A turbulent start, a home and the history of aviation (Seattle: Part 1)

Factsheet 4×1

Date: 11/09/2012 the 20/09/2012

Saímos of: Portland, OR – USA

Final destiny: Seattle, WA - EUA

Total distance: little more than 275 km

Travel time: 3 ½ hours.

Path: We follow the main road: I-5N.

Where to sleep: Valentine in the family home.

What we eat good: Salmon! Both in the home and in restaurants on Valentine Public Market. Moreover, the dish with hamburger sandwich, accompanied by a salad of quinoa and shrimp, in the Valentine boat.

Filled Tire : Undoubtedly the experience of living in a typical American home at the family home Valentine! Also worth mentioning a visit to Museum of Flight.

Tire murcho: Again being deceived by the rental car and the error of our customs agent who forced us to stay more days than we should, without Tanajura.

If we took for the first hour in Seattle, experience that there would be nothing friendly. We went there with a focus: Tanajura withdraw and move to Alaska. But a mistake of our customs agent and a loving family transformed the experience in Seattle in one of the most enjoyable expedition today!

It was a Tuesday. And at 10am the first time we could see Mount Hood, Seated east of Portland, Oregon State do not. On our way out of town we were crowned with an open sky that allowed us to, for the first time, sighting the majestic volcanic mountain that is one of the city's postcards. We start empolgados rumo the North, how to get to Seattle before, in neighboring Washington state (more specifically to the Port of Tacoma). We had a goal: Tanajura withdraw from the port and from the earliest to Alaska! Or why? Friends and expeditionary some Americans we had found the path warned us that summer was ending and the cold arrived earlier in the far north of the continent.

Tacoma is a city in the south of metropolitan Seattle. Within hours after leaving Portland we were in Customs (customs) the port with all the paperwork, as directed by our customs agent (treated the same as the entire process from Cartagena Tanajura) when, suddenly: tchan tchan tchan!! According to the customs officer, lacked the most important roles : umaa letter of authorization from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)… “Ok, and where we can fix it?"- Asked. "Easy, you will have to call the Ronald EPA, em Michigan, and asked to send a letter. He sends, you come back here and retire the car. "- said the official. And we link… ”…between 7 the 10 business days to send the letter "- warned that the Ronald. We did not believe! This could cost us between 10 the 14 days in Seattle and cold in Alaska would not expect. If the snow came hard to lose the visit to Denali Park. We did not understand how it was possible the country considered the most practical, unbureaucratic and organized in the continent almost attach 15 days in a process that took less than 5 to do in Colombia.

We rushed to send an email to our agent (em Miami) to see if it was right. If there was nothing we could do to speed this up. And we question why this has not been alerted before, once he knew of our design goals. After all, beyond time lost, lose money with rates stay in the car port and in our food these days more. Well, his response? Mal created, disrespectful and offensive. It's not worth going into detail, it is now our turn and quite upset. We were now in their hands (Gaston Etchart - Miami agent; and Ronald - EPA agent in Michigan). That left us waiting. The Tuesday had been long. We take a soup and left farther north, rumo à Seattle, to know the valentine.

Não knew, but that all turbulence, and hopes to peel Tanajura longa, would bring us a great privilege later. It's like they say: "There are evils that comes to the well".

Then, was.

Coincidence or not the destination, I get home from Valentine at the same time em Rebecca (mother), Alexa (eldest daughter) Jaimie has e (youngest daughter) touched the car. Rebecca is the niece of the lady who hosted the Geyza (tia do Bruno) when in their exchange in the U.S.. So, Rebecca and Geyza became friends and, years after Rebecca would spend a few months with Geyza in Brazil. In an exchange of e-mails recently, Rebecca spoke for the Geyza and Bruno that we could stay at their house during the em Seattle. And so we got there, Valentine in the family home.

After the initial introductions, within minutes we felt at home already, size affection and freedom they gave us. Até o Rilley (Labrador family) was already familiar with us. And later, then, James arrived (Rebecca's husband and father of her child)! Cheerful, spontaneous and communicative piece that was completed one harmonious family environment.

Rebecca owns a company that makes changes and international, then, customs activities were commonplace in their day-to-day. She gave us some tips and suggestions on how we might accelerate our process. We left the next morning after another and even passed customs office of the EPA in Seattle. It did not help. We would also expect the time that Ronald would take to send a letter. And so we set off to the airport to return the 'Beetle' - as it was ending its lease period - and we would rent a new car. After all, home dos Valentine ficava to uns 25 miles from downtown Seattle and over 40 km from the port of Tacoma. There we were again to face the old problem of car rentals in the U.S. (as mentioned in the post Los Angeles) The novel began: different price negotiated by phone, Misleading information, annoyance, threat of changing rental, negotiation with another rental, dropped in price, offering better car, hours, hours, and more hours and finally got a great price and a nice car (it was the least importava).

It was time to enjoy it and relax a few days in Seattle…

We reached the house and the first big surprise: Rebecca had made us a wonderful dinner: Grilled Salmon, com arroz quinoa, salad and wine! A Alexa (eldest daughter) was no longer in the house, it had returned to California, where does college. But beyond us, Rebecca had invited his partner, We Bonissima a miner named Caesar. And the conversation went until the wee hours!

