The Space Needle in Seattle...

I found it amazing that this building/structure was opened in 1962...it seems so modern.

DH does not like heights but he hoped that he could overcome this fear and travel up to the top of the Space Needle...and he did. Mind you, when he saw that the lift (elevator) goes on the outside of the building he hesitated a bit...

 The place seemed to be jammed packed with other visitiors when we got up to the top and DH took these photos staying well away from the outside area...

But not for long...we both went outside and enjoyed the view...

I took a photo of DH taking photos to prove to DsD3 that her dad had indeed overcome his fear. 

So here are some of the photos that we took that afternoon...

The spider sculpture in the above collage was on the roof of the building adjacent to the tower...a real spider that size would be a bit of a worry!!!

The downtown area...

 The big ferris wheel...

 I had noticed a building on the side of a hill in the distance; using the zoom, we got a good view. Still don't know that the building is though.

 Great 360 degree views...

But maybe you've noticed the haze in some of the photos? The smoke was from the wildfires/bushfires burning in the east of Washington state while we were there (and afterwards too I believe). We couldn't see very far into the distance as a result and missed seeing Mt Rainier. (which I read later is a volcano!) 

   

Now just before we entered the lift that takes you up to the top of the Space Needle, everyone had to stop for a photo. I wasn't impressed as so many tourist places have these almost obligatory photo shoots and then charge $25 or so for the pics...we usually don't buy these. But here at the Space Needle, if you go to one of the computer terminals and type in the number they give you, then an email address they promise to email this photo to you...gratis!!! And they did...cynical Mrs Next Stage was proven wrong! Lol. And look! There's Mt Rainier to the right of us in the background :-)

 As well we had another photo emailed to us. We stood on a 'spot' outside the observation deck and a photo was automatically taken. 

Love it! We'd had a lovely afternoon and instead of catching the monorail, we walked back towards our hotel, stopping for a coffee on the way. It's a beautiful city to stroll around enjoying the lovely gardens, public art and the range of interesting looking buildings.