Sightseeing in Seattle

Home to over 700,000 residents and major companies such as Starbucks, and Amazon, Seattle is not only the largest city in the state of Washington but also in the Pacific Northwest as a whole.  People visiting Seattle range from those interested in technology or foreign trade to casual tourists hoping to enjoy world-class performing arts and find unique places to visit in the Emerald City.

There’s Ethan’s plane, arriving from Orlando!

For us, we needed the airport.  We dropped our son Ethan off in Portland for a flight back home to visit friends, and he was flying back to us in Seattle. So we found a beautiful campground in the quiet, rural town of Fall City, Washington, and settled in to enjoy the resort amenities. But the surrounding area called to us, and we decided to explore what Seattle and its suburbs had to offer.

Pike Place Market after hours is somewhat less busy. Haha!

Having lived in Michigan for the first half of my life and Florida for the second, I really didn’t know much about Seattle.  But I HAD heard about Pike Place Market downtown, so we packed up and headed there first.  On a Monday.  In the evening.  Yeah… it was basically a ghost town.  We were told everyone closes up shop early on Mondays and Tuesdays since they are open so late on the weekends. The only thing we could have taken home as a souvenir was a dust bunny.

Crowds gather outside the world’s first Starbucks day and night; we saw a group of nationwide managers brought in by corporate who were there for a tour.

But the views of the Seattle Great Wheel (a Ferris wheel) at Pier 57 with Mount Ranier in the distance were worth the trip, and we paid a visit to the world’s first Starbucks, which is located right across the street.  We also walked past Beecher’s Handmade Cheese and saw the beginning of the cheese-making process through the large factory windows showcasing their equipment.

Pike Place Market is usually busy like this when open.

I returned with the kids the following day during lunch hour to really experience Pike Place.

Fresh flowers in Pike Place Market

After all, a trip to Seattle isn’t complete without seeing the “flying fish” and buying fresh flowers directly from the market at bargain prices!

At a friend’s suggestion, we sought out General Porpoise Doughnuts on East Union Street.  It had a boutique feel with a chic and airy French decor and a hip clientele.

General Porpoise Doughnuts are fresh and have handmade, light-flavored fillings.

With fillings of handmade curds, custards, creams, and jams, these pastries have a very fresh, light flavor.  If you go, be prepared to spend a bit more than usual for these fluffy, gourmet doughnuts.  Eight of them set us back about $39!

Our son Jonah, who is only nine, had heard that Top Pot Doughnuts & Coffee was Seattle’s best and begged to try them.  So we decided to conduct a doughnut shop comparison.

We loved the textural variety and flavors of Top Pot Doughnuts.

Top Pot doughnuts were delicious!  While described as hand-forged, they didn’t have the fresh, light flavor characteristic of General Porpoise doughnuts but did boast rich flavors and a larger selection.  And at $12.99 for half a dozen, they were much less expensive. It comes down to a personal preference;  I’m sure both shops have loyal followers who insist their doughnut shop of choice is the best.

Lighting at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) is intriguing at night.  Ali photographed this with the Sony a9 right before he captured the Space Needle shot.

Seattle is home to rather unique architecture in the downtown area.  The Space Needle is perhaps the most recognized feature of the Seattle skyline.  Visitors can ascend to 520 feet to enjoy 360 degree news of the city from the observation deck.  Nearby is the Museum of Pop Culture, celebrating, of course, pop culture.  Even if that’s not your thing, the architectural style is interesting, to say the least, and it’s an impressive building to behold.  Ali captured some pretty awesome shots using the new Sony a9 and a Zeiss 16-35mm lens.  He was nice enough to let me use some of his photos even before he posts his review of the a9.  Thanks, hun!

Here come Layla and Nabeel down the steps of the first presidential plane. Cue “Hail to the Chief”!

If you want to be truly fascinated, the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, just outside of Seattle, is a huge air and space museum housing over 150 aircraft, Space Race memorabilia, a 3D theater, and a flight simulator.  Some of the most exciting walk-throughs we enjoyed were of the first presidential jet, a Concorde, the first Boeing 747 ever built, and a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The FFT is a full-scale shuttle model that has been used to train many shuttle crews.

They also have a NASA Full Fuselage trainer (FFT), a full-scale representation of the space shuttle orbiter without wings that was used to train astronauts for EVA’s and emergency exit procedures.  Guests can walk through the payload bay or schedule a tour of the crew compartment.  One of my favorite parts about visiting the Museum of Flight is that it’s free for up to six people with the ASTC Travel Passport Program!

Snoqualmie Falls creates a lot of mist that is especially interesting to watch from the base of the falls.  This is another one of Ali’s shots with the Sony a9.  Can you tell he was really geeking out with it?

On the more natural side of things, Snoqualmie Falls, a 268-foot waterfall located in Snoqualmie, Washington, is spectacular to behold.  There are two different viewing platforms from above, but we loved the 1/2 mile trail down to the bottom of the falls.  Think tall, dense evergreens above with lush, green ferns and moss below and the fragrant scent of pine in the air while hiking on a soft path through the forest… need I say more?

Just as we were wrapping up our stay in Seattle, we noticed a flat tire.  All the locals pointed us toward Les Schwab in North Bend, and I am glad we heeded their advice.  Not only was I happily surprised to discover they would repair our minivan tire as a complementary service, but the town itself reminded me of home.

Grace and I enjoyed a movie at this 1941 Art Deco theater in North Bend, Washington.

Quaint and cute, it had an old-fashioned movie theater offering a free movie at noon, so my daughter Grace and I trekked over to watch The LEGO Movie.

Georgia’s Bakery and Cafe in North Bend, Washington, offers delicious homemade doughnuts, pies, sandwiches, quiche, and more.

Afterwards, we stopped in at Georgia’s Bakery & Cafe for savory quiche and yummy doughnuts (I know, I know, doughnuts again… but we LOVE them!).

Scott’s Dairy Freeze, home of the best hamburger around

Grace was craving a burger rather than quiche, so we next wandered over to Scott’s Dairy Freeze, where several well-deserved awards for “Best Hamburger” hung on the wall.  As we strolled back up to Les Schwab, we saw them pulling our minivan around to the front, all fixed up.  Talk about perfect timing!

The Seattle skyline as seen from behind Pike Place Market

Our stay in Seattle was unscripted and enjoyable.  We ventured out to visit places as we were told about them or happened upon them by chance.  Maybe we just got lucky to visit so many cool spots; I know the city is brimming with far more than we ever got to see.  But if you’re sightseeing, I highly recommend any of these locations as a starting point for exploring the Emerald City.

Have you been to Seattle?  What’s your favorite place to visit?  Please comment below, so others can see where to go!