Is there anything one absolutely for sure needs to experience, do, or see in Seattle? I’m going in a couple of weeks.
I already know about the Pike Place Market.
Seattle Trip
Opinions, art, debate
Opinions, art, debate
Is there anything one absolutely for sure needs to experience, do, or see in Seattle? I’m going in a couple of weeks.
I already know about the Pike Place Market.
Clarissa's Blog 
The Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium (not far off Pike Place) and if you’re going to Pike Place and want coffee, skip the first Starbucks and hit Le Panier – delicious coffee and pastries
LikeLike
I really want to try the real Seattle coffee because it’s legendary. I hope it’s worth it.
LikeLike
I don’t find the coffee to be better, but there is definitely more of it. People get excited because there are so many different roasters.
LikeLike
Scenic ferry ride on Puget Sound or further, and day trip to Mt. Rainier which is a huge volcano and gorgeous. And naturally drive by the Swedish Hospital, it’s my birthplace!
LikeLike
Really? I had no idea you were born there.
LikeLike
My father’s first job was at UW. He didn’t like it because of the head system and my mother didn’t like the fog and darkness of winter in the Pacific Northwest. The coffee was weak, the food lacked variety and spice, and there were only three flavors of ice cream. They thought it needed an immigration wave from Italy or somewhere like that, to make it less bland culturally. We lived in a cottage by the beach and I played with pebbles. That cottage was a cheap rental and it is now probably worth $3M, speaking of real estate. We moved back to California so Mom could get some sun and Dad could work in a department where the chair was a member of the department and not a mere tool of the administration.
LikeLike
I’ve never been to the Pacific Northwest but everybody tells me it’s the perfect place for me. Of course, people are usually wide of the mark when they say this kind of thing about me. So I want to see for myself.
I know I almost had a nervous breakdown when I saw the hotel prices in Seattle.
LikeLike
I doubt it is. It’s far too touchy-feely and politically correct, and judgmental in that Lutheran way … and it gets very dark in winter but not very cold, and it doesn’t have snow reliably enough. It’s VERY good for scenic beauty and outdoor activities, though. Hike, backpack, rock climb, camp, surf (in a wetsuit or drysuit, of course), dive, sail, kayak, it is great for all of that, beyond belief great, and you have Vancouver and Victoria right next door. However it seems to me that you are not outdoorsy in that way and that you appreciate the straight-shooting and more honestly conservative (and more honestly progressive) Midwest. I’d rather deal with Midwestern people because they’re more outgoing and less neurotic, I find, and there are many Midwestern winters with many more hours of light per day than are available in the PNW. When the sun glints on that snow you get real brightness, whereas in PNW you get this gray icy slush with 6 hours of gray foggy sky and 18 hours of darkness. Despite all of this I really enjoyed working in our dept. in the U of Oregon later on.
LikeLike
I like dark because I have a sensitivity issue to bright light, and sun is very hard on my brain. I obviously don’t “backpack, rock climb, camp, surf (in a wetsuit or drysuit, of course), dive, sail, kayak.” I will be tortured in hell with all these activities. 🙂
But “touchy-feely and politically correct, and judgmental in that Lutheran way” is definitely not for me. I’d just slaughter somebody in the end.
“PNW you get this gray icy slush with 6 hours of gray foggy sky and 18 hours of darkness”
LikeLike
You don’t like sun yet like tropical beaches? Well … move to the PNW, it will be dark, and they go on vacation to Mexican and Hawaiian beaches. I don’t know, if that weather is this much of a draw, you might turn out to really like it. Those Nordic winters can be cozy in the city, and there are lots of cultural activities, so….
LikeLike
Of course, I’d prefer an overcast, cloudy beach, but it rarely happens.
I’d love to move to Seattle because my bestest friend ever lives here. That would make everything else worth it for me.
LikeLike
You can have overcast, cloudy beaches in Southern California all spring, you know. Try San Diego in May for a foggy chill! And then of course you have the entire Pacific northwest, most of the time. And actually Brazil does not get the kind of sun people imagine — it has to be cloudy a lot to have all the tropical rain. There is hope!
LikeLike
This is generally true of Seattle and some parts of Oregon, but not eastern Washington, which gets actual proper winters and summers, with lots of snow and sunshine, respectively. And plenty of bright, sharp, freezing days in the winter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I know, they’re another world, eastern Washington and Oregon, and also very conservative. I always feel I need the coast but I might prefer these places, actually. I like the altitude.
LikeLike
The public library is amazing (and free) – I went with some local friends who basically said “if we only have 3 hours, we’re going to the library!” They were totally right. It’s such a cool building and the book system is fun to learn about too.
LikeLike