Sky City

Thank you to everyone that commented and emailed about our good news!  I have tried to respond to everyone but our email server has been giving us grief all week. (I hope it is working better tomorrow when we send our newsletter!)  Please know that we appreciate your kind words - especially Annabelle!

Dinner at the Space Needle was lots of fun!  Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera.  I have been up the CN tower in Toronto many times but had not been up the Space Needle until last night.  It is beautiful up there.  We had a crystal clear night and the city lights were amazing!  The girls especially loved watching the ferry boats on the water.

The food was delicious but rather spendy.  The minimum food charge per adult is $35 and they consider anyone over the age of 10 an adult so beware.  Kids meals ranged in price from $11.95 to $16.00.  The portions are generous but my girls could have shared one meal and still had food leftover.  I'm not complaining, we expected this and it was a special celebration... just wanted to let you know in case you were interested in eating there sometime.

The best part about eating there, aside from the fabulous view (of course!) is that the restaurant rotates!  The girls were fascinated by this and it kept them smiling the whole night. 

Here are some interesting facts about the revolving restaurant...

• The Space Needle had the second revolving restaurant in the world. The first one was in the Ala Moana shopping mall in Hawaii (now closed). There are now hundreds of turntables throughout the world.
• The entire Space Needle saucer does not rotate, only a 14-foot ring next to the windows rotates on the SkyCity restaurant level.
• The restaurant turntable revolves on a track and wheel system that weighs roughly 125 tons, borrowed from railroad technology. All it takes to make the turntable revolve is a 1½ horsepower motor (originally it was a 1 hp motor).

And, these facts about the space needle crack me up!

• Plans to build a stork's nest atop the Needle were canceled when it was learned that storks could not live in Seattle 's climate and would migrate to warmer climates. (I wonder how long it took them to realize this wasn't going to work?)
• The Committee Hoping for Extra-Terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth (CHEESE) claims to have plans from the 1962 World's Fair that show the Space Needle was constructed to send transmissions to advanced beings in other solar systems. (ummm.... sure.)
• The Space Needle is approximately 1,320 Milky Way candy bars (605 feet) tall (who measures anything in terms of candy bar length?!)
  
  facts are all from the www.spaceneedle.com 

If you are planning to visit Seattle, I would definitely add the Space Needle to your list of must-see tourist attractions as long as you have a clear day/night.  If you've never been to Seattle, you should try to do this on your first day as it will give you a great overview and orientation of the city.

And, if you visit the Space Needle, you may want to Ride the Ducks... It's right across the street from the Space Needle.

We Rode the Ducks last summer when my dad was visiting. It is a fun way to see Seattle on land & water!  This is a picture I took while we were crossing the Fremont Bridge.

   

And, while you're down at the Seattle Center (this is where the Space Needle is located), you should be sure to visit the fountain.  It is very, very cool - even in winter!  The water explodes from the fountain in time with music that is pumped out of the speakers surrounding the fountain.  My girls love to see if they can touch the fountain and not get wet.  This time they got lucky!

Check out this link for more info and a really cool aerial photo of the fountain!

I'll be back tomorrow with some stamping stuff.

Bonne nuit!

Comments

[Michelle]

Sounds like a fabulous night! When I was in Seattle a few years ago I did the Ride the Ducks, it was one of the highlights of my trip. There was a dog that lives on one of the boats that greeted all the "ducks" as they went into the water. I did the Space Needle at night and it was so beautiful. I can't wait to go back to Seattle this summer. Hope to see you then!!

[Michele Zwart]

So happy for your good news! I know how scary it is to feel like you are not in control when it involves your kids' health. Our daughter started passing out unconscious when she was 9 months old whenever she cried! We spent days in the children's hospital too. So scary as a parent...even scarier for the kids, I bet.
Anyway, I am so glad that everything came out in the clear for you and you had a special day to celebrate. That's awesome!