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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> I want to go to Seattle, anybody live there?
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 01/07/2006 01:24:02 AM · #1
I'm not asking to stay with you. :)

I've wanted to visit the West Coast for a long time,- I've never been past the Western side of the rockies, and I'm thinking about taking a trip this spring with some friends.

What's there to do? I know about the Space Needle, Olympic Nat'l Park, and Pike Market, but what are some places to go tourists don't usually visit?

And does anybody know a decent place to stay? We can pay with a card, but I know some hotels won't take visitors under 21.
 01/07/2006 01:36:59 AM · #2
How long will you have?

Washington State offers quite a bit to see. Are you looking for outdoor experience or just City? I could fill you in on sample intinerary if you give me a better idea of time and interests.

In Seattle the must sees are the Public Library, the Experience Music Project and the Pike Street Market.

For the mountains it would be Mt. St Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt Baker. The Olympics and the coastal beaches are also great experiences. A must is a ferry trip through the San Jaun Islands.
 01/07/2006 01:39:25 AM · #3
ALL I HAVE TO SAY, is you have gots to go to pioneer square, and get a hotdog with cream cheese and grilled onions, its sounds gross but its amazingly GREAT
 01/07/2006 01:40:03 AM · #4
A week, probably 6 days and five nights. Both outdoors and city. Here in St. Louis, if I'm not getting coffee in the Central West End, at the Art or City Museum, or the Science Center, or at some Venue downtown, I'm probably out riding my bike with my friends, at the range, or fishing.

My friends are accomplished fly-fishers. I, however, failed to catch anything, even with powerbait, on our last fishing trip.

We'd most likely have a car. The drive would be taken in shifts in a big conversion van, or we'd see if there was a train and rent one when we got there.

Message edited by author 2006-01-07 01:41:05.
 01/07/2006 01:45:11 AM · #5
Six days is not much compared to all there is to see and the distances you will have to travel. I'll give this some thought and post some suggestions again in a day or so.
 01/07/2006 01:47:33 AM · #6
Thanks for the consideration. I'd love to do a long stay, but the budget and work schedule for low-wage slaving doesn't permint two-week or month vacations.
 01/07/2006 01:57:03 AM · #7
There is the Glass Museum with beautiful glass creations by local boy Dale Chihuly if you like the Arts.//seattle.about.com/cs/artnw/a/glassmuseum.htm

You could get a ferry ride from Seattle to one of the islands in Puget sound and visit Deception Pass. There are some great areas around there to take wonderful photos.
//www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Deception%20Pass&pageno=1
//www.sunriseresorts.com/deception.jsp

How about staying at a Youth Hostel right in the heart of downtown Seattle? The Green Tortoise Hostel. //www.gayot.com/newhotels/info.php?tag=SEHOT03358&code=SE

although this one looks better.//www.hiseattle.org/

//www.experiencewashington.com/ItineraryPage_pid-106800_R7_E11.html

Here are some examples you may like to look at.
Heather

Message edited by author 2006-01-07 02:03:48.
 01/07/2006 02:05:56 AM · #8
Oh yeah - Deception Pass. How could I forget. It is right around the corner from me.



You can take a look at my portfolio, landscape section, to see some mountain scenes around here also.
 01/07/2006 02:49:23 AM · #9
Spring is a great time to visit, make sure you drive up to Vancouver, BC and Olympic mountains. Visit the city of Sequim, where you will find the Olympic game farm, then take a trip up to Hurricane Ridge

Frank
 01/07/2006 02:58:31 AM · #10
I never even considered staying in a hostel. Thanks for that idea! I may end up just going alone if nobody else wants to go with me. My only concern would be brining my laptop and camera along into an open dorm.
 01/08/2006 07:26:45 PM · #11
Ok Dan assuming you are driving up I would suggest you plan a route that brings you in from the south. You can then plan to spend a day at either Mt. St. Helens or Mt Rainier. For Mt. Rainier two would be better. There are opportunities for both camping and motel.

Then on to Seattle and do the town for a ocuple of days. All the in City spots previously mentioned; library, Pike Street Market, Experience Music Project & Seattle Center and Needle, et.

I would then plan to go to Deception Pass and the San Jaun Islands. You can do this in one day if planned well but two would be better. Deception Pass is close to where you catch the ferry to the San Juans. Depending on you interests you can spend an hour or a whole day at the Pass. The ferry ride is pretty much an all day trip, You could "walk on" (much cheaper) in the morning and ride the ferry to Friday Harbor, have lunch and ride it back. Beautiful ride.

That would just about kill your time frame and you would give up the Olympics, Eastern and Central Washington, and the far north of Mt. Baker and Vancouver, BC.

Good luck with your planning. As you firm up let us know where you decide to go. We can then give more details on your choices.
 01/08/2006 07:30:20 PM · #12
Originally posted by MyeReadBik:
I never even considered staying in a hostel. Thanks for that idea! I may end up just going alone if nobody else wants to go with me. My only concern would be brining my laptop and camera along into an open dorm.


