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[Staccat0]

Me, A few friends and my lovely wife are taking a vacation to Seattle next weekend.
It's all of our first times there.

On our Menu of things to do/see we have:
Pike's Market
Pike Place Ghost Tour
Visit the Geocaching Headquarters
Gasworks Park
The Spaceneedle
Snoqualmie Forest (for both hiking and Geocaching)
Olympic Sculpture Park
Take a Ferry Somewhere
Sci Fi Museum
The the Gum Wall
See the Aurora Bridge
Maybe the Zoo

Is there any other things the locals are hip to that we should be aware of? Events or cool stuff? We're a little light on night activities. We love live shows, but aren't big "get smashed" types who just enjoy drinking for it's own sake (I actually don't drink at all)
Whose the hottest local band? Any interesting events?

As for food, we're all vegetarian and we're looking at trying to hit
Pizza Pi
Red Mill Burgers
Cyberdogs
Top Pots/ Mighty O
Any othe rlocal treats we need to see?

I know we can't do everything, but aside from a few concrete things, the idea is for us to go and just see what we feel like doing on any given day or moment by choosing from a nice selection of pre researched things. We're very much "do something" type people, so I feel petty confident we'll be happy.

Things we've already decided aren't going to happen this trip:
Whale Watching
Going to Mt. Saint Hellens or Rainier (too much time spent driving for our first time out)

Looks like it's gonna be cold and rainy the whole time, so that might impact things.
Anyway, just saying I'm excited as hell and wondering if I'm missing anything from my list of things to see?

We're gonna be based out of the Moore hotel btw. We'll have three full days of exploring.

 

[revolverjgw]

Go visit Jimi Hendrix's grave

 

[Deleted member 21120]

The Aquarium is cool if you've never been before.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Go take pictures of the Space Needle if you must, but don't waste your money going up it. Instead, hit the 73rd floor observation deck in the Columbia Tower (on whichever weekday you'll be here; it's closed on weekends) and get a view that's ten times better and less than a third the price.

 

[Staccat0]

Go take pictures of the Space Needle if you must, but don't waste your money going up it. Instead, hit the 73rd floor observation deck in the Columbia Tower (on whichever weekday you'll be here; it's closed on weekends) and get a view that's ten times better and less than a third the price.

GOOD TIP! Thanks!

The Aquarium is cool if you've never been before.

Forgot to mention it, but it's definitely on the list. Might be a good ironically dry option.

Go visit Jimi Hendrix's grave

Ooooh, interesting!

 

[D23]

if u like hiking check out rattlesnake ridge.. its a pretty easy hike with a breathtaking view

 

[Staccat0]

if u like hiking check out rattlesnake ridge.. its a pretty easy hike with a breathtaking view

noted. How is hiking in Seattle when it's rainy? I assume it's so wet there, that it's not so bad? Here the paths would just turn to muck and your shoes would way 5 pounds.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Also, since I'm a big fan of some of the bakeries around, I'd suggest stopping by Bakery Nouveau if you end up in west Seattle, the Fuji Bakery on the downtown edge of the international district, and on the way to or from Gasworks Park be sure to get the best croissant you'll ever eat outside of Paris at Cafe Besalu.

 

[D23]

noted. How is hiking in Seattle when it's rainy? I assume it's so wet there, that it's not so bad? Here the paths would just turn to muck and your shoes would way 5 pounds.

nah, its not that bad, most of the trail here r really maintained.. we've been having a pretty nice weather for the past 4 days except today

 

[Staccat0]

Thanks guys! Thread is bringing some goos to the table!

 

[DTJAAAAM]

The Seattle Retro Gaming Expo's going on next weekend:

http://www.seattleretro.org/

 

[Sumidor]

I don't know if Red Mill would be a good idea, since you're all vegetarians. It's pretty much known for it's bacon and beef patties.

 

[SHAZOOM]

If you're hitting up the Aquarium, make sure to walk down to The Crab Pot and have yourself some SeaFeast grub. Comes with wooden hammer and paper bibs.

*edit*

Vegetarians? Nevermind then.

 

[SHAZOOM]

Hmmm, could go for those Ride the Duck tours. Would give you a quick "lay of the land".

 

[Staccat0]

I don't know if Red Mill would be a good idea, since you're all vegetarians. It's pretty much known for it's bacon and beef patties.

