Monday, August 15, 2011
Another fantastic day! We started out with a quick breakfast of pancakes and eggs. We actually ate in this morning because it was just a little too cool to eat at the picnic table. Then we closed everything up and took off down I-5 about 45 miles. We turned off towards Mukilteo, passed by the world’s largest (by volume) building, the Boeing factory, and pulled into the lot at the Future of Flight center, where the tours of the Boeing plant begin. We were early for our reserved tour time, so looked around in the store and spent quite a while going through the Future of Flight museum. It contains many interesting displays about the history of the planes made by Boeing. Barney seemed fascinated by a display of a GE engine. He said it was more than a little bigger than the ones he had worked on.
The tour is a “hands free” zone, so a few minutes before 11 we rented a locker for our bags, cameras and cell phones. Nothing like that is allowed. We were directed towards an auditorium where our tour guides greeted us and ran a short video about Boeing. Then we went out the back doors and loaded into two Greyline tour buses. We could see the building across the street, but it would have taken a while to hoof it. They advertise the tour as being about one third of a mile walk, with 21 steep stairs. That is only one way, and at one end of the building. We went to both ends, loading back into the buses to get down to the other end. The doors are as big as or bigger than a football field, and there are at least five. It is an amazing place, and the tour was terrific. The tour groups are quite large, and at times it was a little hard to hear the guide, but he was very good. We saw 747s, 777s and 787s in the production line. And not just one of each. The building is gigantic! More than 98 acres under one roof. 75 NFL football fields would fit inside. The 777s can fly nonstop from any airport in the world to any other airport in the world without stopping to refuel. Needless to say, all of us really enjoyed our morning! Before we left, we found a penny smasher and took advantage of the four designs they offered (Space Needle, Mount Rainier, Washington State Ferries, and the Future of Flight Center).
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| Betty taking a picture of Barney in front of the GE engine. |
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| The Dreamlifters shown are two of the only four built by Boeing. |
The tour is a “hands free” zone, so a few minutes before 11 we rented a locker for our bags, cameras and cell phones. Nothing like that is allowed. We were directed towards an auditorium where our tour guides greeted us and ran a short video about Boeing. Then we went out the back doors and loaded into two Greyline tour buses. We could see the building across the street, but it would have taken a while to hoof it. They advertise the tour as being about one third of a mile walk, with 21 steep stairs. That is only one way, and at one end of the building. We went to both ends, loading back into the buses to get down to the other end. The doors are as big as or bigger than a football field, and there are at least five. It is an amazing place, and the tour was terrific. The tour groups are quite large, and at times it was a little hard to hear the guide, but he was very good. We saw 747s, 777s and 787s in the production line. And not just one of each. The building is gigantic! More than 98 acres under one roof. 75 NFL football fields would fit inside. The 777s can fly nonstop from any airport in the world to any other airport in the world without stopping to refuel. Needless to say, all of us really enjoyed our morning! Before we left, we found a penny smasher and took advantage of the four designs they offered (Space Needle, Mount Rainier, Washington State Ferries, and the Future of Flight Center).
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| Getting on the ferry boat |
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| The rolling caves on the ferry boat. |
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| Wilma and Betty and Barney on the boat. |
Upon leaving the Flight Center, we headed down the road about four miles and got in line at the ferry terminal to head over to Whidbey Island. The ferry was in and almost ready to load as we bought our tickets. If we had had to wait, we could have enjoyed lunch at Ivar’s there at the landing, but alas, our timing was off and we got right on the ferry. Twenty minutes or so later and we were offloading at Clinton on Whidbey Island. We did splurge and stop at DQ for lunch. The food at the Future of Flight was a little on the pricy side, as were some of the items in the gift shop there. We looked at a carry bag made from airplane seat upholstery fabric, and it was $275.
We came away without one!
We then continued north on the island, heading for the little town of Coupeville. The VC there had the stamp we were looking for, and after stamping our books, we were off to the south a few miles to Fort Casey and Admiralty Head Lighthouse. There we got the remaining passport book stamp for the island, and also got the lighthouse stamp in our lighthouse book.
We then continued north on the island, heading for the little town of Coupeville. The VC there had the stamp we were looking for, and after stamping our books, we were off to the south a few miles to Fort Casey and Admiralty Head Lighthouse. There we got the remaining passport book stamp for the island, and also got the lighthouse stamp in our lighthouse book.
Since it was about 4 pm, we checked out the campground at Fort Casey, and got two spots of the few that remained. Got checked in and settled in, then sat at the picnic table and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day. We are right next to the ferry terminal where we will cross tomorrow to Port Townsend, and we have enjoyed watching the ferries come and go.
We are also just a few miles from a naval station, and suddenly our peace and quiet was shattered with three navy planes doing FCLPs, which Barney says stands for field carrier landing practice. It was screaming loud for a little more than an hour. Then later as we were having an evening snack at the picnic table, three more started the same routine. They were a different style plane, and made a little different noise, but still screaming loud!
Peace has returned, another ferry is just docking, it is cooling off a little too much to be out without outer wear, so we are wrapping it up and will say goodnight.
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