Hicks invade Seattle Center, Marvel at Monorail

A family of four wondered out of Whatcom county this weekend and descended upon Seattle Center. The iconic park offered up marvels never dreamed of in rural Bellingham, the family’s home town.

“I had heard that they (Seattle) had skyscrapers. But I thought the stories were exaggerations.” said the father, Troy Ragsdale. “But just look at this thing, I’ve got a crick in my neck just looking at it.” Mr. Ragsdale said referring to the Space Needle.

Upon learning that there was an elevator up the 520-foot tower the Ragsdales couldn’t wait to get to the top. The price of tickets did slow them down. “We could buy a lot of flax seed for the price of a ticket. Couldn’t we just take the stairs?” said the mom, Kim, an earthy woman with unkempt hair. Luckily an employee, Dave Pavolka, took pity on the hayseeds and donated four tickets to them. He even provided a guided tour and posed for photos with the family. “Well, the kids are pretty cute. And I’d hate to have them come all this way and not get to see the view. We get all types here, and we try very hard to keep good relations with the public. This was just one small part of that. You should have seen the look on their faces. They’d never seen anything like this before. Of course, they are from Bellingham.”

Of the many attractions in Seattle, the Ragsdales concentrated on Seattle Center this sunny Sunday morning after spending the night with a friend, Martin J. Walz III, in the Greenwood area. Of particular interest was the Pacific Science Center. Like many boys his age, the eldest son, Lucas (age 4) was drawn to the dinosaurs. Though he did not care for the sounds the animatronic beasts made, he really enjoyed the exhibit.

Mrs. Ragsdale was taken with the Tropical Butterfly House. “Really, I would have been happy to just sit there all day. The temperature in the room is kept in the 80s and it’s very relaxing. But you actually have to watch your step for fear of crushing the butterfies.”

After their time in the Science Center the Ragsdales rode the Monorail downtown for lunch. All the boys, the father included, were awed by the 1962 technology. “We just have buses in Bellingham, this is amazing.”said Mr. Ragsdale.

The two boys, Lucas and Jack (age 2), also took a turn through the Fun Forest. Not many rides were running but they did get to “drive” a truck. The Fun Forest amusement park is slated for demolition so they may not get this opportunity again.

It was quite a weekend getaway for the Ragsdales. Prior to coming to Seattle they rode Amtrak to Everett where they visited with friends, went Imaginations Children’s Museum and played in Forest Park. With fall upon and sunny days at a premium, such weekend excursions will be few and far between.