Yeah, they have veggie burgers (not sure if they're good) but I love onion rings and we've read they're good. I guess it should be at the bottom of our list though.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Yeah, they have veggie burgers (not sure if they're good) but I love onion rings and we've read they're good. I guess it should be at the bottom of our list though.

Just for some other options, Seattle Weekly had a feature on the top five best veggie burgers in Seattle and the best onion rings -- naturally, there's no crossover between the two lists, although I've read a lot of positive reviews of Cafe Flora, which is entirely vegetarian and vegan. The vegetarian sandwiches at the Honeyhole are said to be quite good, too.

 

[Staccat0]

You are my hero. This all helps.
Also added Pinball museum

 

[J-Roderton]

Always wanted to go to Seattle myself. Does it really rain there are much as they say?

 

[luckyboyceo]

On our Menu of things to do/see we have:
Pike's Market
Pike Place Ghost Tour
Visit the Geocaching Headquarters
Gasworks Park
The Spaceneedle
Snoqualmie Forest (for both hiking and Geocaching)
Olympic Sculpture Park
Take a Ferry Somewhere
Sci Fi Museum
The the Gum Wall
See the Aurora Bridge
Maybe the Zoo

Wait. Really? Aurora? Is there something I'm missing here?

As far as food goes, definitely go to Red Mill. You won't be disappointed.

Always wanted to go to Seattle myself. Does it really rain there are much as they say?

Yes and no. There's a lot of days where it only rains for a few hours out of the day, and it's mostly just a real light rain, nothing like you'd find on the eastcoast.

It's not as bad as everyone says it is, but yes it does rain a lot.

 

[Staccat0]

Wait. Really? Aurora? Is there something I'm missing here?

As far as food goes, definitely go to Red Mill. You won't be disappointed.

Go there and see...
or clicky: Spoilers

 

[marathonfool]

Me, A few friends and my lovely wife are taking a vacation to Seattle next weekend.
It's all of our first times there.

On our Menu of things to do/see we have:
Pike's Market
Pike Place Ghost Tour
Visit the Geocaching Headquarters
Gasworks Park
The Spaceneedle
Snoqualmie Forest (for both hiking and Geocaching)
Olympic Sculpture Park
Take a Ferry Somewhere
Sci Fi Museum
The the Gum Wall
See the Aurora Bridge
Maybe the Zoo

Forget the Ferry. Take the water taxi from the downtown pier (just below Pike Place) to West Seattle and Alki Beach. A free bus line greets you from the water taxi. Go spend the day biking/playing on the beach/eat some good food. At night, the view of the city is amazing. Not as good as Gasworks, but a different perspective, especially when you take the water taxi back to downtown Seattle.

There is absolutely nothing special about Aurora Bridge. The zoo is lame, nothing special stands out. Sculpture park is lame in my opinion.

My top places to go.
Gasworks Park
West Seattle/Alki Beach via water taxi from the Pier
Downtown Pier (Crabpot for fresh seafood)
Hiking Little Si or RattleSnake trail
Pike Place Market
Space Needle is boring IMO and expensive. Go to Columbia Tower and the 40th floor Starbucks. Great place to relax and take in the heights.

Red Mill and Dicks are overrated.

 

[dubc35]

Wait. Really? Aurora? Is there something I'm missing here?

No kidding, please don't jump.

Rattlesnake Ledge and Little Si are good hikes. Snoqualmie Falls is pretty cool. SIFF is going on now. Gasworks Park, Green Lake and Golden Gardens are nice on nice days. I agree with not going up the Space Needle, in fact don't spend much time in the Seattle Center; it's kind of a dive. EMP is supposed to be cool but I've never been there, even though I've lived here for 11 years. I've heard if you want to see it all it requires a full day so I'm not sure it would fit into your plans anyway.

 

[luckyboyceo]

Go there and see...
or clicky: Spoilers

Oh, you mean Freemont. That makes much more sense now. If you said you wanted to see Aurora I'd say you're completely crazy.

Definitely agree about the Space Needle. It's cool but honestly, totally overrated. Just the elevator ride up is expensive so you're definitely better off doing something else. Columbia Tower is a good alternative as the previous poster said.

Also if you're looking for a viewpoint of the city (and particularly of the Space Needle side), Kerry Park on Queen Anne is extremely popular. It's actually where most of the photos of that side of Seattle are taken from. Check it out if you're in that area.

 

[FloppyDelux]

FYI folk life fest is happening between the 27-29th and it takes around Seattle center so it will be crowded those days.

