Best. Day. Ever.
That was the phrase my partner repeated several times while standing under the belly of a Mach-3 Blackbird spy plane, one of the highlights of the Museum of Flight we took in on a very rainy Seattle day during a pre-Christmas visit.
It was our first time to the museum and while I had expected our visit to run about an hour, my partner was so thrilled with the many exhibits we stayed for more than three.
Not that I didn’t enjoy myself as well, particularly standing in front of actual computer monitors used by Houston-based Mission Control during the Apollo era and moon landings. A nearby console includes a video of U.S. president John F. Kennedy giving what has become known as the
“We choose to go to the moon” speech at Rice University in 1962, which was goose-bump inducing.
There is so much to see and do at the museum, I’m still not sure if we actually covered it all, but we did our best checking out as many exhibits as possible including Air Force One, the Birth of Aviation, the NASA Space Shuttle program and the First and Second World War displays. We also sat through a short talk presented by a docent, a flight engineer during the Second World War, who had us mesmerized with his tale of having to ditch a plane in the Pacific Ocean after a successful bombing mission over Japan. The museum employs a small army of retired veterans as volunteers, including former employees of NASA, the military and former Boeing engineers, who offer free tours and a wealth of information to visitors.
The best way to take advantage of Seattle’s attractions is through a CityPASS, which we also used to visit the Space Needle and EMP Museum to check out its latest exhibits including a tribute to Super Bowl Champs the Seahawks, even though we’re diehard Raiders fans (not a word).
And of course we also hit one of my favourite Seattle haunts, Pike Place Market, where we caught a Christmas tree lighting with Santa. The market is located a short walk from the Alexis Hotel on First Avenue, a boutique property we stayed at featuring a literary theme throughout, including the Bookstore Bar and Cafe. The hotel’s lobby sports red bikes for borrowing and vintage games laid out for guests to enjoy, in this case water paints and postcards for anyone feeling creative. Also in the lobby was a hot-chocolate cart complete with peppermint sprinkles and chocolate chips for toppings, which went over really well after a walk in a mid-December storm.
Meanwhile, the dog-friendly staff have a small station set up near the front door where, daily, they write the name of each pup staying at the hotel on a small chalkboard above bowls for water and treats. Another nice addition to staying at the Alexis is the complimentary happy hour its serves in the lobby each evening offering wine and appetizers. Our room also provided a birds-eye view of the Seattle Great Wheel (Ferris wheel), which lit up the sky with varying coloured lights each night of our stay.
The hotel is centrally located enough we were able to walk to the Winter Village at Westlake Park on Fourth Avenue to enjoy the Christmas Story Holiday Carousel, which is powered by Alaska Airlines, the creators of the Recharge Lounge where visitors can take a rest on an airline seat, charge their smart phones, take in a book reading or help the kids with arts and crafts.
There’s a lot going on in Seattle now through the holidays and while we didn’t have time to check everything out, we gave it an honest try as our tired feet will attest. For a list of other Christmas activities and attractions in Seattle, visit holidaysinseattle.com.
sthomas@vancourier.com
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