My son and I decided that it was time that we had an adventure.
Today we hopped in the car, drove down to the park and ride and caught the same 545 bus that I take to work every day. We rode it all the way to downtown Seattle. It was his very first bus ride! He was very interested to see that people get on, people get off, and people ring the bell for their stop. He now knows how bus commuting works at a young age.
We arrive at Westlake Center on 5th, just in time to see the monorail go overhead...
We had a bite of lunch, then decided that we should take the South Lake Union Transit [SLUT] street car line. It's a whole mile and a half of street car, going from Westlake Center up Eastlake avenue next to Lake Union. Shortest street car line on the planet I think, but what the heck - I have a Puget Pass, so it's free entertainment.
We're riding down the line, and a lady comes up to us and gives my son a paper conductor hat, because it's
National Train Day (who knew?). I thought it was pretty cool, but he didn't want any part of it. So, we ride down a few more stops, him asking questions all the while. Then, the lady comes back and gives him a wooden train whistle with the National Train Day silk screened on it. This he thought was pretty neat because of course it makes a loud noise, and would give a normal sane person a headache in a heartbeat. He blows it a few times before I nixed it and had him put it away for later. Then the lady gets off the train, and runs off to who knows where.
At this point we're looking at the lake, boats, and other stuff on the street when I notice that there's a purse in the chair that lady was sitting in. Turns out she left her purse when she got off the train. I go over to pick it up (gently opening it to make sure it wasn't a bomb or anything [yeah it's a post-9/11 world folks]). Just the usual cell phone, papers, a wallet, and the like. I hollered to the conductor, and he says that he could take it for lost and found, but that probably wouldn't be a great solution if we could find her. So he reluctantly gives me back the purse, and we disembark and begin walking up the sidewalk to the next train stop, looking for the woman. We didn't see anyone resembling her, so we went back to the platform to board the next train back to Westlake. The northbound train pulls in first, and who should pop out the door but the lady we were looking for.
She was so happy to get her purse back, that she gave my son a special pin that she got as a volunteer for National Train Day. He wore it proudly on his vest. So far, this was turning out to be a great adventure.
We got back to Westlake Center, and went back to the top level and purchased a $4.00 monorail round trip ticket to Seattle Center. We boarded the train, and rode the mile and a half past the Space Needle, and into "The Blob" that some people still call the Experience Music Project. We exited the train, and then decided that a tourist shot of a small boy with the Space Needle in the background would be cool.
Sure enough, the rides and carnival atmosphere at the Seattle Center was a fine thing for a young boy. Carousel rides, and the inflatable slide were big favorites. We ventured down to the Pacific Science Center, but they were open only for a couple more hours. We were both tired, so we decided to call it a day and head back. We walked back to the monorail platform, and waited for the train.
A quick trip back to Westlake Center, and we trotted down the stairs back to the street. Walked a block up to 4th Avenue, by the fountain where we waited for the bus, and my son proceeded to chase off a few dozen pigeons (one at a time) to keep the square safe for humanity. Finally the 545 comes and we board for the trip back to Redmond. A short nap and a quiet ride later, we arrive back at the Transit Center, and the adventure draws to a close.
A father and son outing, some adventure, and definitely fun for all. Not a bad way to spend a day in my book.