The gradual relaxation of travel restrictions means that there are more long haul jets showing up in Seattle. Some are still just taking freight but passenger ops have expanded. The reduced number of passengers does mean that smaller capacity jets will suffice for some routes. Qatar has restarted operations to Seattle. They are using their 777-200LRs for the time being. I caught one as it was passing overhead on final approach.
Lake Union is a real mix of boat types. We were crossing it on a pontoon rental that my friend Torger had access to. We got to see a lot of different stuff out there. There is plenty of cash in Seattle so there were a lot of the large boats that are owned by those with a touch more cash than me. However, while the leisure market is a big deal these days, Seattle is still a commercial port. Fishing boats abound in Salmon Bay and out towards Lake Union. There are dry docks for the work that big vessels need including floating dry docks.
Towing operations are aplenty. Tugs to pull barges up the coast to Alaska are there as are tugs for more local duties. Fishing vessels also mean fish processing vessels. These boats take the catch from the smaller boats and process and freeze it for transport back to the distribution facilities ashore. These fishing vessels look pretty substantial when you see them alongside in Seattle. However, I imagine when you are out in the Bearing Straits, they suddenly seem a lot smaller as the big swells of the northern Pacific are heading in their direction. Not a job for the faint of heart.
There is no shortage of Robinson R22s and R44s at Boeing Field. Plenty of flight training takes place there and these types will be on the move on a regular basis. This R44 was coming in one evening when I was over there waiting for a later arrival. What caught my eye was that it was fitted with a boom of some sort. It looked like the sort of thing from which a camera might be mounted. An extension would be needed to bring to camera forward far enough but maybe this was the base of the mount? It was certainly not normal. Anyone know details about this installation?
A couple of years ago we made a visit to Meerkerk Gardens on Whidbey Island to see the rhododendrons in bloom. We decided a return trip was in order. We were possibly a week later than our previous trip but were optimistic. The gardens were open even with the restrictions in place at that time but we did have to pay online because there weren’t any staff at the entrance.
We had a nice time wandering around. There were some of the plants in bloom and the colors were very nice. However, it appears that things are blooming a bit later this year. Presumably the spring didn’t warm up as fast. Plenty of the trees had yet to bloom. I suspect a week or two later might have resulted in a lot more color. Even so, it was still a very pretty place to walk around.
We hadn’t previously explored as much of the garden as is available. There is a woodland trail that goes around the back and over some of the steeper areas and we went through all of this. With so few people there – we did get there early – we were not encountering many other visitors. I wonder whether it would have been a lot busier a couple of weeks later as the flowers really came into their own.
This was a bit of a mistake. I saw a Boeing 747-8 was due for a flight at Paine Field. The 747-8I that Lufthansa declined to take delivery of has been active recently and I thought this was it. Instead, it was a freighter that was due for a short test flight. Not what I had in mind but still not too bad. It was another UPS jet. There are some non-UPS 747s still to be built before the line is closed soon and I will want to see some of those.
It was early in the day so the light was best on the east side. That limits your options but I got it taxiing down for departure and heading out. It was a 30 minute flight so I got the return too before heading off. I wish I hadn’t been so eager to get back because a Janet 737 showed up half an hour after I left! Oh well.
The park that runs along the river in Renton has some lampposts that are made out of wood. This is a nice way to provide something more in keeping with a park and it is a nice choice that they made. It does mean, though, that the surface of the lamppost is a bit more amenable to wildlife getting established. The damp weather that the Pacific Northwest is known for means that moss and lichens will find a place. This they did!
We ended up taking a walk along the shore at Shoreline one morning as a result of our original plan failing to work out. I did take the camera with me because you never know what you might see out in the water. However, water based wildlife didn’t show up (nor did any interesting boats) but we did get some aviation. There was a Fiji Airlines 737 Max up on test and it flew along the sound before turning over us as it headed back to Boeing Field. I have seen to Fiji widebodies at various times but their narrow bodies won’t usually show up in the US so this was a new one for me. Not too close but definitely good to have seen.
While on our trip to Whidbey, we made a short stop at the North beach in Deception Pass State Park. This is the beach that is closest to the bridge across the pass. I was hoping it might be possible to get a nice shot of the bridge but I was disappointed to realize that the maintenance work underway on the bridge has resulted in the structure being covered in a ton of material. No chance to get anything exciting from that. If you looked closely, you could make out some of the maintenance team up on the bridge in their hi-viz clothing. That is not a job for which I would be well suited.
I was running some errands in the Renton area one weekend so it seemed inappropriate to not pop to the airfield to see what the latest 737 customer aircraft were. There were several jets scattered across the field with Malta markings on them. None of them were very convenient to get a shot of but I managed to get some from the trail and some longer shots across the field from the park. Quite a nice looking livery I think. I have read that they are a Ryanair operation and these are Max 8-200s
We have been to the Bonsai Garden in Federal Way before and this was not a full visit to the collection. However, at the entrance, they have a cherry tree bonsai and it was in full bloom while we were passing by. Everyone was stopping to take a look and to get a photo. It was absolutely stunning. Sadly, photos do not do it justice – well, at least my photos do not do it justice.