UPDATED: February 11, 2021
This is the 10th of a series of posts dealing
with my 2015 trip to Portland, Seattle, and vicinity. I’ve made minor
corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public).
Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or
to add further clarification. These are
indicated by “NOW”.
First off a few oversights: In both downtown Portland and
yesterday morning downtown Seattle I visited Target. At one area on Burnside Rd
Portland where the transient population is particularly high there's a sign
asking people to leave room for pedestrians to pass.
I was going to take a bus to Tacoma but woke up at 5:30 and
decided to take the Sounder (Sound Transit). My understanding was that using an
ORCA card due to transfers, if you got off in Sumner and then back on to
Tacoma, you only paid the difference but
no, full fare, plus no transfers to buses with Sounder unlike link trains. Not
realizing this, because I was on an earlier Sounder train I did get off in
Sumner (Sumner Sounder Station) and wandered around, something I'd been meaning
to do for years, not having explored it enough previously. At Day & Night
Grocery I got directions to the nearest fast food place for breakfast with
proved to be McDonald's. I ordered to go and dashed back to Sumner Sounder
Station, taking another train to Tacoma Dome Station in Tacoma. There I took
the free Tacoma Link train (Sound Transit) to Union Station.
[NOW: The hostel I left from is City Hostel Seattle.]
[NOW: ORCA now allows daypasses which are good on Sounder
trains as well as buses Link trains, so you can now offset the above issue that
way.]
There I visited the Bridge of Glass (not actually made of
glass but with glass displays courtesy the nearby Museum of Glass. Arriving at
the bus stop near Union, I noticed that by next bus was half an hour or so, but
a local suggested a two-bus alternative that saved me a lot of time. So, after
first walking up and down University of Washington's steps which were right
there. I took the 1 bus (Pierce Transit) to 38th Ave S, where the bus got
delayed but that was okay because I was getting off there anyway. I took a 54
bus (Pierce Transit) to Tacoma Mall, which I crossed over to OfficeMax.
[NOW: This OfficeMax has now closed.]
Realizing that my new camera was using up my memory cards,
I got four 64 GB cards for $40 each. Not as cheap as online but probably as
good an in-store price as i was likely to get, though it did put me over my declaration
limit. I also bought some DVDs at Half Price Books before returning to the Mall
and cutting through it to Tacoma Mall Transit Center across the street.
I took the 3 bus (Pierce Transit) downtown and walked to
King's Books; Destiny Comics, new was right beside. Neither was open. Once
before I saw a cat at King's Books sleeping in the window before hours but not
this time. I walked back downtown then to Union Station and caught another Tacoma
Link train back to Tacoma Dome Station. I bought a couple DVDs from Tacoma Book
Center and walked up to the actual Tacoma Dome before taking the TacomaLink
one last time to Union Station and there transferring to a 400 bus (Pierce Transit).
[NOW: TacomaLink is now Line T.]
The bus was stuck in traffic due to an accident. A pink haired
woman was coughing and held on to a number of bars after coughing into her
hands, so I tried to avoid touching any bars when I got off the bus at Puyallup
Sounder Station in Puyallup. I was going to have lunch there but most of the sculptures
in Puyallup were gone, as confirmed by a pawnbroker, and the rest didn't grab
me, so I lost interest and soon took a 578 bus (Sound Transit) to Auburn Station
in Auburn, noticed that the store cat at Comstock Books and Bindery didn't seem
to be in the customer area, and returned to Auburn Station to Take another 578
bus to Federal Way Transit Center, Federal Way.
[NOW: The Puyallup pawn shop was Ace Pawn $ Loan. Comstock is now closed.]
I ate lunch at McDonald's and visited Action City Comics &
Toys and Al's Music Games Video before returning to Federal Way Transit Center.
I took the A Rapidride bus (King County Metro Transit) to Tukwila International
Blvd Station and there switched to an F Rapidride bus (King County Metro
Transit) to Westfield Southcenter. I visited f.y.e. in that mall then crossed
the street to Tukwila Pond Park. I visited Half Price Books, revisited the park
(the restroom smelled horrible) and grabbed another F bus to Burien Transit Center.
[NOW: That Al's closed when the building burned down.]
There I lucked out: a King County Metro Transit bus had to
go to downtown Seattle to relieve a broken bus so the driver allowed on anyone
who didn't want to get off along the way.
He did pick up a few more passengers in Seattle before letting people
off downtown. It was wild, riding a bus that wasn't on a route; just letting
passengers who were heading downtown anyway have a quicker way to get there.
I walked to Pike Place Market and visited First & Pike
News and Last Word Books. There were lots of people congregated around the
fishmongers but still managed to get in a shot of Rachel the Pig (metal
hoofprints crate a path to her). I also visited Golden Age Collectables and
BLMF Books and bought DVDs from Holy Cow Records (which seems to be phasing out
DVDs) before leaving the market.
[NOW: First & Pike News has closed. The main fishmongers is Pike Place Fish. Rachel is a
giant piggybank.]
I visited Zanadu Comics before heading to Seattle Center;
along the way I saw the giant popsicle statue, Cinerama (which is playing Ant-Man
which I hope to see upon my return), and the Chief Sealth (Seattle founder)
statue which I also saw yesterday. The International Fountain was still closed.
It usually reopens the Wed before the torchlight Parade though. I ate dinner at
Quincy’s at the Seattle Center armory before dropping stuff off at the hostel. Some
trouble with the keycard reader. I walked to Pacific Place where I got photos
of the scrap metal penguin and visited Barnes & Noble. I returned to the hostel
by way of the popsicle sculpture, Cinerama, and Regrade Park.
[NOW: Zanadu Comics, that Barnes & Noble, and Cinerama are closed. That penguin is gone. Regrade is an off-leash dog park.]
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