Space Needle: The final frontier

We picked a GREAT day to go to the Space Needle. Today was the launch of Angry Birds Space and to celebrate, there was a giant Angry Bird ready to be launched on the Space Needle!

We walked over from Amber’s work just after lunch.

I see something in the distance…

Wow! I am getting so excited!

The clouds and the sky looked very beautiful. The Space Needle was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair and now it is the first thing people think of when they think of the Seattle skyline. We have passed it everyday going into Amber’s work and I was really excited to be there.

“Built in 1962, the Space Needle served as the symbol of that year's World's Fair. It has since become the symbol of Seattle, and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.” http://www.spaceneedle.com/aboutus/

Having an Angry Bird was even better!

Near the main elevators

Heading up to the observation deck.

 

I LOVE SEATTLE!

I bought a t-shirt but it is a bit big. Hopefully 3D Justice will fill it out better.

What city landmarks have you been to?

Seattle Fun Facts (I thought we’d do a lot since the Space Needle ROCKS):

Space Needle Fun Facts
The Structure
- Top of the Space Needle - Aircraft Warning Beacon: 605 feet
- Observation Deck: 520 feet
- Revolving SkyCity Restaurant: 500 feet
- SkyLine Banquet Facility: 100 feet
- Pavilion entrance and SpaceBase Retail Shop: ground level
- Bottom of foundation: 30 feet below ground
- The Space Needle was built on a 120’ x 120’ lot formerly owned by the city of Seattle, which was sold to investors for $75,000 in 1961, just one year before the opening of the World’s Fair.
- There are 848 steps from the bottom of the basement to the top of the Observation Deck.
- During the construction of the Space Needle, it took 467 cement trucks less than 12 hours to fill the foundation hole (30 feet deep and 120 feet across); this was the largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West.
- When the Space Needle was built in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
- The foundation weighs 5,850 tons and there are 250 tons of reinforcing steel alone (i.e., rebar) in the foundation. The Needle structure weighs 3,700 tons.
- The center of gravity for the Space Needle is 5 feet above the ground.
- The Space Needle is fastened to its foundation with 72 bolts, each 30 feet in length.
- The Space Needle sways approximately 1 inch for every 10 mph of wind. It was built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour, doubling the 1962 building code requirements. When winds around the Needle reach high speeds, 35 mph or higher, the elevators are designed to reduce their traveling speed to 5 mph for safety reasons. During the 1993 Inaugural Day storm, wind gusts reached 90 mph
and the top house was closed for an hour and a half.
- On a hot day the Space Needle expands about one inch.
- There are 25 lightning rods (24 actual rods plus the tower) on the roof of the Needle to withstand lightning strikes.
- Diameter of the halo is 138 feet.

http://www.spaceneedle.com/

Dashing Through the Slush

March just so happens to be the start of the racing season for Amber. Luckily, I was at my peak weight, slim and ready to race.

The run is one of the most fun possible in Seattle. The St. Pat’s Dash! http://www.stpatsdash.com/ 
Our friend TitaniumSpork (Ti-Spo, or Spork22, I haven’t decided what to call her) has run this every year since she started running and this was Amber's first fun run ever when she ran it five years ago.  Actually, 3DJustice’s mom ran it with her in 2007 on a rainy grey morning!

I kept that experience in mind and got dressed up in my best rain gear.

Lucky that I did since it was rainy when we got to the starting line. We only had time to pose for a few pictures before it was time to line up and run.

 

Then we ran like the wind! The green was all around us. Our fellow racers were dressed up in fun costumes and everyone was in great St. Patrick’s Day spirits.

The run went around Seattle, starting and finishing at the Seattle Center. The finish line had snack booths, water, freebies and there were bagpipe players wandering around. Amber and Ti-Spo had been telling me how much fun road runs are and they were right! The mood and the people were so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again.

Afterwards we all headed to the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle and met up with Michael for a post-race breakfast. While we were eating the slushy rain turned into snow. Not enough to stick but enough to make us glad we weren’t still out there running.

It was a good day.

Have you ever done a fun run/race?

