We prepared to leave Mount Rainier and head north towards Seattle.  While we enjoyed our time “off the grid”, we were looking forward to once again having cell phone service, internet, and yes, satellite TV.  This is not a vacation but a lifestyle, so we need internet access to check credit card activity, pay bills online, and stay in touch with family and friends.  We also missed having access to news and weather via TV.

Our last day at the campground we met a couple from Holland.  They flew into San Francisco, rented an RV from Camping World, and are now exploring the western U.S.  They plan to be in Vermont in time to see the leaves change in the fall and then travel down the East Coast to Key West before returning the RV in Miami and flying home.  He flew fighter jets at one time and was a pilot for British Airways.  It was interesting talking with him but also alarming to hear him say it is so cheap for them to do this in the U.S. but would be much more expensive for us to do the same thing in Europe because their pound is worth so much more than our dollar.  At one time they were almost even in value.  So far we have met couples from Australia, Germany and Holland RVing around the United States.

On our way out of the park we noticed a “Volcano Evacuation Route” sign.  Now we have seen “Hurricane Evacuation”, Tsumani Evacuation” and “Volcano Evacuation” route signs!  After a short trip north we arrived at Dash Point State Park.  The sites were pretty close together but we had good cell phone service, satellite TV, and it was a short drive to Seattle where we planned to do some sightseeing.

Instead of the Space Needle we decided to go to the Sky View Observatory at Columbia Center.  Located on the 76th floor, it is twice as tall as the Space Needle and the tallest observatory on the west coast and the second tallest building west of Chicago.  It is 932 feet tall and stands  1,043 feet above sea level.  It provided us with a 360 degree view of Seattle and the surrounding area including Mt Baker, Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, the Olympic Mountains, as well as the Seahawk stadium.  The day we went was relatively clear so we had a great view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill was in his glory as we visited several technology and aviation museums.  One was the Museum of Flight where he was able to go aboard a Concorde as well as the Air Force One used by Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, including the place where Johnson stowed his Stetson.  He saw a M-21 Blackbird spy plane and a F/A-18 Hornet.  He also saw the world’s first fighter plane, the only one of its kind in the world, as well as artifacts from the original Boeing factory including the first Boeing 747, aircraft from World War I and II.  The museum included exhibits from the space age including a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.