After last night's farewell dinner, we were headed on our separate ways today, although several of us went on Archers-organised optional trips. Jose walked us up to the hotel where we were to meet our tour bus. There was just the three of us Di, Paul and me, going to Boeing. Dave wasn't interested so he was off on another tour.
Funnily enough, we were on our Gray Line Seattle bus waiting to go on our Future of Flight Boeing Tour when Jose came marching past with Dave, and a bunch of others going to their tour meeting place. Got to say, once the tour is 'over' we usually don't see the Tour Director again, but Jose was still there for us. A nice touch, I think. Thanks Jose.
The Gray Line driver didn't check our tickets but headed out. There were about ten or twelve of us and he gave us a few tips about Seattle on the way out to the Boeing Factory. He didn't seem as engaged as the usual Gray Line tour bus driver.
Our arrival didn't bode well. Usually, with Gray Line, if you are going into a venue, the driver will walk in the guests with the tickets and hand them off to the supplier. Not here. He dropped us at the door and said "See you later." We pushed him to find out when he was picking us up - kind of important information we thought. We weren't happy with the "When you're finished" response he gave, but pushing got us nowhere. Puzzled at this point, we went inside. One couple lagged behind to talk to the driver - they were on the wrong tour! They thought they were on the Seattle City Tour, and now they were stuck at Boeing. Oops! Worse, they had tickets for the Boeing tour with their friends the next day. Oh dear. They came in to the museum with us.
It got worse. When we arrived at the counter, the reception lady wouldn't accept that we were on the tour as she didn't have names. She needed the Gray Line driver to explain how many there were and what time, etc. So, one of the guys on the bus jogged out to the parking lot to get the driver. Fortunately, he hadn't left yet. He was obviously clueless - We found out later he was one of the managers standing in for a missing driver (which explains the slight delay to the pick-up time earlier that we hadn't realised wasn't normal). He got us sorted - our Factory tour would be in about forty minutes, that would take a further ninety minutes, and he would pick us up shortly after that. He'd be waiting for us. We couldn't miss him. Probably. We'd find out.
In the meantime, we left the wrong tour couple with the driver - I think he eventually took them back into Seattle, although I don't know if they made the tour they wanted. This was not Gray Line's best day. And I usually love Gray Line!
With just over half an hour to see the Future of Flight exhibits we made a dash for it. Down the ramp and into what is, in reality, a single-room exhibit. They have a number of models with information about their key models, and weirdly an Airbus or two, but I guess if they are about history, they'd have to mention the new-ish double-decker A380. They also have their newest model, the 787 Dreamliner, but more about that later.
It's a bit of a plane crash of a place, with engines left lying around all over the place, as well as bits of undercarriage. They have a mock up of the new Dreamliner engine, made by Rolls Royce. They even provided some useful facts - like this engine could suck all of the air out of the Future of Flight museum in less than 4 seconds! Or that each of the turbine's blades have similar power to a Nascar engine - and there are 66 blades per engine! They had a panel explaining the differences of aeroplane tyres (or airplane tires?) over regular car tyres but I won't bore you. Go see for yourself.
There was a vertical tail fin and rudder off a 747, which was pretty large - but then so is the plane. There is another engine available for use on the Dreamliner - a GE90 Turbofan. Seems you have choices when picking out your new 787.
They have a Boeing 727 cockpit where you can sit at the controls. But, health and safety guys be relieved, you should NOT! sit with a child on your lap as it might die!!!!!! Well, okay, it didn't actually say that. More that the two yokes were still active and if you sit in the pilot or co-pilot's seat and fiddle with the control column you could injure a child - or bear - sitting in your lap. But mostly only if you're stupid. Still, it was cool to pretend to b a pilot for a few minutes. And yes, I know I need a booster seat.
There's a section on the Passenger Experience and I'd like to experience more of these life-flat chair beds! If I'm honest, though, I think I prefer this private jet layout - they are planning a 787 business jet with beds and showers. I'll get mine on order... They also have a section on the modern materials used for the 787 Dreamliner - they are using much more composite, approximately 50% is now this combination of carbon fibre threads and resins, making the plane lighter.