Seattle Fun Fact: The Seattle Space Needle was built to be the center of attention at the 1962 World's Fair.
Read more: Seattle Space Needle Facts | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5140066_seattle-space-needle.html#ixzz1poPnUDw2

Science Rules

Last week Amber took me to work with her. She works in Seattle at a biotechnology company called PhaseRx. Most of her work is done in a science lab. The lab is in an area called Lower Queen Anne, right on the Puget Sound where cruise ships and ferries go by all day long.

We started our day at her desk. We had to do some math calculations to decide how much of different chemicals we wanted to add when we went into the lab.

Safety is VERY important in labs. Everyone wears a lab coat and eye protection whenever they are in the lab.

I have an existing eye injury so I chose to work in the chemical safety hood which has glass to keep your eyes safe.

We worked in the lab and I even got to look at things under the microscope.

Have you ever been in a science lab? What was your favorite thing there?

Seattle Fun Fact: Seattle has the highest percentage of residents with a college degree or higher.

No room for my inner artist

Being 2D, sometimes I can’t contain the artist inside of me. Amber and Michael appreciated that and took me to Palettes and Pairings to meet some of their friends and let me try my hand at painting.

The instructor was SO nice! She lived in Norco so she knew all about my home and was really happy to show me a good time. She also knew a cousin of mine who had come to visit her in Norco! We started by preparing the background of our canvas by mixing four colors together. While that dried we grabbed some snacks and chatted. Once everyone was ready the instructor showed us, step by step, how to paint poppies.

The whole group made the same painting but they were all unique and different in their own way.

I don’t want to brag, but mine was the probably best. Amber could use some work; I’ll work with her before I leave.

Have you ever taken a fun class with friends?

Seattle Fun Fact: Seattleites buy more sunglasses per capita than any other city in the nation. So much for the myths of rain and clouds here.

Snow Day

I was all ready to to write about my day in the lab and then…

it snowed!

We don’t get very much snow in Corona, so waking up to a blanket of the white stuff was very exciting! Sadly, there was only a sprinkling of snow to be had this morning.

Amber and Michael told me that there was much more snow in January. Enough to make Amber miss work for two days!

Seattle is not as snowy as cities are in really wintery states like Alaska or Minnesota. We looked it up (on the NOAA website) and Seattle only gets an average of 11 inches per year and somewhere called Valdez, Alaska gets more than 300 inches on average! 

I guess that is my Seattle fun fact for today!

Have you ever woken up to a snow day?

Sushi Making

Tonight we made our own sushi. Sushi originated in Japan and can be made a lot of different ways. Amber and Michael decided we’d try making maki-zushi. This kind has special sushi rice and can be filled with any kind of  meat or veggies you’d like.

We gathered our supplies:

And Michael and I got busy making the rice

Once the rice was ready and our fillings were prepared,

we were ready to roll!

Then it was time to eat!

Have you ever tried a new food seemed a little strange? What did you think about it?

Seattle Fun Fact:  The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (SR-520) is the longest floating bridge in the world. The Mercer Island Floating Bridge (I-90) was the first floating bridge in the world (1950). Three of the world’s six floating bridges are in WA.

Buses and Bridges

Yesterday I went into work with Amber and Michael. They both work in downtown Seattle and they take the bus every day from Redmond to Seattle.

We started our morning at the Redmond Park and Ride which is where bus riders can park their cars and catch the bus. We caught our bus and headed out.

 

Between Redmond and Seattle is Lake Washington which is a very large lake. There are two bridges that go across the lake and they are both floating bridges which make you feel like you are floating right on top of the water.

We took SR-520, there is a bald eagle who lives nearby but we didn’t spot him yesterday.

Amber says she had never seen a bald eagle when she lived in California but she has seen SO MANY bald eagles in the wild here in Washington. Luckily my eyes are always open to spot one while I’m here!

 

My first sighting of the Space Needle!

I will report back tomorrow on my day at work.

Have you ever seen a bald eagle in the wild?

Seattle Fun Fact: In 1961, the restaurant atop the Space Needle became the country’s first revolving eatery.