Seattle & Friends Trip Summer 2012 Day 3 Tuesday July 24

This is the third of a series of posts dealing with my ninth and most recent trip to Seattle as adult. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports.  No updates to report on this day.

I e-mailed Silver Platters about the misplaced itinerary last night.  I slept off and on but started waking up more fully after someone's alarm/phone went off around 4:45 or so. I got up and went to the bus stop by Regrade Park, but didn't go in the fenced in area due to lack of time. I took the 54 bus (Metro Transit) to Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal in West Seattle,  From there I took a ferry to Vashon Ferry Terminal in the north end of Vashon Island, grabbing breakfast on the ferry; Like Salt Spring and Whidbey Islands, Vashon has a number of mini communities and I don't know how antonymous any of them are.  Anyway I took the 11 bus from Vachon Ferry Terminal to Tahlequah Ferry Terminal on the south end of the island. A nice change of pace.  From there I took another ferry to Port Defiance Terminal in Tacoma; I'm pretty sure I saw the 10/Pierce Transit bus (as scheduled) leaving just before the ferry arrived.  I took the 11 bus (Pierce Transit) downtown and there transferred to the 57 bus (also Pierce Transit) to Half Price Books near Tacoma Mall. I bought a bunch of DVDs there, visited fye in the mall, then took the 3 bus (Pierce Transit) back downtown.

 

[NOW: I started from City Hostel Seattle. Google says it's temporarily closed, but since it's been closed since 2020, it's likely permanent. That Silver Platters moved to 1st Ave S. The bus on Vachon Island was King County Metro Transit. All references below to Metro Transit are actually King County Metro Transit.]

I walked to King Books, which wasn't let open for the day, but I was really mainly visiting to see that cat, and it was sunning itself on the front window anyway.  I took the 13 bus (Pierce Transit back down to the downtown core, where I visited University Bookstore at the University of Washington. I grabbed lunch at Taco del Mar and then visited the so called Bridge of Glass (the name notwithstanding, it has some displays of glass (particularly two enclosed areas, one with a glass ceiling, another with a glass side.

 

[NOW: That Taco del Mar has closed.]

I was going to take the TacomaLink light rail (Sound Transit) to Tacoma Dome, but I saw the 594 bus (Sound Transit) back to Seattle and didn't want to lose half an hour on a very short train ride, so I took the bus to just south of the downtown core of Seattle.  There I took a 39 bus (Metro Transit) to Seward Park.  I changed from pants to swim trunks and did a short dip but didn't really swim because that part of Lake Washington is lifeguard monitored and no one was at the boat that allowed for a swim to the nearby dock (which geese were visiting).  After a rest I walked around Seward Park and decided I was satisfied for this trip (unlikely to return this year because only the one bus goes there).  So I left and walked to the nearest stop that actually had a 39 timetable and took that bus back a ways the other direction.

 

[NOW: TacomaLink is now Line T.]

I misunderstood a driver announcement and switched to the 9 Express bus (Metro Transit) not realizing until too late that it didn't go downtown.  I was heading to Gas Works Park now and came up with a new plan that required two transfers instead of the originally planned three.

Since it went there anyway, I planned to explore Broadway/Capitol Hill before switching buses, but at about the last stop it caught up to the 49 (Metro Transit) so I just took that to the University District.  To kill a little time, I covered a little of my later itinerary for that area, visited Magus Books, University Bookstore, and Comic Stop (formerly the U District's Zanadu Comics) before taking a 30 bus (Metro Transit) to Gas Works Park.  I spent about an hour or so there, knowing that I'll likely be back a couple more times this trip. I walked back to the 30 stop.  My ORCA card ran out of money so I had to pay the difference; will replenish tomorrow.  I took the 30 to the McDonald's just across from Seattle Center, grabbing dinner there.

 

[NOW: Comic Stop is now defunct. That McDonald's is now closed.]

I visited the International Fountain, which was still being renovated. I walked to Silver Platters, retrieved my other itinerary and bought some movies (including a blu-ray and a 50 Pack). I walked to Easy Street Records on Mercer St and got some more DVDs.

 

[NOW: That Easy Street Records is now closed.]

I walked back to the hostel; some Seattle Seafair Pirates were hamming it up about a block from the hostel, having fun with an older woman who was probably quite amused.  When I got back, the husband/owner of the hostel recognized me and noticed my face was red from the sun.

All day I did the best I could with the scratched camera.