Let’s take a look at some of the tourist attractions and fun activities of the Seattle area.
Pike Place Market
This was one of the first places we visited, partially to see the location of the “Original” Starbucks and partially to watch the fish market throw around the different fish orders. It was alive and vibrant with energy, where people walking in the middle of the street was not uncommon. Many of the vendors were offering free samples of their product, and I discovered there is a such thing as chocolate pasta. The food smelled amazing and there was fresh produce and flowers all along the way. I even managed to snap a picture of the infamous Rachel the Pig.
The Underground Tour
There is so much history behind the city of Seattle, so the next tourist adventure was to go underground and take a tour of the city before it was raised. In all honesty, the idea of a city in this location was not a good idea, but through innovation, a lot of trial and error, and a even a few more provocative activities, the city became what it is today. The tour guide was extremely charismatic and funny, and while most of it was probably scripted, it was a fun way to learn about Seattle’s interesting, if not somewhat dirty, history.
Woodland Park Zoo
Time to enjoy some nature and wildlife. With your entry ticket, you’re given a token to vote for which endangered species funding should be focused on next, so I picked a type of heron because of my father’s work with birds. There was a large crowd at the gorilla exhibit to try and get a glimpse of baby Yola, who was born on November 20, 2015. Let’s be honest, baby animals are the cutest. The zoo was laid out by region, whether by continent or the type of environment the animals lived in, so it made it easy to navigate and ensure that we saw it all. Gold statues of different creatures were scattered all throughout the park, but my favorite was a gorgeous, tiled sculpture of a Komodo Dragon that was actually smaller than the real one they had. The Grizzly bears were an impressive sight to behold and we were able to see them very clearly, up and about at feeding time.
Franklin Falls
This sight may not be part of Greater Seattle, but I was told it was a great hiking trail to a beautiful waterfall, so we made the drive out to enjoy the mountain air. I’m not much of a hiker and there were plenty of points along the way where I was struggling to keep pace. It wasn’t an overly difficult trail, but it was longer than I expected, or felt like it anyway. The end result was definitely worth it. A rocky shore with a narrow stream coming from the powerful waterfall. You could feel the mist coming off of it from several feet away. It was the picture perfect area where I was able to bask in nature’s beauty and get some rest before making the trek back.
Space Needle
What’s a trip to Seattle without visiting the Space Needle? There were street performers all around doing everything from magic to music and naturally there were plenty of vendors selling tons of items with “Seattle” or “Space Needle” stamped onto them. Once at the top, this was by far one of the best ways to see Seattle. It offered an amazing view of the city and the bay and there was even a rooftop painting that made it look like there were giant spiders on top of the building. We didn’t get the chance to see the Chihuly Garden and Glass, but could see part of it from above in the elevator and it would have been stunning to experience.
Kayaking at Alki Beach
Before returning home, we set out to do some kayaking in the bay. There was a small company called Alki Kayak Tours, down the road from Salty’s, that rented out kayaks by the hour, so we loaded up on gear and headed out. It had been a long time since I had kayaked, so I felt pretty good when I was able to shove off and paddle away without too much difficulty. There were a few brief instances where my kayak was shaken by waves coming off of the ferry or passing motor boats and I thought I was about to tip over. Fortunately that was not the case and after snapping a few photos we made it back to shore dry.
I know that there is probably many more things in Seattle that I missed the opportunity to experience, but now those can be saved for future return trips.
Cheers!
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