Kit... I did a hint of research to figure out when you'd be in town... and my GUT feeling is that it should be a reasonably decent week for downtown digs on Priceline.

Obviously it is summer, but Labor Day weekend would be up ahead, and "Seafair" celebrations in Seattle will be behind (us) by then.

Hotels are less 'concerned' about their bookings this far out than they are about next week, or even early next month, so stay right at-near where you've been bidding, and continue to expect it to be a buyer's market.

I've done Priceline VERY recently for downtown Seattle digs... and nabbed the Sheraton @ $90 per night base bid... and later the Westin for the same $90 bid (on behalf of a friend, these were).

I would totally stick with 4-star only... and as Seattle is a GREAT location for 'free rebids' with 4-star properties... I would START at about $80 each day of bidding, STICKING to your guns and being willing to go through the process weekly-and-later-daily until you achieve success. (boosting your bids by $5 each time when unsuccessful)

I'm guessing that you will score in the 90-100 range, and not have to go to 135.

(BUT it might be early August (or even mid???) when you land it)

Again, I stress, sticking to a ritual of making the same-ish bids should come through in due time. (maybe only once a week prior to late JULY, then later on a daily basis)

Yes, Suze and NWM, I think the weekend I chose (27th/28th plus and minus) is fairly devoid of big Seattle events, so I am hoping for a good PL deal. Didn't occur to me I was bidding too early....I was just so excited!

I did get a room in the PAradise Inn on Rainier, but just barely, I think. I've been watching the inventory go steadily down. Unsure why I didn't book that sooner. I am going to use the two days for day hike and photography...and for a scouting mission of more difficult treks I'd like to do on a return trip. I will not even care if it rains, I am so excited to be up there.

I am going to relax now. I am feeling good about te itin and other than my PL hotel, I am set. It feels so great to have something to look forward to! Thank you all for your help thus far!

Haven't been to Seattle before, but thought I'd pass along something I was told to seriously consider when on foot here -- jaywalking is apparently vigorously enforced by the police in Seattle, perhaps more vigilantly so than in any other US city. I've seen the comment that "if you see someone standing at a street corner waiting for the walk signal to change at 2 am, chances are good you're in Seattle" or something to that effect.

A little overstated--like the belief that we have more rain than New York City and other wetter places.

However, if the skies are clear, the temperature is 60 F and you see people standing in the shade, you are probably in Seattle.

HTTY

Actually the police aren't ticketing jaywalkers like they used to (that was more back in the 80's). BUT as a city we do still respect the traffic lights as pedestrians pretty much. Actually I think that's me you're quoting from here on Fodor's, bachslunch -lol! Yes you can tell the locals from the tourists by who does and who doesn't obey the walk/don't walk lights!!

Kit,
I've forwarded your post to my sis who lives in Seattle for her two cents. I'll let you know what she says. One more word of caution if you are driving in Seattle - you must stop any/every time you see someone in a crosswalk and wait until they have completely crossed. I know here in KC we let the people in crosswalks get passed the bumper of our cars, then we proceed on our merry way. My sister claims that is a HUGE no no in Seattle and will get you a ticket faster than I can down a nacho at Via : )

Have a great trip!

A

I agree with the comment on Green Lake - both a great place to run and great sense of seattle neighborhoods, with a good variety of cafes & outdoor activity.

Personally, I would not waste my time at the Aquarium (unless, of course you've never seen one before). Nothing special about the Seattle Aquarium. Probably one of my biggest disappointments in Seattle.

"WAC 132E-16-040

Pedestrians -- Right of way.

(1) Stopping for pedestrian. The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk unmarked or marked when the pedestrian is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning."

It is not necessary to wait until the pedestrian has cleared the entire roadway.

Regarding the rental car: I will be leaving DT Seattle to drive to Mt. Rainier, and then will return the car to SEA before my flight home.

Do you think I should rent the car DT and return it at SEA? Or would it be easier to ride the train from DT to the airport and pick up a car there.

I am remembering some heinous fees for returning a car at a different location in my past, though not in Seattle. I haven't checked rates yet...which may answer it all for me.

It's cheaper to get your rental car downtown anyway. So definitely do NOT make a special trip back out to the airport to pick it up!

Kit, compare the RATE differences between picking-up and dropping-off in DT Seattle to those for picking-up DOWNTOWN and dropping-off at the AIRPORT.

The DIFFERENCE will tell you all you need to know.

Obviously the question of how tight your last-day schedule is will play a part, AS will how much convenience you need then.

Sadly, downtown Seattle is directly OUT-of-the-way to someone awakening at Mt. Rainier, wanting to stop in Tacoma, and then flying out of Sea Tac @ 3:00pm.

For that reason, maybe you SHOULD at least 'price' the idea of, on Saturday, AFTER the run, taking the LIGHT RAIL back to the airport on the chance that it is cheaper to both pick-up and drop-off THERE... (THAN it would be to pick-up downtown and drop-off at the airport later).

STILL ANOTHER PROBLEM with that shall be that it will be Saturday, with weekend airport traffic at rental car counters, causing who knows HOW much of a delay.

(back to Monday scheduling) According to online mapping, the most DIRECT path from Paradise to the glass museum takes about 2 hours... @ 76 miles.

The glass museum opens at 10:00am... and EVEN IF you leave the mountain @ 7:00am... and found yourself right at the door waiting for it to open @ 10... then, say, lets allow TWO HOURS for the museum (I have no idea - just guessing/being fair???).

It would be NOON... then you'd have to drive 35 minutes into central Seattle (with good traffic), FIND your rental-car station (easier for me than for you, I'm guessing)... and rebound to the bus tunnel (under 3rd avenue)... get on the Light Rail, and ride 35-ish minutes to the airport.

