So I just got back from Seattle and Vancouver and had an awesome time!
We landed in Seattle close to midnight on Monday on AA 45 in first. I had vouchers from being bumped that were expiring so I used them here. Nothing too special about first. Bigger seats and better service. AA doesn't offer a kosher option on this route. We then went straight to National to pick up my car. They had an offer to upgrade to a maserati for only $100 a day but I reluctantly declined. The executive aisle was really empty so I settled for a rav 4. We stayed at the Westin and got upgraded to the Supreme View room. I didn't notice it at night but the next morning I looked out the window at it was incredible.
View from our room.
Started the next day by walking to Pikes Market. It's a cute place to walk around and see all the crafts people are selling. We also visited the first Starbucks. Nothing too exciting but something that should be done. We walked along the water and ended up in the aquarium. It was a nice aquarium, It's more of an educational type aquarium so it doesn't have the glamor of other larger aquariums (like Atlanta). We ended up buying the city pass there. We kept walking until we got to the underground tour which was great! Definitely recommended. We went to Glasshouse Studio which is a blown glass store where you can actually watch them make the things in front of you. Very cool if you're into that kind of stuff (I am!) We ended up buying a custom glass figurine which we got to watch him make.
From there we uber'ed it to the space needle (part of the city pass). I can imagine on a sunny day the view is great from up there but we had cloudy weather. Still nice though. We then headed over to the Chihully Gardens which is right next door (also city pass) INCREDIBLE! I'm not into art but the way they set up the exhibits is really eye-catching. We headed back to our hotel to pick up our car and headed to Albertsons for some dinner. Picked up a rotisserie chicken and some wraps for lunch the next day. Both were very good. Interstingly, they put a lot of dill in their cole slaw which gives it an interesting flavor. We called it a night after that.
Next day we were planning to drive to Mt Rainier but I saw a magazine in our room that spoke about the Olympic Peninsula so we headed there instead. We took the ferry from Seattle to Braiborn (cost about $30 to bring our car on). From there we drove all the way to Cape Flattery (with only a few stops) which is the most North-West tip of the continental USA. Stunning! From there you can see the Pacific Ocean and Canada. It's a short nature walk from the parking lot to the coast.
You can see The Pacific Ocean on the left and Canada on the right.
We then drove to Forks (for all you Twilight fans) and then headed back to Braiborn to catch the ferry home. We stopped along the way because some of the scenery demanded it. We caught sunset on the ferry which was really nice.
Sunset from the Ferry
We were running late so we called in an order to Bamboo Gardens. We got there 15 minutes before closing and they were nice enough to let us sit and eat. Very interesting food. Not heavy like a kosher chinese restaurant but incredibly flavorful. Best part was that you don't feel sick after. The city pass comes with two entries to the Space Needle so we went up for a few minutes to see it at night.
Next two days I had a conference. MY wife went to the zoo and did the harbor cruise (finishing off her city pass.) She seemed to really enjoy both. We met up for lunch both days at Island Crust. I wouldn't say it's the best pizza I've ever had, but it is definitely up there. Thursday night we went to Kerry Park to watch sunset. Magnificent! You don't really see the sun setting. Rather it's the skyline during sunset. A lot of people come to watch it.
Sunset from Kerry Park. You can see Mt Rainier on the right. (annoying tree gets in the way of the view)
That night we ate at the Indian restaurant. Very interesting. Not necessarily my taste but I could still appreciate the authenticity of the food.
We spent shabbos in Steward Park by friends of friends. It is a really nice, warm, friendly Jewish community on Lake Washington. Shabbos afternoon we walked around the park and it is beautiful. Saturday night we picked up some fresh (piping hot) krispy kream.
Sunday morning we went to the boeing factory tour in everet on our way up to Vancouver. It was so cool! It should be mandatory for every DDF'er! We ended up spending a lot more time there than we thought we would. They take you into the actual hangers where the planes are built!
In general Washington is a beautiful state. There are mountains, trees, and lakes everywhere. A couple of times as we were driving we would just pull over to enjoy the views. You don't really need more than 2-3 days in Seattle proper, but I would definitely recommend a trip there and to the surrounding areas.