Hey! All they want to do is eat your brains

Rock n Roll Marathon, Gay Pride parade, Solstice Parade ... bring it on, Seattle!

This Saturday, July 3rd look out for the Fremont Zombie Walk. Last year, 3000 hobbled through it. Click here for a peek.

School Bus Drivers Back in the Saddle

Heidi B. and Kevin R. picking up their afternoon tour pickup sheets.

Three Amigos

Bryan, Mark and Rick were our three Mt. Rainier guides on Sunday, June 27th. They report that the snow is melting away (hiking trails are opening up), and wildflowers are a'bloomin'.

Happy Birthday to ...

Richard Lees today. To him and to everyone who say the years are going by faster, watch this! One year in 40 seconds.

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Another Snappy MOHAI Moment: Carnegie Libraries in Seattle

Thank you notes

If you get a Thank you note from a guest that doesn't come through the office, send it my way so we can post in here (and crow about it on Facebook and Twitter).

Here's a recent one for Rick L. after a Mt. Rainier tour. Note that he demonstrated the "exceptional customer service" we are known for by returning with a pair of gloves that were left on the coach.

May 31, 2010

Dear Rick,

Please accept my belatedly expressed but sincere gratitude for the extra trouble you took to return my gloves.  My husband Aaron and I were on your May 19^th tour to Mt. Rainier.  We thoroughly enjoyed the tour --- especially with all the extra information that you shared.  We loved snowshoeing.  That tour stands out as a highlight of our trip.

I got the gloves at the Philadelphia Half Marathon which I ran in November, so they hold a lot of sentimental value for me.  Thanks to you I got them back and I was glad to have them to wear in Alaska.

Our cruise went well. We saw more mountains and glaciers.  But we’ll always remember Mt. Rainier and all that we learned from you. 

Thanks so much, Rick, and continued happy tour guiding to you!

Sincerely,

Alice Hurwitz

PS:  I’m wearing my Mt. Rainier pin --- thank you!

(Rick explains: "A couple from Pennsylvania took our tour to Mt. Rainier on a wet day before they were to take in an Alaska cruise. Everybody seemed to have a good time. Near the end of the tour, I arbitrarily "award" one or two of our guests with a Mt. Rainier hat pin, which sort of serves as a merit badge for someone that seems to have particularly enjoyed the trip. As it turns out, I gave one pin to the lady from Pennsylvania."

Mercedes Benz R350: Take Notes and Try It!

Soccer Update

I know we have soccer fans within our midst so I will make a valiant effort to keep up with the breaking news from South Africa. This (click here) seemed rather noteworthy.

This excerpt serves as a metaphor for our older, I mean, more experienced drivers to aspire to:

It took just one second for the sprightly and trim 69 year old leader to open the scoring with his trademark overhead bicycle kick – the move he invented himself in 1944 when he was just 3 years old. It was quite simply the greatest goal the world had ever seen, especially as the shot was struck whilst clearing the ball off his own goal-line – the shot travelling over 100 metres and still rising as it went through the back of Brazilians net. The ball is yet to be found and is believed to have left Earth’s Orbit.

This excerpt from the article captures the standard we'd like appearing in reviews on Tripadvisor.com or Yelp.com about your tours!

Matches (ie. Tours) ... have had to be postponed as the applause of the capacity crowd cannot be stopped, the applause are not expected to die down for at least another 6 weeks.

Box Canyon at Mt. Rainier National Park

Peek inside the 787

People are moving to Seattle!!

Click on this Forbes article about where people are moving FROM and where they are moving to.

Mercedes Private Tours have started!

That's it! We should call it the Supreme Legacy Tour.

Have you indicated what day of the week you will be available to run Mercedes Private tours? We've filled the rest of June with veteran guides, but when you do your signups you'll be asked what EXTRA day (beyond your normal tours) you can be available to drive the Mercedes. This is early in the program, and we are not sure what the demand is.

Liz ran the first real one this week. The ladies from the Fairmont wanted little in the way of a tour. They asked to be left at the Pike Place Market for 20 min. so they could buy a salmon; and later they went to Filson's in South Seattle (on 4th) to do more shopping. Two hours. Full rate. Satisfied customers!