Indeed you could DO it, but even MY schedule would put you arriving back to the airport almost exactly two hours prior to your flight.

(I was never envisioning you being able to keep to the schedule I just put there, given you'd want to maybe EAT twice during that time, AND have a margin for error/traffic)

Another thing, as Paradise-to-Tacoma sends you around the west side of the Mountain, I WANT YOU TO circle most or all of the mountain from close range during your time in the area.

I JUST went to Paradise a couple of weeks ago, for the first time in decades... and I reaffirmed that going all the way around (over your 48-hours) makes the most sense.

CONCLUSION: EVEN if you have the most economical ideas in mind, the RUSH of the final day will be such that you will probably want the convenience of NOT having to go back to mid-town Seattle just to return your car.

PRICE everything, and IF there is a one-way rental fee between downtown and the airport, then to just GO to the airport on the light rail to pick-up your car may still be cheaper than to pick-up downtown and drop-off at the airport.

For clarity:

The Link Light Rail is toooooooooooooootally easy... in that

It runs so often you don't even need a schedule.

It runs under 3rd Avenue most of the way through mid-town.

Its LAST STOP is the airport, so you CAN'T really get lost.


Reminder: admittedly some concern about airport car rental traffic picking-UP the car. Maybe the peaceful ride on the light rail could be comforting after your 10K run that morning.

Hope this outlines many of the concerns.

<on the chance that it is cheaper to both pick-up and drop-off THERE... (THAN it would be to pick-up downtown and drop-off at the airport later).>

It's not.

if you go to Tacoma there are two museums side by side.the Tacoma art museum and the glass museum. if you want to see Chihulys work you would be going to the art museum not the glass museum.

Hmmm...I have seen a lot of Chihulys...maybe I will go to the Glass Museum anyway to see some other artists, too. Both the art museum and the glass museum have Chihulys, right? Is the permanent collection at the art museum that much more extensive? I can't seem to get a feel for it from the websites. Thank you!

...I should clarify: I am wondering if there are greatly more Chihulys at the art museum than the glass museum. Is it a no-brainer?

Chihulys aside, is one museum generally thought to be a much more popular attraction?

Iam not sure there are any Chihulys at the glass museum.As I remember it the glass museum is centered around the working hot shop.either way the old (union ?)train station is right there and they have some Chihuli glass displayed in the lobby.I really like the ones hanging in the huge windows facing the tracks.It is a federal bldg. now so just walk in.One part of the srt museum is the skywalk going over the freeway that is filled with Chihuli works.You can see it from outside but the glass is not clear.They had to install bullet proof glass after it was fired on.

Kit,

Despite what Suze says/believes, you might want to know the truth:


With that in mind, I just did a mock reservation to test the rates.

I just went to National Car dot com for this experiment.

Indeed a two-day rental picking-up in downtown Seattle @ the Hilton Hotel, returning at the airport two days later (used Saturday August 27 - Mon. Aug. 29 for this example) is a healthy $150.89 for the rental period. (largely the result of a ballooned daily rate for a one-way rental and $24.91 in taxes)

A two-day rental for the same dates, but picking up AND returning at the airport... was $155.51 (lower daily rate, but a staggering $46.25 in taxes)

The same rental, but picking up AND returning DOWNTOWN... (then having to get back to the airport on light rail during crunch time) was a relatively small $81.73.


BUT, using National Rental Car's "(last minute)Specials to GO" (which CAN'T be guaranteed to be available at YOUR place of rental AND on the dates when YOU want/need it)... to go to the airport NEXT weekend (NOT on your August dates) shows a total bill of $63.66 (with $23.76 of that in TAXES).


SO, when August 15-20 rolls around, you'd certainly want, by then to have an iron clad reservation booked for a rental car, BUT you should at least check (at National for sure, and perhaps others?) to see if there are last-minute rates that could both save you money AND save you the hassle of awakening at Mt. Rainier on a Monday morning, needing to to to Tacoma to the museum(s), and then having to go ALL the way back into Seattle to avoid a big rate hike (before getting back to the airport on the rail).

No matter what, be sure to make yourself a car reservation soon if you've not already done so.

Then, periodically, attempt to improve upon your rate. Target mid-August for a look at last-minute special rates starting and ending at the Seattle airport. (again, Nationalcar.com is worth a look)

Wow...thank you,NWM. If you ever make the trip to Kansas City, I promise to do as much research for you : )

I've put the car rental reservation on hold until I book my PL room, which I will bein again in earnest in about a week. I always think car rental rates are such a racket, I hate dealing it with it. But yes, I'll book something decent when I get the hotel, and then keep searching.

Any other thoughts on the Glass Museum vs. the Art Museum for Chihulys? I will only have time for one, I think.

Thank you sincerely for everyone who has contributed and advised me!

Kit, it usually costs NOTHING to go ahead and make a car reservation EARLY.

And the rates are significantly lower the earlier you reserve.

(for example: it wasn't even 'fair' to cite rate comparisons for picking-up DOWNTOWN next weekend, vs. my "Specials to Go" @ National, because they'd already hiked the rates to a staggering $300 total for a 2-day rental).

Rental car rates are really weird... (except you can bank on them being high when demand outpaces supply).

You just never know when the good deal is there to be found, and the earlier you reserve, the better your chances.

(it would be simple to try to improve upon your established rate once a week after that)

good luck with it all!

Oh, I know. I just don't know what hotel I'm at yet, and am guessing there are several downtown pickup loctions for all the rental companies. I just want to wait til the hotel is selected so I can pick a rental caar location around the corner. I am very used to cancelling rental car reservations for biztravel reasons and am always appreciative that the car rental companies make it so easy to do so.