Seattle was a first for both of us, and David was excited for our visit to the Boeing Factory.

The Boeing Future of Flight includes a Boeing Everett Factory Tour, Gallery, Sky Deck and Boeing Store. Boeing Future of Flight is located in Mukilteo, WA next to Paine Field and the Boeing Everett Factory, 25 miles north of downtown Seattle.

There is the world's largest building per the Guinness World Records. They kept quoting the size compared to football fields, the Vatican, etc. This is largest building in the world by volume at over 472 million cubic feet (13,400,000 m3), which covers 98.3 acres (39.8 ha).

The entire complex covers approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha) and spans both sides of State Route 526 (named the Boeing Freeway). The factory was built in 1967 for the Boeing 747 and has since been expanded several times to accommodate new airliners, including the 767, 777, and 787 programs. More than 5,000 widebody aircraft have been built at the Everett factory since it opened.

We enjoyed seeing the production lines but noted that we saw very little human activity given that 30,000 people work here.

We saw the first retractable wings which will appear on the new 777x which has yet to be delivered to any airline. Its' wings are longer for better lift which leads to better fuel economy, but given their large wings they need to retract to fit at existing airport gates (think how side mirrors retract on our cars). Fascinating.

We enjoyed and recommend the tour but we wondered if they might have shared more technical information about how they develop the aircraft, and more details (eg., size, weight, capacity, fuel consumption, etc.). Also, I would have liked to see them add a section to excite young people into considering a career in engineering.

While there was some security and no cameras allowed we wondered if they had hidden security as this is a strategic site that makes both commercial and military aircraft.

That said, it was cool to see prototypes of flying cars. Will this happen in our lifetime?

Back in town we escaped the tour at the Seattle Needle, which was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair.

First though we had lunch at The Bar at the Chihuly Garden and Glass, followed by a visit through the museum. We loved the glass displays. So much colour and life. The glass throughout the exterior garden perfectly mimics flowers throughout. And we enjoyed the demonstration of glass blowing. We loved it.

After that we went up to the Seattle Needle at 605 ft (184 m) high. It was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River in the United States. The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude.

Elevators took us up to an observation deck 520 ft (160 m) above ground in 41 seconds, which gave us panoramic views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound. They also had a level with glass floors which David found freaky.

After the obligatory photos with David groaning per usual, we took the monorail to the downtown, did a little shopping and finally walked back to the ship.

After dinner we walked up to the ship's top deck and enjoyed the cool night air looking over the skyline of Seattle. Perhaps not as impressive as some but the city has its own quiet charm.

The next day we walked to Pike Place. This is really a fresh food, fruit and flower market with a lot of other goodies spread between.

This is the home of the original Starbucks so over course we had to pay homage as David is a huge Starbucks fan. We were worried we would find them arrogant but we found them warm and welcoming. The interior is original with the soft woods and the original logos. We had a coffee that is only available here. We were not disappointed and bowed appropriately to honour our favourite coffee as we departed.

We walked all around the market enjoying tastings and watching the people and action, including the fish mongers who throw the fish and other oddities that give this place its unique charm.

We then met Jeff & Kevin along with Michele & Kit, who live in Seattle, and had been on a previous leg of our cruise. We had a delightful lunch with views over the harbour before we walked back just moments before our 1:30 pm deadline to return for sailing.

We very much enjoyed the charm, quaintness and views of Seattle. For our perspective it is a beautiful place to visit and we enjoyed ourselves.

PS. Though Seattle has a reputation as a rainy place we had perfect weather and we are told that Houston actually receives more rain than they do here in Seattle.