DON'T go see the movie "Hostel" first....lol
 01/08/2006 07:34:21 PM · #13
I spent a day hiking on Mt. Rainier. It was incredably beautiful.

01/08/2006 09:09:04 PM · #14
Our vacation was out there this summer.

Couple of cool things you won't find in the tourguides

Take the ferry to Bainbridge island and back - only about $6 and a better view of the harbor and city than the tourboats.

The "Underground" tour was pretty cool. You learn alot of Seattles history.

Go see Mt Rainier, even if you have to hitchhike there.
 01/08/2006 09:15:52 PM · #15
Originally posted by photodude:
Our vacation was out there this summer.

Couple of cool things you won't find in the tourguides

Take the ferry to Bainbridge island and back - only about $6 and a better view of the harbor and city than the tourboats.

The "Underground" tour was pretty cool. You learn alot of Seattles history.

Go see Mt Rainier, even if you have to hitchhike there.


Fully agree with everything your said... particularly that part about the "Underground" tour. Before you decide to visit Mt. Rainier, you had better check to see if the roads are open....

Ray
 01/08/2006 09:50:36 PM · #16
I have the luxury and the opportunity to live anywhere in the world. I live in Seattle by choice. Great city!

Some of my (sometimes eclectic) favorites:

* Snoqualmie Falls - Dinner @ Salish Lodge and after dark photos of the floodlit falls! See my "Into the Abyss" photo. Just 20 minutes from Seattle.
* Woodland Park Zoo - See my top rated photo.
* Boeing 747 Assembly Tour - No cameras allowed but otherwise very very cool.
* Mount St. Helens ... stunning Photo-ops from the visitor center if it's clear. Very dramatic if partly clear. Crappy if cloudy. It should be open now unlike Rainier which I think is closed for the season due to snow ... around 1,000 inches by mid-winter.
* Seattle Public Library ... wonderful architecture and great people watching/photographing local.
* West Seattle Parks facing the city - Some stunning views of Seattle - See my "Waterfront Cliche" photo. Also Kerry Park (See my "Garden Tour of Seattle ..." photo), just north of Downtown.
* Brunch on top of the Space Needle (or for the eclectic, breakfast at the Maltby Cafe in Maltby of all places or breakfast at Tripple J's in downtown Kirkland (suburb of Seattle).)
* Any Starbucks - Great place and a rare opportunity to observe (and/or photograph) Seattle-ites in their native habitat.
* Weekday lunch at Bakeman's - A soup Nazi sort of place located on Cherry between 1st and 2nd (Order "turkey/berry/wheat and a bowl of chile") - Near Pioneer Square.
* Pioneer Square - edgy, interesting, the gritty underbelly of Seattle. Truly wonderful B&W photo opportunities. Great clubbing district. You'll see Seattle celeb's there at night. Great old-Seattle architecture and local color. BYOB (Bring Your Own Bodyguard) after 2:00 AM. Otherwise should be safe and very interesting.
* Fisherman's Terminal - Great photo op of a working fleet. Go early in the day when the sun is low in the sky and the terminal is just waking up. Near the locks which are always interesting but more so in the summer.
* University of Washington Arboretum and some of the wealthy neighborhoods surrounding it. Beautiful old-money homes in lovely settings, and the arboretum is nice.
* Argosy tours of: a) Lake Washington including Bill Gates' house; and (separately) b) Elliot Bay. Teriffic photo ops.
* Seaplane flight to San Juan Islands and back. Different perspective. Unbelieveably pretty in early morning or late afternon light.

I've done all these and I recommend them. Weather is the variable no one can control and will make these superb or just ho-hum. Main lesson - don't NOT do something because it's raining. It's ALWAYS raining. (As of today, we have had 25 straight days of rain.) Just do it anyway.

Feel free to PM me and we can arrange to talk live over the phone.

Message edited by author 2006-01-08 21:52:15.
 01/08/2006 10:06:55 PM · #17
If you're looking for outdoors things away from the city but don't want the travel of Mt. Rainier/Baker, look up Mt. Si, Mt. Bandera, or head out to Snoqualmie Pass and look for the Snow Lake trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or Hyak areas. Hit the local REI and rent snowshoes or cross country skis for a day, ski Hyak and you can get out into areas where there is no civilization.

If you're into city things, the Underground Tour is a bit cheesy but fun/interesting - only takes a couple hrs max. The pergola not far from Pioneer Square would give you some interesting people shooting, Gas Works park, or drive over to West Seattle to get the BEST views of the city from the other side of the Puget Sound.

Feel free to email me if you need more details on anything.
 01/08/2006 10:15:52 PM · #18
My dad says that Gig Harbor is becoming the "Carmel of Washington" with boats and art galleries and restaurants and stuff.

You can get there by going south on I-5 and crossing the Tacoma Narrow bridge (there's a second span under construction -- beautifully-lit at night) or taking the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton and driving down from there.



My dad lives further out on the Key Peninsula from there -- there's a couple of State Parks out there. Here's some shots from there across Puget Sound towards Tacoma and Mt. Rainier.

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