A Day in Seattle
How to See Some Great Sites in a Few Hours

Right now living just down the road from Seattle in Portland, Oregon, that gives us the opportunity to make a day trip up to see the real rainy city of the Pacific Northwest. We decided to drive up there on a Friday night, spend all day Saturday in Seattle, then head back to Portland on Sunday and stop in Tacoma while on the way home. Here is the itinerary that we kept and covered while we were in Seattle over the weekend!
Friday night after work, we left the house around 7:30 p.m., and headed on our way to Seattle, Washington, which is about a three and a half hour drive north straight up I-5.


(My third attempt to try to get pictures of the Washington State Welcome Signs. Impossible!)
Since we were going at the nicest part of the year, in August, it was hard to find a place that was reasonably priced in Seattle. Most of the places were above $200 a night. I scoured the internet and finally found something through Orbitz, the total coming to $85 a night. We stayed at SeaTac Travelodge, and made plans to use public transit to go into Seattle from there. It wasn't the nicest place, but it worked for what we needed.

(Look at the photobomber in the background)
We took the Tuckwilla Lite Rail into downtown Seattle and got off at the Westlake stop. From there we were able to walk only a few blocks up to the famous Pike Place Market!

The Pike Place Market was everything that we thought it would be. It was quirky and weird, being a good mix of the type of flea markets that we love. There was a little bit of everything, from fruits and vegetables, to fish and meats, to clothing and fun souvenirs. While we were there we were able to see a man playing an accordion with a cat mask on, among other great views from the Pike Place Market over the Puget Sound.




I even stopped to get a selfie with a fortune teller.

I was able to catch a glimpse of the big wheel in Seattle right at the waterfront. I never actually made it down there to see it in person, so maybe I’ll have to return for another trip to actually ride on it!

After getting a glimpse of the big wheel, it was time to head down to the Pike Place Fish Market to see some flying fish. This is a very busy area so if you don’t like crowds, this is not the place to come. It is very interactive and the butcher’s chant and chowder together almost in the sing song form while throwing the fish to each other after it has been purchased.

The Gum Wall is right next to Pike Place Market, so you know we had to check that out next.


We decided to walk her way through downtown from Pike Place Market over to the Space Needle. That is a little under a mile away, but we’re making sure that we were taking in as much of the downtown scenery and possible. Here are some of the sights that we saw along the way.


Then we finally made it to the Space Needle.



There was quite the wait to get up to the top of the Space Needle, so we bought some advance tickets to come back. In the meantime we decided to go search for the Fremont Troll.


After the really fun visits the Fremont Troll, we made an unplanned visit over to gasworks park. I had read about it having a steampunk feel and had more time to burn before we needed to be back to the Space Needle. So we decided what the heck, let’s check it out! What we found was worth every step that it took to get there from the troll.


While at gasworks Park, we had a visit from the Blue Angels who flew overhead and put on quite a show. You have to really zoom in but you can see them flying in a formation over the park and Union Lake.


After fun at the park, we shared a Brunch dish at a restaurant called Thackary, which had a delicious dish, although pricey.

We took the bus back to downtown Seattle, grabbed a beer, then headed to the Space Needle. After an hour in line, we got to ride the elevator to the top for beautiful views.


I hope to get to return again soon!
