Spending so much time at Mount St. Helens meant I would be arriving very late in Seattle which was another 2.5 hrs away. I like to be off the road and checked into my hotel by 6:00, but tonight it would be 9:00 or after.
I am spending two nights 20 miles northeast of Seattle in a community called Bothell. Planning this trip I learned about a development group in Oregon and Washington which buys older properties and repurposes them into hotels. However, these do not just become hotels; they become destinations!
The McMenamin Historic Hotel company adds restaurants and bars, movie theaters, and concert venues while maintaining the character of the original structure and decorating based on that theme. I tried to stay at McMenamin’s Edgefield outside Portland which was once the area poorhouse. I couldn’t get a reservation; it was packed!
I found McMenamin’s Anderson School in Bothell, built in 1931, and served as a junior high and alternative high school before the doors closed and the property set vacant. Sounds like a winner!
I arrive late, tired, and hungry. I drive through several parking lots and circle the property before finally parking and unloading. I find the swimming pool and tiki bar, restaurant, bar, vegetable and flower gardens, market, meeting rooms, and even the theater, but where is the dang-gum check-in?
I finally get directions, and I am not happy. I tell the poor receptionist I am too old and too tired to be hunting for the front desk, I am parked too far away...yah,yah,yah.
She smiled, she listened, and agreed it was confusing. Her compassion in the face of my grimace...and maybe the pricking of my conscience...totally changed my attitude. The tootsie rolls on the counter didn’t hurt either! I felt bad I had been rude and apologized profusely. Lord, give me patience!
Watch out!
The main brick school building is now comprised of hotel rooms. Three original building complete the courtyard - the gym now the kitchen, theater, and meeting rooms, the wood shop and Home Ec - now the bar and lounge areas, and the cafeteria - now the main restaurant, gift shop and front desk.
My room is large with huge double hung windows that I remember from elementary school just like the staircase.
Each room is named after someone significant to the school. I am in Elmer Carlsberg’s room and information about him is framed inside. He organized reunions and wrote local history columns for the town’s paper. In 1962, he attended the World’s Fair to cover news about “the future.”
Hallways are lined with paintings, sports memorabilia or other items relating to the building’s former life as a school.
Wooden lockers hold supplies for housekeeping.
Light fixtures are a myriad assortment blending artfully into the vintage time period.
Every morning and evening the Principal’s Office is open for coffee and snacks! White mugs are in each room for guests to enjoy their caffeine fix.
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My room has interesting reading on the shelf. Wonder if these were in the school’s library? Choices range from “Knitting “ to “The Sexual Occupation of Japan”!
I love this place! If I was in commercial development, I would copy this idea for the east coast!
I GPS directions to downtown Seattle, and I drive...and drive...and finally arrive at the dead end of an alley. I had mistakenly added “S” to the address.
Lord, give me patience!
The iconic Space Needle is a Seattle landmark. It was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair, and at 605 ft, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Built to withstand winds of 200 mph and a 9.0 earthquake, it has an observation deck, a rotating restaurant, and see-through floors.
I see the Seattle skyline,
ferries on Puget Sound,
and Mount Rainier.
An optional activity with my ticket is virtual bungee-jumping! At first I think, “No way!”, but after watching other people, I decide to give it a try. How badly can I embarrass myself?
A headset is strapped on, and the video starts with me standing on the edge of the Space Needle upper platform. On the count of 3, I dive off!
It’s not so bad at first, but a water fountain is rapidly approaching. I involuntarily give a little yelp! I hear laughter, and it’s not from me!
Lunch is at the Armory which has been turned into a food court. Love these re-purposed buildings!
The Chihuly exhibit is a fantasy land to walk through. Dale Chihuly is from the Pacific NW and the master of unconventional glass creating techniques and drawing inspiration from the area’s ubiquitous water and Native American culture. His colors and displays are amazing!
Look at the glass work and then its reflection!
And then ChIhuly’s garden displays!
It’s time to return to my paid parking, but I can’t find the lot. I even took a picture of the address, but my Google maps lead me further away.
OR maybe I just can’t follow the directions! What was suppose to be a 4-minute walk becomes almost an hour! I didn’t know Seattle had so many hills!
Lord, give me patience!
I finally put the GPS away and retrace my steps to the Space Needle. I find my car, but I also find a parking ticket! The parking attendant can’t change it even when I explain I’m late because I couldn’t find the lot. I remember I didn’t like being a grinch so I politely get in my car.
Lord, give me patience!
Rush hour traffic takes me 2-hrs to return to my schoolhouse room 20 miles away.
Lord, give me patience!
A delightful dinner under artistic metal tiki torches along with blackberry cider ends my day.
Ok, Lord, I get it.....PATIENCE!
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