Seattle & Friends Trip Summer 2012 Day 3 Tuesday July 24

UPDATED: February 9, 2021

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: 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.

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 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.