The duck tour (wednesday)

Sorry guys, busy days here in Seattle ; ). Time to catch up with all my adventures. I have been very lucky with this nice sunny weather and mostly blue skies. Today another day downtown. Elaine had a working day, and Marne had grandmother duties. No problem, it's a very easy bus ride.

One of the things that  I hadn't done so far in Seattle was the "duck tour". If you want to do something silly, funny and stupid. Go on a duck ride. I had a very good time. I clapped, sang, whistled my ducktour whistle and just had fun. The duck tour is a 1,5 hour ride through the city and on the water, that's makes it very interesting.

A little bit history of Seattle

Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. Beyond the waters lie two rugged mountain ranges, the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east. It is a city built on hills and around water, in a mild marine climate that encourages prolific vegetation and abundant natural resources.White settlers came to the Seattle area in 1851. The village was named Seattle, honoring a Duwamish Indian leader named Sealth who had befriended the settlers.

The new town's principal economic support was Henry Yesler's lumber mill at the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way), built in 1853. Much of the mill's production went to the booming city of San Francisco, but the mill also supplied the fledgling towns throughout the Puget Sound region. A brief Indian "war" in the winter of 1856 interrupted the town's development, but when the Territorial legislature incorporated Seattle in 1869, there were more than 2,000 residents.


The city's population became increasingly diversified. Scandinavians came to work in fishing and lumbering, African Americans to work as railroad porters and waiters, and Japanese to operate truck gardens and hotels. There were significant communities of Italians, Chinese, Jews, and Filipinos. The International District, home to several Asian ethnic groups, was largely developed during this period. There are living over 608.660 people in Seattle, but in the area are living 2.3 million people.

Sleepless in Seattle (the green one in the middle)