle Space Needle from the ground:
And here are some whimsical photos from a park located at the foot of the Space Needle:
And on our way out of Seattle we saw Mt. Rainier in the distance:
Enjoy ... more later :)