A future UW student and family enjoy our City Tour

Enforcing the Rules

We didn't want to do this. We have simple rules that should be easy to follow. But we aren't lax and will enforce the rules with whatever it takes. Therefore:

We have a number of areas that need improvement.

Always leave your coach in impeccable shape!

Complete Accounting Sheets Conscientiously (ie. fully and neatly). Complete DVIR forms before you go, and after you come back.

.

Are we clear?

10 Things We Love About Tacoma

 The romantic teen flick "10 Things I Hate About You" has some great scenes in Tacoma (and Seattle), especially this ending scene with Stadium High School, with snappy tune. The first part explains the title of the movie, the second part will have you up out of your chair dancing. Imagine the second half of this on our video monitors at the end of the tour. Can you say "raucous sign-along"?



This 1999 movie stars Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. It is a modern remake of the classic Shakespeare play "The Taming of the Shrew."

Tacoma News Tribune article

Here's a well-written article about Mark's Sunday's tour of Tacoma from a reporter from the News Tribune who went along for the ride.

And some pictures taken by our supportive friend, Andrea Mensink, from the Tacoma Visitor's Center:

The building of a Tacoma Tour

Last week, on Thursday and Sunday, Robb and Mark presented a "fam" (familiarization) tour of Tacoma to a variety of interested people in our neighboring city. They did not have the best weather, but it was well received, and we received very good feedback from people who are both familiar with Tacoma, and people who would be referring us business.

The routing now begins the tour in Old Town, past gorgeous homes and Stadium High School with its unique, historic and breath-taking sports bowl. We loop back into downtown theatre distict (Rialto and Pantages), and the museum district where the guests get to walk across the bridge of glass. Then the tour heads to Point Defiance Park, specifically Owen Beach. Finally, Mark showed a video of Galluping Gertie while heading to and eventually over the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

For the time being, we are marketing this as a group tour option, with a minimum of 10 people.

Read more at Exit133.com, a blog about Tacoma.

Mercedes Private Tours

We are starting to market our Private Mercedes Benz tours to downtown hotels. Grab a brochure in the office and get familiar with the possibilities and the pricing. We hope to eventually run four of these tours every day. I will be asking people to sign up for at least one day every two weeks to be primarily responsible for running these tours.

Locking the Gate at the end of the Night

Kim demonstrates the wrong way and the correct way to lock the gate at the end of the night. BE ON THE OUTSIDE, NOT INSIDE when you click that padlock, especially if you are a new guide and do not have a key to the padlock! It looks jail, and it will feel like jail if you lock yourself in. Liz and I open the gate at 5:45 AM.

The REAL Northwest?

Cliff Maas. Trophy Cupcakes. Hotel Max.

What makes the Northwest, the Northwest? Find the real Seattle!

Check out the Seattle Weekly online awards for many, many more examples of life here in the upper left hand corner.

Expand your world if you live here. Learn about us, if you are visiting. Experience Seattle: Every day is beautiful.

And let us help you in your quest:

ToursNorthwest.com

Seattle Tours

Mt. Rainier Tours

Boeing Assembly Plant tour and Future of Flight Exhibit Center.

Mt. Rainier tour Review

See a video of the tour here, at Mt. Rainier Tours.

And don't miss our 3 Hr. City tour either. See a video at Seattle Tours.

Things to Point Out during Pickups

When you are going to the Warwick or the Westin (down 4th) for a pick up, do you point out the Dahlia Bakery? Do you tell your guests that Tom Douglas is our most famous restaurateur with his 2008 Bon Appetit award and 2009-2010 James Beard nominations? Have you, yourself, stopped into the Dahlia Bakery for a breaktime goodie? (Dan and I have been known to eat an entire Olive Loaf during a MR shuttle shift.)

Here is a recent TDRBakery twitter stream. (hint hint: follow them and TomDouglasCo on Twitter.) Read it and salivate! AND be sure to point it out to some of our 30,000 tour guests!

Coming soon: a survey about the MUST-HAVE sandwich in town! Stella's Meatball? Bakeman's Turkey? Paseo's Pork? A Dahlia's Shrimp? Stay tuned, and get ready (ie. visit these places early and often so you can be an intelligent voter.)