Seattle 2013

My traveling friends and I made a trip this spring to Seattle, Washington and surrounding areas.  It was amazing what we were able to see and do during our five day visit.
 

Our first two day were spent seeing the sights of the city.  We began at the Pike Place Market looking for the Pike Place Fish Market .  We found lots of shops and beautiful food and flower stands.




We finally found the Pike Place Fish Market and watched the huge fish being thrown from one fishmonger to the next.  It was just like the "FISH! Philosophy"
motivational video we watched at teachers'
meetings!

A visit to the 605 foot tall Space Needle is a must if you are in Seattle.  The amazing view kept changing as the clouds lifted until we could see parts of Mount Rainier and the Cascades mountain range as well as the entire city of Seattle and the Puget Sound.

Next door to the Space Needle is the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition. We knew it was going to be beautiful but we were amazed as we walked into each gallery of the Exhibition Hall.  The blown glass was arranged into all kinds of exhibits that have to be seen to be belived.   The beauty continued through the Glasshouse and the garden.

 

The Seattle Center Monorail is also located near the Space Needle for a quick conection to downtown Seattle.

Another section of Seattle that we enjoyed was along the piers.  There were many shops and restaurants as well as a 175 foot observation wheel that gave us another great view of the city and bay as well as a peak of Mount Rainier.

A restaurant that we tried out in the pier area was The Crab Pot.  It has indoor and outdoor seating right on the water.  You can order a mixture of steamed seafood that is poured right on your table to whack at with mallets or you can order something more safe on a plate.  We played it safe but the Seafood Feasts looked like a lot of fun.

 

We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel, and that turned out to be the perfect location and atmoshpere.  The Edgewater is a sophisticated version of a Northwest lodge with panaromic views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains.  We could open the windows in our room that looked out over the bay to watch the ships, ferrys and even cruise ships go by.  Each room had a fireplace that came in handy on the cool nights.  The lobby which we used each evening to sit back and talk about our day was both comfortable and beautiful.  We also tried out the Six Seven Restaurant for breakfast which was so good

we went back a second morning. The staff at the hotel were very helpful and pleasant.  There can't possibility be a better hotel in Seattle.

 

We went on several roadtrips beginning in Seattle with some as close as 30 miles away and others much more lenghty. The  Snoqualmie Fall was a quick afternoon trip that took us to an easy acessable viewpoints of the falls.  There were more hiking trails to travel along the river at the top and bottom of the falls for those who had all day to visit.

Mount St. Helens was another great day trip from Seattle.  We stopped at the Visitior's Center at Silver Lake and learned about the volcanic eruption in May 1980. This was a great way to start our visit by viewing presentations of the history of the area before, during and after the eruption.  Stopping along the way for great photos, we continued our one hour drive up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory for an upclose view of the summit of the mountain.  There were patches of snow all around us but that didn't stop us from enjoying a picnic. 

We drove to Anacortes to catch the ferry to the San Juan Island for a whale watching boat tour.  The hour long scenic ferry ride was beautiful in itself.  There were islands in every direction with the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges in the background.

 

The San Juan Safaris at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island gave us an unforgetable experience!  We saw beautiful scenery from the 55 foot boat for the first hour but no whales.  Then we came upon a resident pod of 14 to 25 whales that put on quite a show.  We followed them along the shore for over an hour.  The crew on the boat were as excited as we were because this was the first time this season they had seen this pod of whales. 

Our last road trip from Seattle was to see the Multnomah Falls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.  We made this trip after our visit to Mount St. Helens since they are both south of Seattle.   This was an ambitious trip for one day but the experience was worth it. The Columbia River Gorge could be a trip in itself because there are several other waterfalls and beautiful scenery that we bypassed to get to the Multnomah Falls.



The Multnomah Falls plummets 620 feet from its origins on the mountain.  It is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States.  There is a trail through the woods up to the bridge between the falls and another mile long trail to the very top and more trails past that.  Being on the bridge felt like being in the falls.  It was fantastic!  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip.