Day 51: Ferndale to Shilshole Bay, WA

Day 51 of our Great North American Road Trip (the sequel) saw us tending to some necessary activities before continuing on our journey, specifically oil change #2, gas fill up, and grocery shopping. 

Once these were done, we headed to Everett for a tour of the Boeing jumbo jet factory. No pictures were permitted on the tour, but we were guided up to a viewing platform that permitted a bird’s eye view of the production processes for the airplanes. We watched plane bodies (called fuselages) get all their parts including tail flaps and wings. This factory is the largest (by volume) in the world and is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

Did you know that a 747’s fuel is stored in cells in the wings? I had no idea. After the tour, we took a look at the complex from the Sky Deck and browsed through the museum where we walked through a space station segment (with drawers and cupboards on all four sides for efficient storage in zero gravity) and saw prototypes for autonomous flying taxis (the next(?) generation of transportation perhaps?). 

One of the current foci of Boeing is on creating fleets of different autonomous vehicles that can communicate and cooperate with each other to accomplish large, complex tasks. Frankly, this sounds to me like a recipe for world domination by AI but what do I know.

Walking through the space station segment.

Space capsule.

Autonomous flying taxi.

Oh boy - not sure this is a great idea…

Our afternoon was spent chilling on the beach at Picnic Point. We watched the tide come in, the trains go by, and even saw a seal/sea lion (impossible to tell which from just its head). The boys collected shells - Alistair is fascinated by barnacles right now - and seaweed. We all learned how much seaweed can look like plastic. We had to google whether what we found was a decomposing plastic bag or seaweed but turns out it was seaweed - crazy! The boys made some local friends and worked hard together to build a dam to stop the spring water from flowing into the ocean. It was an intricate construction project. It was heartwarming to see them playing outside with not a screen in sight. I wish this part of the day could last forever.

Sea monster? More likely a seal or sea lion.

Barnacles!

Train!

Building a dam. Engineers in training?

It has been a very relaxing afternoon to read and rest. Every time we are near the ocean, I wonder why we don’t live closer to the seashore. After dinner we checked some more chores off the list - dishes, collecting and throwing out the trash, and repairing some parts of the trailer that are falling apart (burner elements, cupboard door) with a visit to Home Depot for supplies. Good thing handyman Ian has all these helpers (and fixing skills, of course…and patience - so, so much patience).