Also if you want to have a great, but expensive. steak dinner i would suggest that you go to metropolitan grill , their porterhouse steak is good 2 people.

 

[Subitai]

We really should consider stickying a Seattle thread. This has to be like the 5th time one of these has popped up.

 

[Subitai]

The Aquarium is cool if you've never been before.

Oh yeah, maybe you'll get lucky and see the giant octopus eat a fish (small shark) he's not supposed to.

It is a smaller aquarium though. My brother was raised on the Baltimore aquarium and he left a little disappointed.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

It is a smaller aquarium though. My brother was raised on the Baltimore aquarium and he left a little disappointed.

I'd only been to one other aquarium, the one in Chattannooga, TN, about 20 years ago and this one in Seattle was still disappointing. I'd put it towards the bottom of the list.

 

[Staccat0]

I'd only been to one other aquarium, the one in Chattannooga, TN, about 20 years ago and this one in Seattle was still disappointing. I'd put it towards the bottom of the list.

WOAH! I've been to that! Small world.

The Dallas one is super sexy.

Also if you want to have a great, but expensive. steak dinner i would suggest that you go to metropolitan grill , their porterhouse steak is good 2 people.

 

[Verano]

well if you want Seattle, here it is:
Seattle Sounders

 

[dakilla13]

Gasworks is definitely a great spot to check out, the view of Seattle is amazing. Snoqualmie Falls is worth it if the day is nice, or you could hit up Tiger Mt. by Issaquah for a quick hike.

 

[Le-mo]

Always wanted to go to Seattle myself. Does it really rain there are much as they say?

Pretty much all year round maybe except for summer.

 

[kassatsu]

Pretty much all year round maybe except for summer.

Bullshit. It will be overcast most the time in fall, winter has rain/sleet/snow, but it is hardly constantly raining. it is drizzling 90% of the time when it does rain.

Seattle gets it reputation because it is always cloudy. We get less total rain per year that most cities on the east coast.

 

[Subitai]

Pretty much all year round maybe except for summer.

Yeah, May to September it us usually really nice.

 

[see5harp]

I can't remember the spot but two weeks ago I had a bomb ass cuban sandwich at some shack place my brother took me too. It was in a older neighborhood type spot that reminded me of Berkeley. If you want live shows, there are TONS of venues in Seattle. If you're into music, Neumos in Capitol Hill is the fucking spot (right next door you can get some very good fish and chips).

 

[vesp]

I can't remember the spot but two weeks ago I had a bomb ass cuban sandwich at some shack place my brother took me too. It was in a older neighborhood type spot that reminded me of Berkeley. If you want live shows, there are TONS of venues in Seattle. If you're into music, Neumos in Capitol Hill is the fucking spot (right next door you can get some very good fish and chips).

That would be Paseos. They are known for the pork sandwich but they do have a really good one that centered on their amazing onions and a really tasty tofu one as well. Definitely a highlight of seattle cheap eats. It's fairly close to the fremont bridge so it's a good suggestion.

i love the deep fried lemons they serve as a side at the fish and chips place next to nuemos.

 

[MisterNugNug]

If you're gonna check out Jimi Hendrix's grave, might as well hit up Bruce/Brandon Lee's as well. Tiger Pass is also another great hiking/camping spot in Washington. If you're vegan you can visit the Fremont area and grab some food there. Tilth is a restaurant not too far from Fremont on 45th Street in the Wallingford area, the restaurant is a fine dining place with some substantial vegan and vegetarian food I hear, though a little pricey.

 

[Darth Pinche]

Paseo's is great, their tofu sandwich is very good (the scallop one is amazing). The veggie burger at Red Mill is ok but the milk shake is excellent. Just in case you guys eat fish, I always recommend Japonessa sushi downtown, across the street from SAM (Seattle Art Museum).
if you are going to do the Space Needle, get the City Pass. For that price you will get to go up the Needle and EMP/Sci-fi museum admission, and the Aquarium, and a harbor boat tour (plus some other stuff). It is a great deal and you can use the tickets over several days.

Shorty's is a fun, pinball dive bar in Belltown (evil clown theme).

 

[MjFrancis]

Space Needle is boring IMO and expensive. Go to Columbia Tower and the 40th floor Starbucks. Great place to relax and take in the heights.

