Sleepless in .....

Seattle Space Needle

Garbage Pail kids, what a blast from the past


Searching on the internet for the top 10 cities to visit in the U.S I came across Seattle. Seattle lies between the saltwater Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east. Ranked number 4 by Forbes for America's safest cities, and nicknamed the "Emerald City" in reference to the lush green forests that surround the area.

For me Seattle represented an opportunity to leave the land locked mid-west, and get to the coast which is no mean feet in such a huge country. Fresh seafood is one of the many things this city is famed for, king crab, snow crab, and oysters were at the top of my list to try. 

This van drove past me on the street, sums up the laid back attitude of this city.

 A restored church from 1906, very old by American standards.


Seattle is surrounded by several National and State Parks, Olympic, North Cascades, and Blind Island to name just a few, but the one I wanted to see was Mount Rainier. The volcano in Mount Rainier National Park is widely regarded as one of the worlds most dangerous because of it's large quantities of glacial ice.

A waterfall in Mount Rainier National park.

One of the things it might surprise you to learn about Seattle, is it's influence on modern music. It was the birth place of the legendary Jimmy Hendrix, and the city which created "grunge" music. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden all Seattleites, and maybe even more amazing is that Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried here. 

Jimmy Hendrix grave site.

Bruce and Brandon Lee grave site.


The city has an extensive nightlife scene which seems to cater for pretty much all tastes, but sadly the views from the bay and parks above the city drew me like a magnet with camera and tripod in tow.

From Kerry Park above the city the Space Needle appears to dwarf the city it stands in, however this is all a play on perspective. The Space Needle was erected in 1962 for the Worlds Fair, it stands at a height of 184m which by todays standard of tower is really quite small. 

Viewed with the sky scrapers of the city cast as a backdrop, the tower seems to dominate the downtown area. As I said, appearances can be deceptive, but the trick it plays on the eye is well worth the hike up to the park perched above the bay. 

Ferris wheel on the bay at twilight. 

Space Needle at night from Kerry park.