It was soon time for the factory tour and it was at this time that Boeing became very anti-bear! For some reason best known to themselves, you cannot take anything with you onto the tour. No phones, no cameras, no loose items and very definitely no bears! What am I, an espionage bear? Like you can't already find out everything you want to know on the internet. Or mabye they don't want me falling into one of their new engines and clogging it up. Anyway, I was stuffed into a locker. Again. While Di and Paul did the tour. If what they tell you is rubbish, don't blame me - if you don't like it, I'll tell you what I did for 90 minutes crammed in a small locker. I didn't even have a book!
The Boeing Factory Tour started with a movie about the history of Boeing, before heading outside to get on a bus. Another problem - the sound system wasn't working so the guide had to resort to shouting. They were on the very back row of the bus so couldn't hear so well. They got to the first stop and were taken inside the 747 hangar. Like DisneyWorld, there is a maze of tunnels beneath the construction area and they took them into those, before going up to see the 747s being made. The first photo below is the series of hangars where all the planes are constructed. The second is a collection of Boeings they have lying around the place.
The next bus had a working PA System! Next was the hangar where the 767s were assembled. They are all done assembly-line style, with pre-constructed sections being added - wings to fuselage, nose, tail and undercarriage. The tour showed how the planes move along a yellow line progressing. The last stage was to cover the plane ready to go for painting, depending on the company who the plane is made for. The third photo below is the Paint Shop. They didn't see inside.
The final part of the tour was to see the assembly line for the new 787 - the first ones were about to roll off the production line apparently. While it's cool to see the line, it was a Saturday morning and the factory is a living factory, not a mock up, so there was very little activity actually happening. Unfortunately, it was the only free day we had so we had to go then, or not go at all. D&P reckoned it would be better to see people actually building the planes, but you can't have everything.
Back on the bus for one last ride back to the main facility, past the Paint Shop - you guessed it, they dropped everyone off at the gift shop! Paul bought a Boeing watch, which has some interesting timing issues (pausing, then jumping ahead and occasionally going backwards! I'm guessing Boeing didn't actual make it...or I'd be more worried about their aeroplanes), but otherwise there wasn't an exciting array of stuff.
Hooray, they rescued me from my claustrophobic cell and we spotted our Gray Line driver hanging around. We checked and he was happy for us to take the time to go up to the observation deck to take a look over the airfield.
While up there, we saw the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter is a modified 747-400 designed exclusively for transporting parts of the new 787. This enables Boeing to ship pre-constructed parts of the 787 straight to the Boeing factory, reducing land and sea shipping times. If you think of a regular 747, there are two floors, with a raised cockpit, but here, on the Dreamlifter, the cargo bag rises even higher than the cockpit.
So, is it worth it? We-ell...it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The Future of Flight exhibit is a little dry, so could get boring for younger kids and their bears, especially if they are too short for the tour (hmph!) They have some kind of design your own plane area but we didn't have time to check that out. As to the factory tour, it would have been better if the factory had been in operation, but it was still worth seeing (so I'm told, anyway.) So, they lost a Ted for the locker incident, and for the museum's lack of inspiration.
As to Gray Line, they definitely dropped the ball on this one, but they did what we needed them to do - transport us to the Factory and back again, which they did. So, not all bad.
We returned to the hotel to plan our afternoon and we decided to check out the Seattle Ducks. We've done several Duck tours over the years - Washington DC, Boston, they're always fun and we didn't have any other plans. We booked online from the hotel room to make sure we had our reservations and then set out to walk (or be carried) the few blocks to the Duck Dock, at the bottom of the Space Needle.
We arrived to the mayhem that is Ducks and people and picked up our tickets. As it was our turn, who should appear on an arriving Duck but Dave - my other trusty-ish assistant. What a coincidence. We didn't even know he was riding the ducks and he arrived just as we were about to board. Although, I'm not sure about our driver...he seems a bit short. And furry.
So, what is a Duck? Technically, it's a DUKW - an amphibious World War II landing craft, delivering cargo from ship to shore. Able to withstand the choppy ocean and exit the water without a problem, these cool vehicles performed in several battles in Europe and elsewhere, including supporting the landing on Iwo Jima. A lot of these DUKWs or Ducks are now used for civilian tourism, with a little anarchy thrown in. While you get a city tour, you get part on land and part by lake, with plenty of music and quacking thrown in. Trust me - it's worth it!