Despite never having been up the Space Needle, I'll agree with this. The Needle is fun to look at but it also caught my attention as a tourist trap with overpriced... everything. I'm one of many local Puget Sound residents who have never bothered to go up the thing, despite passing it hundreds of times.

I've been to the EMP twice before but again, it never seemed terribly interesting to me. But I'm the kind of guy who'd rather pub hop and talk to strangers all night than go to anything tourist-y.

 

[Staccat0]

Oh, you mean Freemont. That makes much more sense now. If you said you wanted to see Aurora I'd say you're completely crazy.

I'm getting really confused, because people keep telling me to NOT go to the Aurora bridge, but everything else says to definitely go there. for example wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Bridge_(Seattle)

Confusingly, the Fremont Troll, a long-standing public sculpture, is not located beneath the Fremont Bridge, but rather the nearby Aurora Bridge, but still in the Fremont neighborhood

My wife and I have a running joke about trolls, so I'd like to surprise her with it.

 

[Staccat0]

I've been to the EMP twice before but again, it never seemed terribly interesting to me. But I'm the kind of guy who'd rather pub hop and talk to strangers all night than go to anything tourist-y.

We're less interested in doing touristy things than things we CAN'T do at home. If there is one thing we can do in Austin, it's go to bars and meet characters.

 

[distantmantra]

Come up to my neck of the woods and take a walk around Greenlake. You should also check out the University Farmer's Market on Saturday.

 

[siddx]

Zoo is only so so. It's decent enough but if you've been to a big high profile zoo it will seem a bit underwhelming. If you are a zoo fan I suppose it's worth it.
I thought the aquarium was awful. Boring and sparse.
Gum wall has several of my pieces on it, hooray or something.


Top of the space needle is worth it for the view, but don't eat at the overpriced garbage restaurant.

Pike Place Market is amusing enough, I used to work at Lowells restaurant in the market, don't eat there, it's a tourist trap shithole with overpriced food. Owner is a scumbag too who definitely doesn't deserve your money.
There are a few interesting stores underneath the top floor of the market, make sure to go down into there and explore a bit, a lot of tourists just walk through the top floor of the market and then leave, never realizing there are far more interesting shops on the other floors below.

Maybe its because I spent the first half of my time there sleeping all day and working nights at a strip club, and the second half working 60 hours a week at a restaurant where I would go straight from work to the bar or some girl's apartment, but I never really took in many of the "sights" and attractions. I think of Seattle as being rather dull actually.

 

[Staccat0]

Zoo is only so so. It's decent enough but if you've been to a big high profile zoo it will seem a bit underwhelming. If you are a zoo fan I suppose it's worth it.
I thought the aquarium was awful. Boring and sparse.
Gum wall has several of my pieces on it, hooray or something.


Top of the space needle is worth it for the view, but don't eat at the overpriced garbage restaurant.

Pike Place Market is amusing enough, I used to work at Lowells restaurant in the market, don't eat there, it's a tourist trap shithole with overpriced food. Owner is a scumbag too who definitely doesn't deserve your money.
There are a few interesting stores underneath the top floor of the market, make sure to go down into there and explore a bit, a lot of tourists just walk through the top floor of the market and then leave, never realizing there are far more interesting shops on the other floors below.

Maybe its because I spent the first half of my time there sleeping all day and working nights at a strip club, and the second half working 60 hours a week at a restaurant where I would go straight from work to the bar or some girl's apartment, but I never really took in many of the "sights" and attractions. I think of Seattle as being rather dull actually.

sick burn

Thanks for the tip on Pike's Market!

 

[siddx]

sick burn

Thanks for the tip on Pike's Market!

Ok?

edit: ah didn't see the edit


Also, I found the surrounding areas to be the most enjoyable parts of living in Seattle. Driving up to Vancouver BC, or taking the Ferry out to Bainbridge island. Also went out to Orca Island once which was neat. Going up to Mnt. Rainer or Mnt. Baker, or out to the Gorge, or the dozens of parks all surrounding Seattle. And of course the Olympic National Park.

 

[distantmantra]

I'm getting really confused, because people keep telling me to NOT go to the Aurora bridge, but everything else says to definitely go there. for example wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Bridge_(Seattle)

My wife and I have a running joke about trolls, so I'd like to surprise her with it.

You don't go to the bridge. Go to Fremont and just follow the signs to the troll.

On a side note, New Belgian Brewery held an event at the troll last night around 11pm as part of Seattle Beer Week.