Space Needle and Pioneer Square

Good Morning All!
Yesterday we went to the Space Needle and Pioneer Square.
Since our hotel is relatively close to the Space Needle we enjoyed a morning walk to it. Because we needed post card stamps we walked to the post office and then came through the cultural center park area to the needle. It was a delightful surprise to walk around a corner and come face to face with a water fountain play area.
The view from the needle was beautiful. We spent a lot of time walking around and taking photos. By time we got back to the hotel we were ready to go in search of lunch. We decided to drive down to Pioneer Square, have lunch, and go on the Underground Tour. What we did not know at the time was that there was a Mariners game in progress. Unlike San Diego (which is an area we are familiar with) we could not find any decent parking. And, we were shocked at the mark-up of parking garages—one was asking $30, and it was practically full. After driving around for an hour and a half, and getting snippy with each other, we decided to return to the hotel and find public transportation.
Our hotel has a shuttle for $2 a person (which we did not know until we asked) and they happily drove us down to Pioneer Square. We had lunch at the newly reopened J&M Café and Cardroom. We enjoyed a cheese plate appetizer, a BLT&A sandwich, a Grinder sandwich, and some drinks. We were scheduled for a 6 pm tour of Seattle’s Underground so we had some time to kill after eating our late lunch. We walked around the neighborhood and stumbled across some posted fallout shelters. The Underground Tour was great and we definitely recommend it. It was fascinating to learn the history of Seattle’s underground. The fact that Pioneer Square is completely supported by Cedar beams is a little astonishing and slightly frightening. ☺
After the tour, we decided to walk down to the Waterfront, have ice cream for dinner, and visit some of the shops. We had intended to catch the free bus to get closer to our hotel, but we were enjoying the weather and instead decided to walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Garden. By this time it was already 9pm and we were only a few blocks away from the Space Needle so we walked to it and went up for the night view. Finally, we walked back to the hotel. All in all, we walked over 5 miles during this adventure. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got back to the hotel just before 11pm. What a wonderful day.

Love,
George and Johanna

P.S. the link in the comments section will/should take you to more photos on Facebook.