Seattle - October 2008
As with our previous travel blogs, you can click the pictures on these pages to go to a larger version. If you just want to see the pictures, click here and here. Otherwise, here is our story:
Many people have asked why we chose to go to Seattle for a vacation. After all isn't it cold and rainy there? To answer those questions, yes it was cold and it did rain. Every day. But getting back to the question at hand - why did we choose Seattle? Living in Florida one gets used to daily rain, and quite honestly, when we left Tampa is was 82F on Sunday morning. When we arrived at 1:30 Sunday afternoon it was 55F in Seattle - a week in a nice cool place with a lot of history and plenty of interesting things to do is why!
Sunday 10.12.08:
We flew from Tampa to Chicago and finally onto Seattle. The good thing about going to the west coast is that you get 3 hours back on your way out there. The bad thing is you get them back when you return...
We arrived at at SeaTac (Seattle Tacoma Airport) around 1:30 in the afternoon. We rented our Dodge Caliber (is it any wonder why American car companies are failing?) and made our way towards the hotel and stopped for a bite to eat.
As we made our way up Washington-99 here were a few of the sights to behold:
Lunch: Dick's Drive In:
"..we stopped at Taco Bell, for some Mexican eatin'--
but Taco Bell was closed, and the girls was on my tip--
they said, "Go back the other way, we'll stop and eat at Dick's"--
Dick's is the place where the crew hang out--
the SWASS like to play, and the rich flaunt clout--
posse to the burger stand, so big we walk in two's..."
- lyrics by Sir Mix A Lot - "My Posse's on Broadway" (3:15 seconds into the video *might not be safe for work*)
Ok, So Dick's has been in business for some 50+ years and I remember seeing images of the Dick's Drive In on Broadway in Sir Mix A lot's rap video back in the day, so naturally I was curious to see what this place was about.
Ana had the Dick's Special, I had a regular cheeseburger, we split a small sized French fries and we both had chocolate shakes. I have to be honest I was pretty impressed, the flavor of the meat was very good, the buns were fresh and tasty and it was a good value. The fries weren't to my liking, as they were more soggy than crispy, but that's just personal preference. If you like 5 Guys fries, then you would love these. The chocolate shakes were fantastic to boot. The only oddity is that they charge for condiments, but it really isn't a big deal, we just aren't used to paying for catsup. Bottom line - If you are ever in Seattle, definitely stop at one of their locations.
Once we finished up lunch we wanted to get to the hotel and drop off our luggage. Our hotel was about 8 blocks away from Dick's at the corner of 45th and Brooklyn, which is also about 1/2 mile from the University of Washington.
Accommodations: Hotel
DECA
The Hotel Deca is a gorgeous Art Deco hotel in the heart of the University district in what I would call Northeastern Seattle. It was located well to just about everything except places on the south side or west side of Seattle, and even at that really wasn't too bad of a drive. They also have a Tully's downstairs and a pretty nice (albeit tiny) gym.
Here are a few shots of the room (and of the view we had of Mount Rainier!)
The Journey Begins!
Once we were settled in we fired up the VZ Navigator Software and began our tour of the Emerald City.
Our first stop would take us to Kerry Park, a small park in the Queen Anne neighborhood. This park is in the highest point of Queen Anne and offers up some of the best views of the Space Needle and the Seattle skyline. Here it is on Google Maps. Take note that if you want to get to this using Sat-Nav the address is 211 NW Highland not 211 W Highland! The direction is of much importance in Seattle!
The views of the skyline and Space Needle from Kerry Park:
To the left Ana is sitting pretty with the Skyline, and on the right, I have the King Kong effect going on with the Space Needle (too bad I wasn't looking at the camera!):
There was also a nice piece of art in Kerry Park as well:
Once we soaked in the view a bit, we left Kerry Park and headed down to Gasworks park.
Gasworks Park is the site of a former coal gasification plant that was located in the heart of Seattle. It was turned into a park by the city of Seattle and offers up some pretty spectacular views of the city as well. You may have seen this park in the movies Singles, 10 Things I Hate About You, and in the season finale of The Amazing Race - Season 3.
On Google Maps:
Lots of fall foliage (something we don't see in Florida too much)
A few pieces of equipment that remain:
On the left looking to the East of the Park, on the right, looking to the Southeast:
On the left a view to the South, on the right, a view to the Southwest:
Here I am horsing around on the old fire pole, and Ana sitting in front of the industrial looking remains:
Since we were already in the "Fremont" section of Seattle, we decided to go see the Fremont Troll.
The Fremont Troll is an art sculpture located under the Aurora Bridge, at the intersection of Troll Avenue and 36th. Seattle really does embrace the arts, its a nice departure from the cookie cutter lifelessness we have here in Tampa. To give you a sense of size, that is a real VW Beatle the troll is grasping in his left hand...
The Intersection of Troll and 36th, the Fremont Troll:
Ana and James next to the Troll
Yes, its a real VW!
From Fremont we drove down to the coast of Elliot Bay and to the "Olympic Sculpture Park".
Olympic Sculpture Park is a free park that is operated by the Seattle Art Museum. It features many different pieces and even includes a grass lined amphitheater donated by Bill and Melinda Gates. You will see many donations in this city from the Gates family as well as from the Microsoft Corporation.
On the left, the Space Needle peek's out from behind a modern building, the artwork "Wake" by Richard Serra, on the right.
On the left "Bunyon's Chess" on the right, Ana sitting on "The Eye Benches" (these were made of solid black granite)
While we were strolling through here a few trains rolled by:
From here we took the car down and parked in front of Pier 62 and 63, then strolled down to Pike Place Market. I didn't take any pictures down there as I didn't want to haul the camera around. I also discovered that I had left my sunglasses in the car at the airport, so I haggled for a pair of cheap polarized shades down at the market. I am glad I did, the glare off the sky and those few sunny times really necessitated some shades.
When we had our fill of walking around Pike's Place Market, we headed to dinner at Lola.
Dinner: Lola
Lola is a Greek / Mediterranean influenced restaurant at the corner of 4th and Virginia in downtown Seattle. It was probably one of the best places I have ever eaten. To start, we ordered the Lola Sampler, which was comprised of the following: Prawn (shrimp) kebab, crispy chickpeas and cashews, marinated olives, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), tzatziki sauce, red pepper spread, and one of the thickest pieces of pita bread I have ever seen. I also enjoyed a small carafe of their house "Lola Red" wine, which was amazing. For our dinner portions, Ana had the naturally raised pork and Metaxas apple kebabs, while I enjoyed the Washington chicken kebabs which we coated in a yogurt/dill sauce, and was out of this world. For dessert we split the cashew and chocolate tart with pears. Again, what an amazing combination. If you are ever in Seattle, don't hesitate to stop in. The portions are small enough you won't feel guilty for eating them, and big enough you won't be left hungry.
At this point it was about 9pm PST, and we were pretty wiped out. We headed back to the hotel for the evening.
