Sunday in Seatte :)

Nov 07th, It was a sunny Sunday morning and Seattle calling again. We took the route 53A and reached Washington State museum to board the ST Express 594 proceeding to Seattle. The bus was loaded with Sea Hawk and New giants fans, they all were wearing their team jerseys and got down at Safeco and Qwest Stadiums. We got down at Union stop which is the downtown Seattle and we entered Ross, a clothing store and purchased stuffs for our wives. Seattle has a souvenir shop at every corner and better bargains lurking around.

We entered Seattle aquarium by paying 17$ each and we were lucky visitors to watch the Divers feeding the fishes in the huge coral filled tanks. We ran our fingers along the sea anemone's tentacles, got our fingers caught between the Starfishes and it was a unique experience. Different colored Anemone's and Starfishes made the crowds swarming to them. We stood within a circle of glowing jellyfish and this is the first time i viewed them so close. The aquarium had various exhibits of fishes all from the local Washington region. We walked around the display tanks and saw the fragile Coral reefs deeper portions, where numerous habitats existed in them.Most of them hid from us in those corals, camera shy ;) They have their own 'Gizmo',the octopus and it moved beautifully around. We spotted our Nemo fish, brightly colored red fish with white stripes, watching the staff feeding the fishes was interesting to watch as each fish tried opening its mouth to grab the most ;)

We walked to the Shore birds section and it gave us an insight how these birds live and survive in the inhospitable homes. Alcids (diving birds) were a popular stop,we watched the Tuffed Puffins and common Mures diving to pick potential meals from the jagged bottom of the exhibit.

The unique Ocean oddities were the Leaf scorpionfish, Cowfish, Convict Blennies and more and yes we spotted the Trumpet fish :) We entered a bit late into the Underwater Dome which is the largest exhibits in the Aquarium. It was an undersea room featuring a 360Deg view into a 400,00 gallon of tank filled fish. We missed the talk and feeding of the fish by aquarium scuba divers.The most action-packed event of the Aquarium were the mammals section, featuring Sea Otters, harbor seals, and fur seals. We viewed these mammals from beneath the surface in an underwater mammal viewing area.The Sea Otters delighted us by their antics.

I forgot to mention a section featuring the Orcas (a dolphin looking whale), though we could only hear the different sounds simulated underwater, blue whale, sperm whale and more simulated sounds. I purchased my Seattle Aquarium souvenir and left the place feeling happy as it opened our eyes to the colorful marine life.

I had a quick Subway footlong veggie burger and Vijesh opted for Teriyaki chicken, the chicken wasn't that impressive and left him hungry for more :) It was a cold and windy Seattle evening, with fingers and my naked lips numb we crossed over to the Underground tour. Underground tour is Seattle's most unusual attraction, is humorous walking tour of buried city.

We roamed the subterranean passages that once were the main roadways and first-floor storefronts of old downtown Seattle.Crumbling brick, decaying wood, and rusting iron pipes were the chief elements of decore, with the occasional streak of moss as a highlight.

There are some interesting items - a flowered toilet, an old bank, broken bath tub,sewing machines and more..the tour was 90 minutes and basically talks about Seattle's 1800 history; interesting to know a city which was built underground to its glorious present status. The tour finishes at a gift shop where visitors can buy souvenirs. We boarded our bus back to Tacoma leaving behind an eventful day.