Day 22 – Saturday : Tacoma to LondonI chose this hotel for two reasons. The big one being that it was free – I could pay with all the Intercontinental Hotel Group points I build up in my business travels. The second was its location – right next door to the SEATAC station of the light rail system which leads straight into Seattle.
Hence first thing in the morning we check out and leave our bags at the hotel to take the train into Seattle. Strangely the train stops at the stadium and we all have to change to a bus, which then drives through the same light-rail tunnel the train would have taken.
Seattle is hot. We buy timed tickets for the space needle and while we wait walked around the area and visit the Melinda and Bill Gates institute to fill some time.
After our tour up the tower we descend to the waterfront to find somewhere to eat. It is predictably very touristy though and we don’t really feel like participating. We ascend towards the centre of town again and find a bar selling food. It is popular, but it sort of feels like a more genuine place used by locals rather than just tourists.
It is hot, so we don’t spent too much time wandering around – we see some of the market, before getting back on the light rail to the hotel.
After a quick ice cream and drink in the hotel reception we use their courtesy bus to take the last short trip across the road to the SEATAC international terminal. I am relieved when on check-in the bag with the soft top and other stuff isn’t much over weight. I’d booked economy seats, but I’m allowed to check-in at the business class counter and I think they are used to turning a blind eye to overweight baggage which you cannot usually get away with in economy.
I manage some sleep on the flight, despite being cramped into an economy seat in the back. Sally is kept awake by a screaming child again, though thankfully this time no diaper changing is involved.