Rebecca Caesar and dinner too had commented on Caesar's house by Lake Washington. And after the invitation of Caesar, we spend the morning and early afternoon at his home, even if he was not there. A gorgeous home built in environments with different levels and a magnificent view of the lake. We sat on the deck facing the lake for a few hours chatting and enjoying the sun (which apparently is rare in Seattle, but we courted almost every day we were in town)

Located within the isthmus (strip of land) between an estuary (strait formed by bays, basins and channels) do Oceano Pacífico e o lago Washington, Seattle has always been an important port city. The city, that had its beginning in logging (from 1852), grew haphazardly and without much planning. Production flowed through vessel, basically to San Francisco - CA and, thus became prostitutes barn, drinks and gambling - for being "attractive" for sailors and loggers. But from the discovery of gold in the Yukon Territories (Canada not) and Alaska, began a frenzied gold rush in the region. So, from 1987, the city took advantage of the moment and its waters served, also, springboard for explorers who went, pincipalmente, for Alaska! (are seeing! It was not just us ) This period brought major investment and the first steps towards the development of an infrastructure planned over the port and city, the late 20…

And the Expedition 4×1 also would have their moment on that historic bay! We left the house of Caesar and continue to the pier K, Seattle Marine na, where we were hoping James, Rebecca and Jamie to take us on a ride through the waters of Seattle in the family boat. Incredible!!!

We start. In afastarmos the coast of Seattle, Sun deitava slowly behind the hills at bay and its pintavam rays of golden arranha-céus City, a roda-giant and a Space Needle (one of the city's postcards). Tudo parecia como feito de ouro! We hours chatting with a view of the bay around us (and that was on a Thursday!!!)

Until Rebecca prepared us the most delicious sandwich plate of our lives! A juicy burger served with melted cheese and served on a plate with a salad of quinoa topped with shrimp and accompanied by tomatoes and black olives! Perfect!!

A pity that the city had a thin haze of smoke which prevented us from seeing the Mount Rainier, the background of this magnificent visual.

Resuming the story of Seattle… Years after economic growth with the Gold Rush - and his subsequent fall after this cycle - the Atlantic was at war, due to the onset of World War 1. This enables the Pacific envision an increase in its trade and great development of the shipbuilding industry. Seattle comes into play once again being the main port on the west coast in trade with Asia. But a strong strike 1934, indirectly caused by the stock market crash in 1929, generates a new chaos in Seattle and the city loses the rank of major commercial port with Asia, for at Cidade de Los Angeles. The city, then, would envision a new economic growth when a millionaire businessman boat industry, de nome William “Bill” Boeing, decides to invest in one of his passions: aviation. Then, in the midst of World War 1, came a major aircraft industries of modern times: a Boeing. With its main factories today in Seattle area, the city would then be, in later years, development or decline closely linked to the company; and aviation has become today a topic of great importance in the city…

It, so, the morning after the boat trip, we went to visit one of the main attractions in Seattle: the Museum of Flight (Museum of Flight, in a translation free). The museum seeks to portray the main landmarks of man's attempt to fly, highlighting important figures in aviation history, since its pioneers - wings that fit to your body - even aviation in its present day with rockets and supersonic fighters.

The museum also owns the shed where the first aircraft were built by Boeing and is told within it the entire history of the company. There is also an outdoor patio, enormous, where are some special aircraft from Boeing, as the first 747 to voar! e o 707 used as Air Force One (name given to the aircraft carrying U.S. presidents) by former presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson E Nixon, being there today and open for visitation. There is also a retired Concorde, usado pela British Airways, also for visitation.

We rent the audio guide and we were more than 4 hours inside the museum - and would stay up for longer so interesting was that the whole history of Boeing and Aviation. The sad and disappointing, entanto not, the museum is not to mention NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, on Santos Dumont or the 14-bis. We ask one of the guides on the early history of aviation and questioned about the absence of Brazilian. But the guide itself said nothing about it and had to be believed by issues "parochial", to strengthen the emphasis on the Wright brothers - which the Americans believe they are the first to have flown.

Boeing is now the largest manufacturer of passenger aircraft, but although we thought the story did not start so well. It happened that 'Bill Boeing' besides an aviation enthusiast believed that America should be prepared for a possible air attack during World War II. Numa curious passagem, 'Bill' flew over crowded football stadium - in his private plane - dropping "bombs" of cardboard on the stadium, a way to alert the U.S. vulnerability to an eventual air attack! Certainly not for this event, but years later with the onset of World War II the U.S. government would order several military aircraft business and, so, Seattle came back to a huge economic growth. Is the question of how did the influence (if there was) Boeing for the U.S. entered the War. Fact is that after the fall in sales of military aircraft at the end of the Vietnam War, added to the debt with the project 747 and a recession in the country in the late 60, Boeing suffered a major impact. From this period the company will focus on the emerging market for commercial jets, through success with the model '707 ', and becoming what is to this day!

After visiting the aviation museum headed for home to put things in day. We washed clothes and ordered a pizza…

…CONTINUED…