My first encounter with this Cirrus SF50 Vision was in this post. It was scheduled for departure while I was on some calls and I hoped it would time its departure conveniently for me. I was lucky and it headed out just after I finished a call and before I headed back to the eastside. The skies were not friendly for getting a shot but it was still nice to see it in action and the flat light avoided any harsh shadows and deep contrast.
Another stint in the lots by Boeing Field to deal with some phone calls prior to heading back out of Seattle after some meetings and some more interesting movements. A G650 landed while I was there. I was on a call so I didn’t have an opportunity to get a shot of it as it landed and rolled out which was a shame. It parked up across from me and an SUV took the occupants away. Then it was pushed into a hangar. A quick search on the registration gives a company name and Googling that shows it is associated with Bill Gates. Looks like he has a nice jet although I think he needs a new Global 7500 if he wants to stay on top of things.
I was picking up someone from SeaTac just before Christmas. The flight was due in just before sunset so I took the camera along just in case. I was out by the outer runway approach path but the heavies were coming in to the inner runway. This meant they passed nicely in front of Mt Rainer – assuming you can ignore the 60 odd miles distance to the mountain. First in was a Condor 767 which still had plenty of evening light on it as it landed.
Next up was a British Airways 777. It arrived as the light was fading fast. It still had a bit of illumination but you knew anything following it would be in the gloom. Being winter, there was virtually no distortion in the atmosphere, which, given the distance was a potential problem. Things looked pretty sharp in the final images.
No story, just a photo. This one of the Space Needle was one I took with my phone as we were walking back from a work event. Thought it came out quite well.
I certainly won’t stand out from the crowd by claiming that I am a bit of a fan of the F-8 Crusader. Plenty of people think it is a cracking jet. I didn’t get to see many of them. French Navy jets were still in service and, while the RF-8s were in use with the Navy at the beginning of my interest in aviation, I don’t think I ever saw in in service example. Doesn’t stop me liking them though. The Museum of Flight has the prototype jet in their collection. Prior to the unification of the type identifiers between the services, it was known as the XF8U-1.
I first saw it while it was undergoing restoration at the museum’s facility at Paine Field. My first visit there was when it was free. You could just show up and wander around. Now you have to pay to get in but it is still a good visit to make. Restoration is when things are a lot less glamorous but you do see the work underway to makes things look great.
Now the jet has been moved to the main museum facility at Boeing Field. It is polished to a fine finish and is complete with an air data boom. The markings it carries appear to be authentic based on some original photos of the aircraft and, with its location close to the window, it does gleam nicely. Oh to find someone with a lot of money and a desire to have one of these jets airworthy again.
Some plants bloom frequently. Others bloom once a year. What is slightly more unusual is a plant that only blooms once every 7-10 years. The Titan Arum is one such plant and an example lives in the Amazon Spheres in Seattle. Purely by coincidence, we happened to visit the Spheres when it was blooming. We had actually missed the peak opening by a day and it was starting to close up again. It had also had a hole cut into the side to allow pollination artificially. But this was a small price to pay for seeing something so unusual.
One feature the plant is known for is a smell of rotting flesh when it is blooming. This is supposed to attract insects that then assist with pollination. There was a bit of an odor but, to be honest, I wasn’t conscious of it being too bad. Maybe there is a peak period of stinkiness and we missed it or maybe the story has been slightly overblown. Either way, it was very lucky that we happened to be there during the blooming process and now we might have to wait a few years before it happens again.
When Chris and Sam visited, Sam had a list of things she wanted to do. I have to admit that one of those things I had no idea existed until she mentioned it. Having been here eighteen months and also having been through the area involved a couple of times, this was a bit embarrassing. The subject is the Amazon Spheres. Amazon seems to control a lot of territory in Seattle these days but, while most of this is in traditional office space, the Spheres are something different.
They are an environmental space that encompasses a wide range of plant life. It is designed to be used by employees as they have meetings or not to work alone for a while. They can relax in these spaces. At the weekends, though, it is sometimes made available for the public to visit for free. You just have to book a slot. We didn’t know about this when Sam and Chris were here so we only saw them from the outside. However, we did then know a little more and were able to plan a visit when Tom and Lenore came to stay.
The interior of the Spheres is something that you can guess at when you are looking from outside but being inside is totally amazing. The huge diversity of plant types throughout the space is incredible. The engineering of the spheres themselves and of the stairs and walkways within are very cool to someone with that sort of background like me. The ability to sustain the plants and keep them fed and watered is impressive and every turn takes you to something new and interesting. Couple that with some cool workspaces for the staff to use for meetings and you have a unique building complex. I would happily go back there on another occasion just to hang out and relax while possibly photographing more of the plants. I could probably have multiple posts of shots from this place but I shall make do with a combination of architectural shots and some of the plants for now. If you are planning on coming to Seattle, try and time it to coincide with one of the open weekends and give yourself enough time.
The top of the Space Needle is a good place to watch the floatplane traffic in to Lake Union. They tend to fly really close by. Shooting through the glass is not ideal but the passing Otters are too good to pass up. If you can, getting to the gaps between the glass is a good idea but it is hard to do this and get a good angle on the planes as they pass. Boeing also helped out with an Oman Air 737 Max taking off from Boeing Field and coming our way.
One of the more unpleasant tourist attractions in Seattle is the gum wall. That made it on to the blog in this post from a few years ago. We went to check it out when we had visitors staying recently. However, we had chosen poorly (or well depending on your perspective). They were in the process of cleaning the wall. Some poor guy was busy with a jet washer blasting the crap off the walls. Not a nice job I imagine.
When you don’t drink coffee, as I don’t, Starbucks is not something you pay much attention to. However, when you have the tourist route to do in Seattle, the first Starbucks shop down at Pike Place is part of the routine. You have to get in line if you want to order something because there are plenty of people also looking to check the place out. Meanwhile, some musicians are set up outside the door to keep you entertained while you wait.
Once you get inside, there is coffee to be ordered. There are also plenty of souvenirs which seemed to be selling well. Since I didn’t have anything to buy, I was able to watch everyone else doing their thing.
