Seattle or Bust
Seattle Washington
Tony and I have always wanted to visit the Pacific northwest. We got that chance last month. Both my girls live in Milwaukee and we enjoy meeting somewhere every year that we have never been before. This year they suggested Seattle Washington. I was excited to make that our next family trip! So at the girls recommendation I booked an airbnb in the Fremont neighborhood and two non-stop tickets to Seattle on Alaskan airlines out of Columbus and we were off! Fremont is a neat Bohemian neighborhood just north of downtown and our town-home had a great ‘walking score’ so we could easily walk to restaurants, coffee shops, bars and even some fun sight-seeing venues like the Fremont Troll. https://fremont.com/explore/sights/troll/
The View
We spent our first day exploring the outdoor sculpture park. It overlooks Puget Sound and offers wonderful views and plenty of places to capture great photos. It was a lovely start to our 4 night, 3 day weekend trip. From there we drove to Seattle’s harborfront and had a wonderful lunch at Ivar’s. Then we went to the Sky View Observatory in the Columbia Center on 5th Avenue. https://www.skyviewobservatory.com/en-US/about The observatory is on the 73rd floor. At 902 feet with 360 degree views it commands a spectacular vista of Puget Sound, Seattle, and the Cascade Range including Mt. Rainier (weather permitting: we could not see Mt. Rainier the day we were there because of the foggy mist). It is a fun ride up on the elevator as a brief geological history of the area is projected onto the walls of the elevator as you ride. Once at the observatory there are restrooms, a bar, and a snack area to grab a light bite.
Mt Rainier
The next day we decided we were going to Mt. Rainier. It is 59 miles from downtown Seattle and takes about two hours. As luck would have it the ‘lady’ was ‘out’ meaning the conditions were such that we could actually see the mountain even as we were driving. We were all awestruck as we rounded a bend in the highway and saw Rainier in front of us. It really is amazing. At 14,411 feet it towers over the other peaks in the Cascade range. We drove to Paradise Station and grabbed lunch while we enjoyed the view. We took the eastern route back as we had come in west of Rainier. The views are beautiful both ways so making the loop is a great way to maximize your experience.
All good things must end
Our last day we went to the Ballard Locks. http://www.myballard.com/ballard-locks-seattle/ The Ballard Locks were definitely worth a visit. There is a fish ladder for salmon during spawning season and a viewing area where you can watch the fish. The locks help regulate the water levels in Lake Washington and Lake Union. There is also a botanical garden/walkway and we were able to enjoy seeing many harbor seals. We then drove to the Woodland Rose Garden near Green Lake and the Seattle Zoo and enjoyed a lovely stroll through this beautiful rose garden. We ended our trip with a fun evening in Fremont before heading out the next morning to fly home. There was so much we didn’t get to do. It is well worth another trip to explore more of Seattle and Puget Sound.
If you enjoyed reading this article you may enjoy others about our travels. They can be found here: https://turfsideup.com/category/travels Feel free to leave a comment, we love hearing from you!
