Flying to anywhere in Canada is very expensive, so we found it cheaper to fly to Seattle, WA first and spend the night. Our trip started with a 7:05 AM departure on Southwest Airlines; the clouds picture was taken about 20 minutes after we took off. Once we arrived in Seattle we met up with our friends Frank and Tom from Atlanta, GA, who were joining us for the trip. We all stayed at a very nice Westin in the downtown area.

Looking out our window we could see a monorail that connected downtown with the Space Needle. After a late afternoon lunch at a restaurant (the Icon Grill) by the hotel we took the monorail to the Space Needle. First they took a complimentary picture of the four of us (the larger thumbnail below), then we proceeded up into the tower. Beautiful views, but also cold and windy! A refreshing change from the sauna that is Central Florida. After the needle, it was off to the drug store for snacks and then we all retired to our rooms for the evening.