Our captain, for this trip was Captain Willy B. Famus (they all have similarly elegant names!) He gave us a quick safety briefing - the sides are open, if we sink, swim out (I think that was it) and we were on our way (on land, so not likely to sink, I might add). We passed the Music Project and the Space Needle and hit the road. We passed the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal from where you can catch an Alaskan Cruise (and others).
Seattle also has an aquarium and it is also down by the cruise terminal. As we were waiting at traffic lights, a couple of cool Cadillacs drew alongside. A lot of quacking in appreciation ensued. You can buy a quacker at the Ducks Dock to join in, I'm just too cheap. Or should that be "cheep"? We passed by those sports fields I keep telling you about - Safeco Field and Qwest Field.
Down in the Pioneer Square area, there are a collection of different statues like this horse made of what looks like junk or this blacksmith working on an anvil outside the Seattle Art Museum. Then we were down by Lake Union and about to enter the water...
This is the moment when our Duck entered Lake Union. Nice bit of launch music to go with it - nothing if not overstated, eh? But it's cool being on an amphibious tour bus.
That houseboat on the right photo below may look familiar. It is the one from the movie Sleepless in Seattle, or so Willy said - why would I not believe it? I don't want to have to go watch it again. The middle picture is of Gasworks Park - a public park built on the site of a former gasification plant.
Taking to the water with Captain Famus, he seemed to get a little overexcited. I love that those boats over there are not the Deadliest Catch boats. I'm guessing they are also not the Jaws boat, nor the Titanic, but thanks for pointing it out Willy!
We spotted another duck while crossing Lake Union, so we gave them a good quacking (well, those folks on the bus who weren't too cheap to buy a quacker quacked them!) Then it was time to leave the water. Not quite the same fanfare, but still an event.
Then we were heading back - we past last night's restaurant, Ivar's Salmon House, a weird bus stop of statue people (which apparently the locals like to dress up!) before recrossing Fremont Bridge, that had caused us so much trouble the evening before.
There was just time for a little singing (and dancing) before we arrived back at the Duck Dock. I'll admit, I'm a bit rubbish at the whole Y-M-C-A spelling thing, but it's my arms. They just weren't designed for that kind of musical spelling. Sorry about that. Maybe you can join in? (It's okay, I can't hear you...fortunately.)
Yes, I do believe that's the Captain joining in with the arm movements! No one said YMCA-ing was banned when you're driving...just mobile phones and he didn't use one of those!
Overall, it was a great tour. Okay, so you may not get quite as many facts as a regular tour (and I can't vouch for all the facts you do get!), but you'll have a lot more fun. I have to say, I've never seen so many different freaky hats on a captain! It's a great trip and I thoroughly recommend it, next time you're in Seattle (or go see if they have Ducks whereever else you go).
We took the Seattle Monorail back to the stop nearest our hotel as it was another box to tick (and marginally saved our feet, although it was almost as far as the Duck Dock). It wasn't a long ride though, what with there only being two stops - the Westlake Center and the Space Needle - it only takes two minutes each way! I did get a quick go in the driver's seat at Westlake - the driver changes ends at each stop so he let me have a quick drive - NOT while we were moving, I hasten to add! (Don't want to get him fired!)
We called in the hotel bar, the Sixth Avenue Bar and Grill on the way into the hotel, to see if they served veggie food. The servers said not, so we spent the next hour or more searching the internet to find somewhere local that did. As we had an early start, though, we eventually gave up and went to eat in the bar anyway. Sitting at a table in the bar, what should we find on the table? A menu. Well done. And guess what they had on the menu? Pizza. Veggie pizza even. Dummies. When we said, "So, you DO have veggie food?" our waitress said oh yes. She'd never thought to mention it earlier. Grrr. So, we could have been in bed an hour earlier! Lost 'em a couple of Teds, that did. Oh well, the pizza was good and we saw quite a few of our group gradually come into the bar. Several were heading down to the cruise liners for their own Alaska cruise the following day. Eventually, we turned in.
