Touring in Seattle? Got some extra time before or after ECC?
Here are five solid “touristy things-to-do”, and five low-key and fun things to do that are more “yeah, I’m local and I have the afternoon off”. All are things that you could do without really planning ahead more than an hour.
5 THINGS FOR A TOURIST IN SEATTLE
1. The Seattle Aquarium
Most Seattle folks love it, and not just because when they were kids they went to school sponsored sleepovers in the Big Tank Room. You could insert Seattle Zoo as well, but it just an okay zoo for the most part (though, there is a baby tiger cub right now). Seattle’s aquarium is a nice 75-minute tour. It is also on the Seattle waterfront, which ain’t bad. Could definitely combine this with #2, #3, or with a Mariners game at Safeco field just south of Downtown. (One of the best ballparks in the country, and the White Sox are in town Monday through Friday before the tournament).
2. Ferry Ride to the Islands
Seattle is in large part amazing because of what is just outside. Get on a ferry and watch the Sound go by, then ride around (bike or car) on one of the islands and take it in. Whidbey is really nice, ’specially in the spring. The ferry route plan is here. Note that Anacortes, which is not far from Burlington and ECC, is the gateway to the beautiful San Juan Islands.
3. Pike Place Market
They throw fish. Which is cool. And there are little donuts, and a pretty entertaining little open-air market. Go early on a weekend and eat breakfast at the Crumpet Shop a block away (the only suggestion I have ever made that has a 100% ‘you were right, that was awesome’ rate.
4. Bike the Burke Gilman Trail
The trail is a belt around northern Seattle that goes from far West (Ballard on the Sound) to the east (Laurelhurt). Pass through parts of Fremont, Wallingford, and the U District. Stop at Agua Verde at UW for great and unique Mexican.
5. Muppets and Rockets and Jimi
The Experience Music Project is a signature Seattle museum. The travelling Smithsonian exhibition (which ends on ECC Sunday) is on Jim Henson and the Muppets. This is in the Seattle Center, a good place to stare up at the Space Needle.
5 THINGS THAT I WOULD DO WITH MY AFTERNOON OFF
1. The Locks
This is awesome. I go here at least 3-4 times per summer. This is where the entire Seattle watershed feeds in and out of Puget Sound. the Locks are the canals that move boats big and small in and out and up and down a 20 foot elevation difference. Watch then guide the ships in. The fish are almost always jumping like crazy, especially as the salmon run peaks from mid-August to mid-September. This point feeds the entire salmon run for the region. (fun fact; they had a gargantuan sea lion removed that had been decimating the salmon by himself. Since it was illegal to kill him, they relocated him to San Diego. He was back in two weeks, eating crazily. Then a killer whale swam up to the locks RIGHT INTO SEATTLE and ate him. Problem solved itself in true passive-aggressive Seattle style). Walk across the dam, look for smolts in the shoots, and then head underground to see the salmon close-up.
Then go get a cupcake in nearby Ballard at Cupcake Royale.
2. Go get coffee in Capitol Hill.
Seattle’s gay and trendy district is a great view away from downtown. Plenty of places to eat, get a great drink, and hang out. Not as sketchy as it used to be, or as you might think. If you like Burgers, there is a Dick’s there (see below). Hungry after 9pm? Check out 611 Supreme, a barely-marked but really excellent restaurant on Boylston and Pine, shockingly still affordable.
3. Canoe in the Cut
UW has an outdoor rec center where you can rent canoes and paddle around in the water for a while. You can go to the south side of the Cut (the canal between north and south Seattle) and see the Arboretum (MY arboretum) and animals and plants and water and stuff.
If you have a Seattle native with you, they can show you where you can walk onto the deserted overpass and jump about 35 feet down into the lagoon.
4. Sushi in Wallingford
Wallingford is chill. Dave Matthews pushes his kids on the swings at our park while we throw, play mini, and do Air Alert. Start walking on 45th street and just cruise through the drag of shops and places to eat just west of the freeway. By the time you get to 45th and Stone, you’ll be hungry enough for Musashi’s amazing takeout sushi; call first, they are closed on weird days. Burrito-sized California rolls. If you are here during the day, Kozue Sushi has a dollar-a-roll lunch deal for simple sushi which is a nice way to start a day, if you are starting the day at lunch.
Then finish the stroll north to our pretty urban lake, Green Lake, and let the rollerbladers dodge you while the pretty people of America’s Most Attractive Population (US News and World Report) jog by with their ubiquitous iPod cords jangling.
There is also a Dick’s in Wallingford along 45th. Greasy tiny hamburgers for cheap. They haven’t changed their menu since the 60’s or something. Open til 2am. This is where the punks and weirdos come after everything else kicks them out. It’s like a watering hole in Sub-Saharan Africa, only with more eclectic fauna.
In Wallingford at night? Get in line at Molly Moon’s Ice Cream and try one of the new flavors. This line typically gets 30-50 people long, and they turn folks away every weekend night. Good stuff.
5. Cruise Ravenna Park
Walk to the end of that trail, and then go into the park….down to the bottom. Then take the trail
all the way through the ravine. This one is nice when it is sunny, and really cool when it is poring rain.
It’s about a mile to the other side and a pretty lush little jungle for inside a city. Bears in the middle of the city? We didn’t think so either.
Come out the other side and hit up Kidd Valley for garlic fries and a gourmet milkshake. A nice halfhour stroll before your next party engagement, or to fresh start a morning. Yes, you can start a morning with garlic fries. Or, if you are so inclined, head to 65th and 15th and the Sunshine farmer’s stand for an array of fruit and veggiee awesomeness, at wholesale prices. Smoothies ensue.
