Seattle
Eric and I are vacationing in Seattle before selling stuff at Norwescon this weekend, and I have to say we're having a great relaxing time, sleeping late and not rushing to do everything.
The two days on the road were filled with listening to 'The Vor Game'. Like all of the Miles books, it stands up to the test of time and the only problem with finishing it is I wanted to have 'Brother In Arms' to listen to next. Ah, well, mysteries will have to suffice for the trip home.
Yesterday we went to the Museum of Flight and I was very impressed! It's a great museum, and although the AAA guidebook says '3 hours minimum' I recommend all day for anyone who's really interested. We were there for 5 hours and had to rush through the WWII exhibits. One of the great things for me was the inclution of uniforms in the displays of planes from WWI. I only wish they had a book of the uniforms, but if I go back I'll just plan on enough time for serious sketching.
Today we did the Underground Tour -- very cool and full of *real* history, not the stuff you read in schoolbooks. A few years ago we did the Underground Tour in Pendleton OR and it's amazing the similarities and differences between the two.
The Seattle Underground wasn't planned, but just kind of happened after the great fire that destroyed the business district. The businesses rebuilt a lot faster than the city did when they raised the street level above the tidal flats that the city was built on. First they relied on ladders to allow shoppers to get down to the stores, but people kept getting hurt, not just from the occasional barrel falling off a cart on the street 8 to 30 feet above the sidewalk, but also by drunks falling down to their deaths.
In Pendleton, the Underground was constructed on purpose to help people deal with the harsh winter weather, and they have tunnels that run miles from town.
Both Undergrounds were used by 'underground' economies -- opium dens, bootleggers, prostitutes and drug runners; as well as more legitimate uses like bank vaults and freezer storage.
I love real history, and having heard the fun stuff from the tour guide (Dave) I'm going to have to do some more reading on early Seattle history.
The two days on the road were filled with listening to 'The Vor Game'. Like all of the Miles books, it stands up to the test of time and the only problem with finishing it is I wanted to have 'Brother In Arms' to listen to next. Ah, well, mysteries will have to suffice for the trip home.
Yesterday we went to the Museum of Flight and I was very impressed! It's a great museum, and although the AAA guidebook says '3 hours minimum' I recommend all day for anyone who's really interested. We were there for 5 hours and had to rush through the WWII exhibits. One of the great things for me was the inclution of uniforms in the displays of planes from WWI. I only wish they had a book of the uniforms, but if I go back I'll just plan on enough time for serious sketching.
Today we did the Underground Tour -- very cool and full of *real* history, not the stuff you read in schoolbooks. A few years ago we did the Underground Tour in Pendleton OR and it's amazing the similarities and differences between the two.
The Seattle Underground wasn't planned, but just kind of happened after the great fire that destroyed the business district. The businesses rebuilt a lot faster than the city did when they raised the street level above the tidal flats that the city was built on. First they relied on ladders to allow shoppers to get down to the stores, but people kept getting hurt, not just from the occasional barrel falling off a cart on the street 8 to 30 feet above the sidewalk, but also by drunks falling down to their deaths.
In Pendleton, the Underground was constructed on purpose to help people deal with the harsh winter weather, and they have tunnels that run miles from town.
Both Undergrounds were used by 'underground' economies -- opium dens, bootleggers, prostitutes and drug runners; as well as more legitimate uses like bank vaults and freezer storage.
I love real history, and having heard the fun stuff from the tour guide (Dave) I'm going to have to do some more reading on early Seattle history.