I'm pretty sure we have better dining options than The Crab Pot and Bizzarro, and touring the Capitol in Olympia may not be the best use of a day. Mt. Rainier, San Juan Island, or the Olympic Peninsula might be more memorable.

HTTY

Thanks, HTTY. One of our goals is to visit each U.S. Capitol building. Olympia will be our 19th since marrying 8 years ago. It's a must on our itinerary when we find ourselves so close to a capital city.

What better dining options would you suggest?

What are the logistics getting to and leaving Victoria?
Have you been to Salem Oregon? It is only 5 hours down the highway.
Does Microsoft give regular tours to anyone walking off the street?

Another Fodorite suggested driving to Port Angeles and ferrying over.


Have not been to Salem. Hubby doesn't want to do that Capitol this time.

There are certain areas available to the public:
http://www.microsoft.com/about/companyinformation/visitorcenter/en/us/default.aspx

In Olympia, I like to have pan fried oysters on the deck at Budd Bay Cafe--a traditional seafood restaurant.

If you take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, on your trip to or from Port Angeles drive the scenic stretch of Highway 101 that follows the west shore of Hood Canal. (Going south you will end up in Olympia).

Mt. Rainier is a two-hour drive from Olympia.

Seattle has a big restaurant scene. For fish on the waterfront, I would choose Elliott's over The Crab Pot and for a "different" place I would pick The Pink Door over inconveniently located Bizzarro. There are many other options, including all the highly respected Tom Douglas restaurants: http://tomdouglas.com/

Personally I'm not all that big a fan of Victoria and wouldn't do it with such a short timeframe. It's one LONG day trip. It's nice and all, but to me not how I'd spend my time.

For better seafood restaurant choices I'd go with Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar in the Market for lunch. And for dinners Cutters Bayhouse, Anthony's, Ivar's, Elliot's, Etta's Seafood, or Matt's in the Market.

For italian restaurant choices I'll suggest Assagio's on 4th, Il Bistro or Pink Door in the Market.

Great, thanks HTTY and suze! I'll check out your suggestions. suze, I was thinking just what you said about Victoria, it being such a long day...

Pretty sure Microsoft does not give tours. There is a visitors center. The campus is quite large - like a college campus and spread over a wide area - a lot of lowrise modern office buildings with landscaping all around. I'm not thinking its real interesting, unless you have some special reason to want to see it.

Your idea of combining it with the arboretum makes sense as they are both along 520. Also, if you feel up to it, you can rent kayaks at the aqua verde cafe & paddle club, on the UW campus nearby. That is a lot of fun - see the houseboats, sleepless in Seattle and all that. http://www.aguaverde.com/

Hi Orcas, I agree. Perhaps tour wasn't the best word choice, more like visit Microsoft. No special reason other than curiosity and a photo opp. Friday is pretty loose as our flight leaves in the evening. Since posting the first draft, I've revised that day to the following: Seattle Aquarium and Seattle Public Library.

The kayak rental sounds enjoyable, but I'll be six months pregnant. Is there another (less strenuous)way to see houseboats?

Several observations:

I would move the Olympia visit to the go-home day. You'll need a car to get there anyway, so just time your day so that you return to the airport in the afternoon; both are south of Seattle so no need to come all the way back to the city. You might add a stop at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma to that day, or, since otherwise you won't have much exposure to the Puget Sound region in general, maybe take the ferry from West Seattle to Vashon Island, then drive down the length of Vashon to the ferry at the south end, which takes you into Tacoma, then from there into Olympia. It would make for a very nice day's outing.

I would skip Victoria this time. The Clipper is pricey and takes 3 hours each way, making for a long day without a lot of time to see things once you're there. I'd use that day to visit Microsoft if you must (pretty much a "meh" experience, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do) but consider while you're on the east side of Lake Washington to continue from Redmond (MS) to Duvall in the Snoqualmie Valley, then drive down SR 203 and 202 through Carnation and on to Snoqualmie Falls, just north of the town of Snoqualmie. Right now and in a "couple of weeks" the flow of snow melt water over the falls is nothing short of spectacular, and well worth a stop. From the falls it's a straight shot on I-90 back to town, around 30-35 min. Redmond + the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley + the falls would make for a great part-day trip.

The Crab Pot and Bizzarro have both been featured on various food TV shows; IMO the Crab Pot seriously over-rated, Bizzarro not so much - it's fun, and it would get you into one of Seattle's more interesting neighborhoods. A couple of doors from Bizzarro is a shop you really ought to visit, Archie McPhee - http://www.mcphee.com/ - and just down the road (north) is Green Lake, well worth a stroll to walk off the Bizzarro.

Have a look at Elliott's Oyster House on the central waterfront instead of the Crab Pot, or, if you're insistent on visiting the Space Needle, go there for lunch on the first day. Lunch (minimum $25 per person) is much more affordable than dinner, given that it includes the elevator ($19 otherwise). The food is surprisingly good. http://www.spaceneedle.com/restaurant/menu.html#lunch_menu

Other ways to see houseboats: walk along Fairview Ave. North; ride the Ducks - http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/ - or take an Argosy cruise: http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/default.cfm

Gardyloo! Thanks a bunch! The drive to the falls sounds lovely. Ultimately, we wanted to rent a car for just a day, so Microsoft was just a thought. But with other options requIring a car, we'll have to rethink how long to rent. I'm about to check out the links you shared...

