Day 3: A Real Seattle Experience!
June 17, 2019
Day three of Seattle tour was filled with fun and adventure! This morning, Concert Choir said goodbye to their Columbia Choir host families and thanked them for their hospitality, and the singers all boarded our bus to downtown Seattle. On the bus, we met our driver for the day, Bob, who introduced himself as "Bob spelled backwards." Bob was born and raised in Seattle, and his expertise and tour guiding skills made our day especially enjoyable!
For our first stop, Concert Choir was dropped off at Pier 55 to board a Sightseer boat for a tour of the Seattle waterfront. On our bus ride to the pier, bus driver Bob told us lots of facts and history about the city of Seattle. Upon boarding the boat, the singers were able to experience a true Seattle morning since the sky was foggy for the majority of the ride, and everyone had a great time observing the sights and learning facts about the surrounding area from our boat captains. We also had the special treat of traveling through the lock system, often described as a "boat elevator," which raised our boat up to a higher water level about halfway through the boat tour. Everyone in our group enjoyed this experience a lot, and the spectators who were watching our boat from the shore enjoyed listening to Concert Choir's singing as our boat was inside the "water elevator!"
After our boat tour, the singers sang a tearful "Homeward Bound" to say goodbye to Charlotte Fithian. It was so lovely to be able to spend time with Charlotte and Shauna over the past few days! Then, we all boarded our bus back to downtown Seattle for our next stop: the Seattle Aquarium. The singers had time to explore the aquarium together and learn more about the creatures there. Concert Choir ended their time at the aquarium by singing a portion of "Modal Etudes" to a large fishtank.
Then, we left the aquarium and boarded our bus. Bob drove us on a scenic tour of the neighborhood where he grew up: Queen Anne Hill. We stopped at viewpoints along the way and got some wonderful group photos, including one in Kerry Park, where we could see everything, from the Space Needle to Mount Rainier.
Our last stop of the day was at the rehearsal space of the Northwest Boychoir. The singers had a lovely time warming up together, doing several solfege sightreading exercises, and performing repertoire for each other. After they sang, all the singers had time to mingle while eating pizza. It was a great experience and opportunity for the singers to meet another children's choir!
After the exchange, we all got back on our bus to go to our hotel in Seattle. The singers are resting up afer a long day, and we are looking forward to exploring Seattle further for two more days!
