EricEwe.com

I was privileged to go on the Boeing Factory Tour in Everett, WA and witness the production of 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner; I even saw a 747 DreamLifter on the runway. Boeing Factory lies about 30 minutes from downtown Seattle and it was very impressive. Before I went on the tour, some of the people I met gave me “facts” about the Boeing factory and I discovered that the information was false after the tour. So maybe you can call your friends out when they boast about the knowing everything

Here are 10 myths / facts about the Boeing Factory.

Largest Building on Earth?
TRUE. Guinness World Records list the Boeing Everett factory as the largest building in the world by volume at 472 million cubic feed (13.3 million cubic meters).

Boeing City?
True. The Everett factory is like a small city, requiring its own fire department, security force, fully equipped medical clinic, electrical substations and water treatment plant.

Boeing Factory employees 100,000 people?
False. There are about 30,000 people working at the Everett facility, and they work in three shifts around the clock.

The Boeing Factory is so big it that is rains in the factory?
False. Although the factory is the world’s largest building, it does not rain nor does it create any cloud / rain inside the factory building. However, when the factory was first built, clouds actually formed near the ceiling. The weather cleared when an air-circulation system was installed.

There is no air conditioning (a/c) on the production floor?
True. Due to the weather in Seattle which seldom peak over 90′, the production floor does not have any a/c. The temperature is regulated by two things, the weather outside and the light bulbs. If the factory is too warm, they would open the factory door and run fans to blow air into to the factory. And if it gets too cold, they rely on the light bulbs above the production floor. The factory uses over 1 million light bulbs!

Conventional cranes are used to move planes around during assembly?
False. There are twenty six overhead cranes that run a network of 39-miles of ceiling tracks throughout the factory. These ceiling cranes are used to lift and move airplane components and sections during the production process.

Is there a maze of walk way running below the factory?
True. There are 2.33 miles or 3.7 kilometers of pedestrian tunnels running below the factory. The tunnels are also utilized for operating the utilities and comes in handy during winter when getting around in the cold and snow can be a challenge.

There are 1,000 bicycles in the factory to help employees get around?
False. There are 1,300 bicycles and tricycles in the factory that is used by employees to get around.

The have the largest mural in the world?
True. According to the Guinness World Records, the mural on the six factory doors is the largest digital graphics in the world.

Rail running to the factory?
True. Boeing not only have a rail running to the factory but the rail spur running uphill to the factory from Great Northern Railway’s track is the steepest active standard-gauge railroad in the United States.
****Correction****
Per mentioned by one of the visitors, Matt Cawby which runs paineairport.com, he mention that the Great Northern Railway’s is managed by BNSF. Upon doing further research, Matt is correct and my apologies.

In Seattle, one can make a wonderful day trip when visiting the Hiram Locks, which is known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their North. Not only is one able to visit the locks, there is an educational visitor center on site, a fascinating garden with trees and plants from all over the world and also a Salmon viewing fish ladder with an educational center… all at a single location.

Best time to visit: Summer. June, July, Sept, Oct. See schedule below
for salmon run and free guided tours.
Tips: Comfortable tennis shoes as one will be walking on uneven
pavement. Sunscreen or jacket as it might get breezy. Coins or credit card for
parking.
Address: 3015 NW 54th St., Seattle, WA 98107 or Google Map. Tel (206) 783-7059

Carl S. English Botanical Garden

One of Seattle’s best kept secrets, the garden offers color, fragrance, and open spaces to awaken your senses all year long. These lovely grounds are a masterpiece of horticultural splendor, combining the elegant lines and vistas of the romantic English landscape style with the original character of more than 570 species and 1,500 varieties from around the world.

The garden is named after Carl S. English who was the ground keeper in the early years. It was a barren plot of land and he was tired of mowing the grass so he planted trees / plants over his career of 43 years. I think it was his love for botany which got him stared. He traveled around the world and during his voyage, he collected seeds which he planted at his work place. He also exchanged seeds with other horticulturist by writing to people across the nation and globe.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks is an engineering marvel that is working flawlessly after almost a hundred years. The locks sits in the middle of Salmon
Bay in Seattle, and it is a set of complex system that regulates the different water level between the bay and the lakes. By doing so, it is able to keep the lakes at 20-22 feet above sea level and at the same time, keeping the saltwater from intruding into the lakes. The locks also serve as a maritime gateway to Seattle and all the commercial development that lies West of Salmon Bay. The locks were
named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908.

The lock system consist of two locks. One lock is big enough to have commercial ships travel through it, while next to it, there is a smaller lock designed for leisure or smaller boats. The purpose for that it to conserve resources as it takes a lot of water to fill and drain the system and if there is no need to utilize the large lock, then the secondary lock will be used. In the larger system, larger vessels are anchored to the side of the locks and they would tie smaller boats on the of the larger vessel to maintain stability for those vessels in the lock while filling or draining the locks. On the far right, you can see some of the workers instructing the boat owners to secure their vessels to the side of the locks. They works have a cabling safety system that prevents them from accidentally falling into the water or on the vessels.

