Day trip to Seattle and Boeing factory (Mo 21-May-2001, Victoria Day)

Today was Victoria Day in Canada, so we all had a day off and it was a gorgeous, sunny and warm day. Paul-André, Brendon and Ton decided to visit the Boeing factory near Everett in the state of Washington, USA. Brendon made the reservations so we left early in the morning (6 AM) in order to arrive in time for the tour at 9.30 AM. Unfortunately nobody was allowed to take pictures during the tour through the largest building in the world. With it's six doors with the size of an American football field the assembly building for the 747/767/777 planes is huge. The building is the largest in the world by volume (98.3 acres under the roof). About 140000 people visit the factory every year. The building was finished in 1967. Also see Factory Facts.

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Click on tour ticket to enlarge.

Picture	Date	Description
	21-May-2001 09:20	We arrived in time for the tour (by bus) which starts at the Boeing tour center.
	21-May-2001 09:25	Ton is standing in front of the Boeing tour center, just before the start of the guided tour.
	21-May-2001 09:30	After two short movies about Boeing (their contribution to the space program and the assembly of the 747) the bus took off to the big assembly building.
	21-May-2001 09:45	Is may not look that big on this picture, but once you're in this big hangar you realize who big the building is. The front three doors are as wide as the wing span of the Boeing 747. Through every one of these 3 doors a complete Boeing 747 leaves the building after 7 months of assembly time and 8 millions parts. At this Boeing site there are 30000 people employed. It is the largest of all Boeing sites. We were not allowed to bring our camera's during the tour.
	21-May-2001 11.00	All kinds of Boeings are painted and ready for delivery. Every Boeing gets paid 1/3 at the time of ordering, 1/3 after assembly and 1/3 after painting. When picking up the plane, the customer actually gets a cup of coffee and a donut (like buying a car).
	21-May-2001 13.00	After our Boeing tour we moved on to Seattle ...
	21-May-2001 13.15	... were we parked the car under the Space Needle.
	21-May-2001 13.15	From the Space Needle we took the mono-rail to downtown Seattle.
	21-May-2001 13.30	Space Needle in the sun. It was about 24 degrees Celsius today.
	21-May-2001 13.30	Space Needle.
	21-May-2001 13.45	The mono-rail that shuttles between the Space Needle and downtown Seattle.
	21-May-2001 14.30	View from the waterfront in Seattle over Puget Sound towards the Cascade mountains.
	21-May-2001 14.30	Ferry service between Seattle and the islands.
	21-May-2001 14.30	Seattle now hosts a few cruise ships, like the Princess Cruises ships.
	21-May-2001 14.30	The ship is docked closed to the I-99 highway in downtown Seattle.
	21-May-2001 14.40	Another view of Puget Sound.
	21-May-2001 14.40	Another view of Puget Sound.
	21-May-2001 14.40	Lunch at Pike Place Market (photo: Brendon Joseph).
	21-May-2001 15.00	Pierre-André and Ton in front of the very first Starbucks coffee store, which is located across Pike Place Market at Seattle's waterfront.
	21-May-2001 15.00	... just another shot ...
	21-May-2001 15.00	Brendon is attempting to drink some of Pierre-André's frappucino.
	21-May-2001 15.00	Highway I-99 in downtown Seattle. This overpass was damaged during the earthquake earlier this year and had to be closed for a few days for inspection..
	21-May-2001 15.00	A close up of the area with Mount Rainier and Safeco Field on the horizon. Safeo Field is the home of The Seattle Mariners (American Football, NFL).
	21-May-2001 15.00	The sky was so clear for a beautiful view of the Mount Rainier with Safeco Field in the foreground.
	21-May-2001 15.15	Expressing the nice weather today.

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Last Updated: 30-Jul-2002