A Little "Hello" From Someone Else.

Hello Everyone,
I am Erin. I am the youngest daughter of the owner of this blog. My significant other and I are always looking for something to do, so we go on plenty of "Adventures" in Seattle. I like to call them "Adventures in Erin-Land". Anyway, as such an adventure craving person, I have been asked to contribute to My Mother's Seattle Blog. I figured, why not, so once in a while (though not nearly as often as I'd probably like) I will write about the above-listed adventures to give you, the readers and fans, a good perspective of Seattle.

Until Next Time,
Erin

Volunteer Park, Seattle WA

One of many parks and greenbelt areas in municipal Seattle, Volunteer Park is noteworthy for its large conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Musuem (part of the Seattle Art Museum). The image above is the conservatory.

The park itself is 40+ acres of mixed use facilities, including: the Conservatory, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Water Tower, water reservoir, playgrounds and picnic areas, as well as groves of trees.

The Conservatory has five separate "houses" or growing areas, each with its own distinctive mix of flora, based on climatological zones. The building was constructed in 1912, and has an extensive orchid collection (more than 600 varieties) that was donated in 1919.

Nearby stands a statue of Richard Seward, of Seward's Folly (AKA the purchase of Alaska from Russia) fame.

The Asian Art Museum is a unit of the downtown based Seattle Art Museum, and actually functioned as a backup SAM during the reconstruction/expansion of the main structure until its reopening last year. The museum has extensive and impressive collections of Asian art, currently with an exhibition of Chinese art in residence.

The Water Tower marks the highest point on Capitol Hill, at 520 feet above sea level (as opposed to the Space Needle's 725 feet above sea level), and was constructed in 1906. You can climb 106 steps to reach the observation area near the top of the structure.

The park also boasts a bandstand, circa 1909, and which continues to feature concerts in the park to this day.

Bring a picnic and spend a worthwhile day at the park in the near future. A slide show of some of the park's notable features may be found here

South Lake Union Sunday Ice Cream Cruise

If you are in Seattle over a weekend, and are looking for something interesting to do, try out the South Lake Union Sunday Ice Cream Cruise, so named because of the availability of some wonderful ice cream treats to enjoy while cruising Lake Union aboard the "Fremont Avenue". In particular, the root beer float made with chocolate ice cream should not be missed.

This 45-50 minute cruise across the waters of Seattle's Lake Union takes in sights such as the floating communities of houseboats, including the one famous for its inclusion in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle," starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; fishing vessels, Dale Chihuly's glass arts studio, Husky Stadium, Gasworks Park, and multiple marinas full of beautiful small craft.

The tour departs from South Lake Union near the armory and Center for Wooden Boats. Winter hours are hourly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and summer hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,, departing at the top of the hour.

A slide show of some of the sights from this tour is available here

For more information on the boat and the tour, see the website linked into the title of this post.

Center for Wooden Boats

The Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union (Seattle WA) is a hands on, interactive maritime museum, with links to the days of wooden sailing and power vessels. While there, not only can you view prime specimens of wooden small (and larger) craft, you can actually learn skills for building and repairing these magnificent craft.

You can also take sailing lessons and rent a sailboat with which to explore Lake Union.

Several of the vessels are available for unique experiences, such as: overnight stays on the tugobat Arthur Foss, weddings and parties aboard the old mosquito boat/ferry Virginia V, free public sail, canoe carving, and much more.

Once each year, the Center hosts the Wooden Boat Festival, during which there are activities for the whole family including exhibitions, wooden boat rides, wooden boats for sale, lectures and more. Thousands of people attend annually. In 2008, the Festibal will be held from 4-6 July, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Note that there is a wonderful family fireworks program at the north end of Lake Union (the CWB is at the south end) every fourth of July, so you could combine both activities this year for a great family holiday outing).

Here is a quick little video overview of the CWB: