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I had an enjoyable few days in Seattle over weekend. The weather was FANTASTIC, could not have been better. I arrived into SEA-TAC on time and took Grayline Downtown Airporter to hotel. The shuttle is very easy to find, affordably priced and a great way to transport to hotel.
Hotel was the Westin on 5th Ave. I got what I think is a great deal on Priceline for a holiday weekend so I was pleased. Upon checkin, I asked for a room on a high floor with a Lake Union view (Thanks Suze) and was given a room on the 34th floor with limited view of Lake Union. The room was located on the South tower (which I think is the not so renovated tower) but it was clean with double beds and was a decent size. After settling in, I took a walk to Pike Place Market, which was crowded and had lunch at a small coffee café, purchased flowers in the market and passed by the first Starbucks. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent visiting with my uncle in Olympia, WA.
Friday morning, I started the morning looking for a breakfast place but it seems no one in Seattle is open before 8:00am (except in the hotels) and ended up at Starbucks. I walked around Pioneer Square, saw Seattle Waterfall Garden dedicated to UPS 100 years of service (2007) and made my way to the Underground Tour – which was very very entertaining. Tour guide jokes were sometimes corny but overall tour was enjoyable and informative. Smith Tower Observation Deck & then more walking around Pioneer Square.
I took the "Tacoma" ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was a very windy but nice ride. Great views of city. Ate a late lunch at Doc’s Marina Grill. All outside seating was booked and the wait would have been about 45 minutes so I elected to eat inside. After lunch continued my walk on island and then the return back to Downtown for an afteroon of more walking and shopping. Before I knew it, it was 9pm and I had not eaten dinner so back to the hotel for dinner at the Coldwater Bar & Grill
Saturday to follow as we are beginning to board my flight back home.
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My 4th of July trip to Seattle - Report
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You're most welcome. Thanks for posting your trip report. Looking forward to the rest! And yes you sure did luck into a stretch of perfect weather here. Unusual for the holiday weekend.
Finally home so I can continue the report....
Saturday, July 4th started out early as I made my way to IKEA via the bus. It turned out to be very easy. Seattle seems to have a pretty good public transportation system.
I returned to hotel and had lunch at the 5th Street Corner Cafe which is located in the hotel. It was good for a quick lunch and then I headed to Seattle Center via the Monorail. Not exactly sure what the purpose of the Monorail is since it is a short 2 minute ride which costs $2 each way and it only goes back and forth between Westlake Station and Seattle Center.
Stood in line for about 20 minutes for the Space Needle. I thought the lines would be longer but it moved pretty quickly and the crowds were reasonable once I got to the observation deck. After the needle, I wandered around and went to the Seattle International Beer Festival. For a $20 entry fee, you get a small glass and 10 beer tickets. Beers ranged from 1 to 7 tickets. This was a crowded spot. Lots of people enjoying the day. My only comment was the poor dogs that were there. It was a hot day and the poor dogs looked miserable with so many people around.
After the beers, I decided to take the Seattle Duck Tours instead of walking around. The tour driver was a bit corny but the tour itself was entertaining and I loved the ride on Lake Union especially seeing all the people at GasWorks Park waiting for the fireworks. We wound up getting stuck in a parking lot so the duck was about 20 minutes late returning back.
Back to hotel for the fireworks show which was pretty good from my hotel room.
Sunday was the flight home. Thankfully uneventful and I'm home safe and sound. Looking forward to a return visit one day to see some of the things on my list that I missed.
Thanks to everyone who helped me plan the trip and/or made suggestions.
The Monorail was built for the World's Fair in 1962 in Seattle, to connect the Seattle Center/Space Needle/fairgrounds with the downtown core for people attending the fair.
Forgot to mention that they have really good fudge in the gift shop of the Space Needle. They say that they make it there and I had a few pieces which were very good.