Facts you might not know about The Hiram locks:

• Vessels (commercial or leisure boats) does not pay anything to use the locks. It is free.
• Submarines have used the locks before.
• In the early years, a car landed in the water of the locks.
• If a boat is not secured properly, boats have flipped or got stuck in the
  locks, which have occurred many times.

The Salmon Fish Ladder and salmon viewing

If you are in Seattle, you cannot afford to ignore the integral relationship between the Pacific Salmon and Seattle. In every restaurant in Seattle, there is always salmon on the menu and one of the best place to see a snapshot of a salmon’s life at a ripe age before spawning.

The fish ladder was constructed in 1917 and had a 10 stage ladder for the salmons which allowed salmons to swim upstream gradually. In 1976, that 10 stage was redesigned to a 21 stage fish ladder. Salmons which were born upstream travel to the sea to spend most of their adult life, and will return to their birth stream to spawn and die. In a natural environment, salmons adept to the salinity changes gradually as the move upstream. At Hiram, there is a drastic change salinity for the salmons as Lake Washington leads to the Pacific Ocean while the water in Salmon Bay is fresh water. The 21 stage fish ladder does help the salmons get acquainted with the changes and once they begin traveling upstream, the salmons will stop eating. Admission and tour is free.

Seattle salmon viewing months at the Seattle Fish Ladder.
Sockeye – June, July
Chinook and Coho – Sept, Oct
Steelhead – late fall and winter

There are some great deals on Orbitz’s last minute Seattle hotel deals in the heart of Seattle. You are able to find a nice hotel down like the Edgewater Hotel or Executive Hotel Pacific anywhere from $50-150/night. Mind you, Seattle is not a cheap city so these are pretty good deals.

Checkout some of the other places of interest in Seattle.

Trees and plants at the Carl English Garden

Image of the The Locks closing and a boat leaving the locks

Fish ladder chart and also migrating species

Best time to visit: Go early in the day, avoid the crowds. Make sure you have good clear weather.
Tips: Wear a comfortable pair of shoes. Put on sun screen protection as you might be waiting in line for a long time. If you are afraid of heights, I would not suggest it.
Admission fee: $16/per person if you are looking to go to the top of the Space Needle / observation deck.

From a far, the Space Needle in Seattle looks like a spaceship on a tripod stand. In fact, this landmark was used as the backdrop in Men In Black in 1997 featuring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This structure also saw its 5 minutes of fame in Austin Powers, Sleepless in Seattle to The Simpsons.

The structure was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair and amazingly, it was constructed in two years, between 1961 and 1962. It is located on Seattle Center which is a fair ground and a park. Hey, there are other things to do while you are there. If you would like to get a 360′ panoramic view of Seattle and the surroundings, one can opt to pay to travel to the observation deck to do so.

If I am not mistaken, the Duck Tours start from there as I was lazing around the park, I was some tourist boarding those amphibious vehicles aka Ducks.

Things you might not know about the Seattle Space Needle.
- Height: 605 ft at the tallest point, with an observation deck at 520 feet.
- Lightning rods: There are 25 lightning rods to protect the structure from lightnings.
- Elevators: The speed of the elevators to the observation deck will slow down when it is windy.
- Restaurant: There is a restaurant in the Space Needle at 500 feet. It rotates 360 degrees in exactly fifty-seven minute.
- Earth quake resistant: Built to withstand 9.1 magnitude earthquakes.

Other things do do while in Seattle, checkout Pike Market Place.

If you are going to Seattle, WA, go in Summer as that is the best time. Be prepared to walk as downtown Seattle is mostly a walking city and their public transportation is pretty good. Not to mention, parking spaces is very limited and can get very costly. So put on your comfortable shoes and hit some of these places.

If you are sticking around the downtown area, these are the places that I highly recommend. These location are in the heart of town and can be easily accessible by public transportation (we drove but parking was expensive and hard to find). 

	Pike Place MarketPublic farmers’ market nestled in the heart of Seattle and overlooking Elliot Bay, one will find fresh seafood, vegetables, colorful and cheap flowers to home made arts and crafts. An awesome place to visit if you are in Seattle. For all the coffee lovers, you will not be dissapointed. Read more about Pike Market
	Space Needle Unknown to many, the Space Needle is an alien spaceship that is waiting for the right insect/cockroach to reactivate it so that the insect is able to fly to the next universe. The Space Needle was featured in the Men in Black (MIB) movie in 1997. It is located on Seattle Center which host as fairground, park and arts and entertainment center, where you will find a panoramic view of the city. Read more about Space Needle
	Hiram M. Chittenden Locks & Salmon Fish Ladder The locks are an engineering marvel and is used to allow ships to traverse between Union Bay and Puget Sound. The dam next to it is regulate the water level between the two entities. A must see is the Salmon Fish Ladder which is a 3 min walk away. Checkout the locks and the salmon run viewing.