Seattle Tourist Suggestions?

[fenchurch]

Here's the deal... there's a three day weekend fast approaching and due to my recent spate of traveling (I was gone three weeks out of the last five), I really don't want to go away for it.

So, we're going to play tourist at home. We've actually made a bit of an effort, already, to hit some of those touristy type spots. We learned from experience -- living in Utah for the first seven years of our marriage and never getting to places like Timpanogas Caves or Arches National Park (though we've been remedying that on subsequent visits to see friends and relatives).

And now... I'm looking for suggestions. If you were to visit the Seattle area, what would you see? What would you do? We've already been to the Space Needle and I go to Pike Place Market at least once a month, but there's a surprising amount of local stuff we've never managed to get around to doing, so anything you might come up with would be good.

Comments

[elsaf]

If I were to visit Seattle, I think the first thing I'd want to do is visit you. But I guess that isn't very helpful. ;-)

[corellian-sugar.livejournal.com]

Hi Fen - it's Trace. I met you at JadeCon last time I went. You, I and Missi spent a lot of time on the bench outside the suite. *g*

Anyway... I'm in Portland. Everytime I go to Seattle (about twice a year), I love the Experience Music Project. It's great for rock and roll geeks. Plus I think everyone should experience the Seattle Underground Tour. There are daily tours leaving from Doc Maynard's Public House in Pioneer Square. It's fuuuuuun! The pier shops and harbor tours are interesting and fun, too.

:)

[tomte.livejournal.com]

It's not open yet, but http://www.experiencesciencefiction.com/ just might be interesting. Then again, I have only secondhand news coverage of it out here.

I can't remember whether you went on the Underground Tour. Cheesy, but kind of fun depending on your tour guide. Also, you should take the ferry over to Bainbridge, have lunch at their diner and do the antique-browsing thang.

And you must burn Nag Champa incense and sacrifice a Barney plushie before the Fremont Troll at the next new moon, at precisely 3:21 a.m.

Antiquing in Fremont is good, particularly if you rummage through Deluxe Junque, and they have a Twice Sold Tales (or used to) in the neighborhood. Then you must share a piece of pure evil chocolate decadence at Simply Desserts.

You've probably done all these things, though.

[(Anonymous)]

You know that the Folk Life Festival is going on all weekend (Fri - Mon). One of my favorite surreal experiences.

Also, have you ever been over to Poulsbo? Cute mainstreet - some really fun Scandanavian shops. English tea-room, etc...

I'm sure you've done Leavenworth (or are you trying to stay in the city?)

I like the 'sacrifice a Barney plushy to the troll' idea! :-)

Tara

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

If I were you I'd try to find the setting for Betty MacDonald's "The Egg and I" -- it's somewhere on the Olympic Peninsula, but I don't know where. Or I'd try to find her house on Vashon Island.

One of my friends lives on Orcas Island -- have you ever explored any of the the San Juan Islands? They sound pretty cool.

Actually, I'm so lame I'd probably do a bookstore crawl -- LA is such a lousy bookstore town I'm immediately entranced by any city with several large, prosperous independent booksellers. I'd also go to the first McCormick and Schmick's, the first Starbucks, the first Torrefazione, the first Seattle's Best, etc., but then again, I live with a coffee addict. Isn't there some hotshot, very old fish restaurant that looks out over the Sound? And isn't there some really odd vegetarian restaurant there that is world renowned (I keep thinking it's called The Flying Saucer or Outer Space or something like that)?

There's always the Sound Garden. Oh, and the Museum of Rock and Roll.

At any rate, have fun!

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

This ought to be a great time of year for the Arboretum. And of course there are plenty of good museums and art galleries. I always like a visit to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe (or however it's spelled) and sometimes duck into Ivar's while there. Also, the Undersea Aquarium was nice when I was a kid, don't know if it still is. And if the fountain behind the Opera House is turned on, it's a nice place to take a bag lunch (or midnight snack when it's warm enough). I guess those are kind of obvious, though. Oh, and I'd go to my favorite Japanese restaurant, Bush Garden ( http://www.bushgarden.net ). I always reserve a tatami room; makes it seem a more exotic experience (it's not really a ritzy place, though). And the food is good: tempura, teriyaki, sukiyaki, yakitori, sushi... mmm! And, it hits me that there's a wonderful Sunday brunch at the... airport Red Lion, I think it is. It's one of the hotels on that block, anyway.

Hope you have lots of fun, whatever you wind up doing!

[tiashome.livejournal.com]

Hi there! It's great to meet other Seattle-area Buffy fans (I'm on the Eastside too).

Some other ideas for fun Seattle attractions: taking an Argosy ferry tour, touring Snoqualmie Falls, boat-watching from Gasworks Park, and doing the Duck tour (http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/map_page.htm).