If you do Snoqualamie, the Salish Lodge overlookingg the falls has a superb restaurant. Very fine for breakfast. Upscale for lunch, but a bargain compared to evening prices.

Take your hiking shoes to walk the trail to he base of the falls. Less than a mile,but steep with a boulder to boulder hop up the stream.

Take your hiking shoes to walk the trail to he base of the falls. Less than a mile,but steep with a boulder to boulder hop up the stream.

The trail is closed until next year.

Anthony's near the waterfront is good.

Suggestions - walk from Pike Place Market to the Sculpture Garden if it's a nice day. Dinner at any one of Tom Douglas's restaurants (just won the James Beard Award for Best Restaurateur)- Palace Kitchen is a personal fave. If looking for classic Seattle Seafood, and have a car, Ray's Boathouse in Shilshoe is a good choice. Otherwise Matt's in the Market and Etta's are good options.

Make sure to check out the FreindShop by the 5th Ave entrance of the Seattle Central Public Library for unique postcards, souvenirs, gifts, etc.

If you're after Italian, Assagio and Spinasse are better options than Bizzaro, which is ok but not as good as the other two and doesn't take reservations so usually a wait because it's so small (make reservations for Assagio or Spinasse). Spinasse gives you the option of exploring Capitol Hill and checking out Elliott Bay Books - a Seattle establishment, and its bar next door, Artusi, has amazing craft cocktails.If you're a fan of Asian food, cross the bridge to the Eastside and check out Din Tai Fung for addictive juicy pork dumplings. http://www.dintaifungusa.com/ Expect a wait unless you go early mid-week.

I've done Victoria a few times and it is a great overnight - I suppose it can be done in a day if you don't mind losing most of your day in transit. But there is so much to do in Seattle, I would suggest staying in town as you'll only be here for 4 days and one will be spent in Olympia.

bookmarking for this summer.... sounds like some great restaurants to try!

+ Day One (arrive at 9 am)
Drop off bags at hotel (Grand Hyatt)
Original Starbucks
Pike Place Market
Lunch @ The Crab Pot
///Why? The Crab Pot is just OK. There are far better options. Limiting it to the market, what about Etta's or Cafe Champagne? Both would be better.
Space Needle
Seattle Public Library
///The Space Needle is a tourist check list thing and I can understand why you would want to go see it, but if you are there for a view the Columbia Center is better and $6 instead of $20.
Dinner @ ?
///There are a lot of good options to choose between. How about one of Eathan Stowell's places? How to Cook a Wolf is pretty good.

+ Day Two
Victoria
///Victoria is nice, but is it really worth the 8 hours on the boat? There is a lot to see and do in Seattle that I think would give you a better sense of place here. The Ballard Locks is popular and is right by Paseo's, which is one of the best sandwiches in the city. Alternatively, there are day hikes you could do if you have a car, or you could head over to Bainbridge to get the ferry experience. That's only a couple of hours total trip, instead of a full day trip. Here's my write up on it: http://seattleflyerguy.blogspot.com/2012/02/walking-downtown-bainbridge-island-and.html
Dinner @ Bizzarro
///If you are looking for Italian, La Rustica (if you have a car) is far better and romantic, or Spinasse is spectacular.

+ Day Three
Tour Capitol building (Olympia)
///I'm really not sure this is worth a day of your time.

+ Day Four (Flight leaves 6 pm)
Tour Microsoft
///Again, not 100% sure if this is going to be as cool as you think. Here's a virtual tour of the center: http://blogs.technet.com/b/next/archive/2011/05/05/a-tour-of-microsoft-s-visitor-center.aspx
A much cooler experience might be the Boeing Future of Flight center, which takes you on a tour in the production plants where you can see the planes being assembled.
Washington Park Arboretum

Hi guys, we are here and so far have walked around the market, stopped by The Original Starbucks and we are currently on ferry to Bremerton. We've pretty much played it by ear and enjoying the leisurely and organic pace of things. cdg

PS-We had lunch had Crab Pot by default. Too long a story to type out on iPad, but let's just say it's not a place I'd return.

I'd suggest any of the Tom Douglas restaurants while you're in Seattle. http://tomdouglas.com/
I'm from Vancouver and whenever I'm down there I always hit one of his spots. Dahlia is a little more sophisticated (if you want to call it that), but you must go there and try the coconut cream pie. I suggest that to everyone. They have a small bakery next door to the restaurant.

Across the street he has another resto called "Lolas" with more Greekish flavors. Last time I was there I had the chicken and it reminded me of how good chicken can taste. Yum.

There's also Serious Pie, which I haven't tried, but I am a pizza fan so I'll get there eventually.

Hungy now. Gotta go!