Friday August 19 (Seattle)

We are staying at the La Quinta Inn at 8th Avenue and Denny Way in Seattle, out near the Space Needle. It's just ok, no decent restaurants nearby, we dine at the Hurricane Cafe, a dive. We share fish and chips. In the morning it starts out cloudy and cold. Breakfast is free at the hotel. I make waffles. The breakfast room is full of kids and ESPN is blaring. Nancy needs cosmetics, so we hike west to a Walgreen's ON Denny Way. Now we can see the Monorail and the Space Needle, so we head thataway and get coffee and a rest stop at McDonald's. The weather turns better, and I see a sign for "Ride the Duck" with the phone number on the side of the vehicle. I call from the cell phone, it is only $28 (they don't mention the tax) they leave in twenty minutes, and pass by 130 sights (an exageration.) Nancy says: go for it, so we cross the street and soon we are aboard the duck. Our Captain is a wild man; we are entertained. There are only a dozen tourists aboard, so we can take pictures easily. I only have the cell phone for photos, but it will have to do. It is soon very breezy. We head south along Alaska Way and get a good tour of the waterfront. When he's not talking, the Captain plays rock and roll on the loudspeaker. Tourists gawk at us: we become the show. We turn north through downtown; this part is not so great. We end up going over the Ballard Bridge, then entering Lake Union at its north end for a half hour boat ride. It is now sunny and very pleasant. Lots of houseboats and kayaks, real fun. When it's over, we walk a few blocks to ride the Monorail (it only goes a mile) for a dollar, and have lunch at the downtown Westlake Center. After a mediocre Chinese lunch (although in an interesting urban setting), we duck through an adjacent hotel and get a taxi to the Amsterdam. Downtown Seattle traffic is very crowded, but we get to the ship easily.

We manage to get a wheelchair for my wife. Boarding is slow, so we go up a ramp alongside the ship without the wheelchair. Holland American is known as a senior-friendly cruise line. Nevertheless, we are surprised at something new: rental motorized wheelchairs, similar to the Hoveround advertised on TV. They are numerous aboard the Amsterdam. Our bags come soon. We unpack, it is easy because the room layout is the same as on the Rijndam from our Panama cruise. We did not get an upgrade, so there is no window and no bathtub. Soon it is time for the lifeboat drill, a pain because they make us stand on the deck for twenty minutes. Dinner is excellent, prime rib, with a view of Puget Sound. After dinner my wife crashes, while I go to the free round of Bingo. Our table mate, George, wins the $200 prize! I buy a book: The Alaska Cruise Handbook, it has lots of maps and photos. Read more