Seattle Trip ? - YouLookFab Forum

Hi Fabbers! If you have time, I would love your help. I’m trying to plan a quick Seattle trip in July and I would love to get some input. (The last time I was in Seattle was 20 years ago so my memory is a little hazy.) My daughters are 14 and 17--they enjoy the typical teenage girl things, appreciate quirky/spooky, and love photography. I’m unsure of the order of events but these are some of the places I thought would be interesting. Please let me know if this sounds too ambitious--the hardest part for me is figuring out travel time/distance from point to point. I’ve read that parking is difficult in many areas so we are open to public transportation or walking whenever possible but will likely rent a car for at least a few days if not the whole trip. This is a work in progress so feel free to recommend alternate or additional places of interest. We all love to eat so we plan on checking out some of the local eateries too--to fill in any spare time.

Day 1: Pioneer Square, Underground tour, Columbia Center

Day 2: Chihuly Gardens and Glass and/or Olympic Sculpture Park

Day 3: Ferry to Bainbridge Island (?) I've been here but can't remember anything about it except that it was cute.

Day 4: Ballard Locks or Pikes Place

The girls would probably get a kick out of the Fremont Troll. Might try to fit that in one day too.

Thanks in advance!

8 years ago

dashielle (Ann)

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Meetup! Anyone? Kelly, I'll think about it and get back to you with some suggestions. Pics I took just yesterday from the ferry and a rare sighting of several pods of orca!

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annagybe

I live within walking distance of the troll.
Underground tour is completely dependent on the tour guide. Mine was crap.
Might consider this too http://www.seattleghost.com/

kellygirl

Thanks, Dashielle! Gorgeous pictures. I remember enjoying the ferry experience even without the orcas. No pressure either, I'm just trying to figure out whether I am being too ambitious. We all like knocking around too so I'm trying to plan on having some unscheduled time too.
@anna: that tour sounds terrific and right up our alley. That might be a good evening activity! Thanks!

Also many buses from downtown Seattle to Fremont. If you're going to Fremont, check out the Lenin statue, the Rocket and Waiting for the Interurban

annabelle

Kelly, I'm on my phone so I'm being terse; check out pcnw.org / exhibitions for photography and the Frye art museum. Downtown retail has really revitalized since your last visit, if your girls are into shopping. Check the Mariners schedule before going on Hwy 99; there is huge construction and your GPS and google maps might not be the most current info source. I think you could do Locks + Fremont + Wallingford or U district + rent a kayak or electric boat in South Lake Union all in a day. Have fun! P.s.walking sandals. I can scarcely make a post without a Find.

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@Anna: Thanks for the tips! I will add them to my list.
@Annabelle: Thank you. I totally forgot about UW so thanks for the reminder. I'm unfamiliar with Wallingford but will look it up. Love the Find too

Robin

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Pike Place Market is a must, of course. Since you'll be down there, make sure you see the Hammering Man statue in front of the art museum.
I just learned yesterday about the Duck, a guided tour on a vehicle that drives on land and water. Not sure how old your girls are, but they might find the novelty of that pretty cool.

Your reply

Diana

OK, so obviously I am not from seattle but here are some of the things I did when I was there last summer if you want a visitor's perspective.

--Aida took me to see the troll/Fremont, Gasworks Park, Pike Place Market, and various other places, all punctuated by lots of yummy food. She is the BEST tour guide!

--I loved the Chihuly garden and glass. When I was there, they let you reenter on the same ticket in the evening - it was fun to see the garden in the dark.

--I also went to the olympic sculpture park, which was excellent. I think I walked there from my hotel and then walked down the waterfront to downtown.

--YLF meetup! Although I'm not sure Angie will be back yet, the Seattle ladies are fantastic.

--UW has a nice campus. I was there for a meeting so I spent quite a bit of time there. Are your daughters looking at colleges yet?

I stayed near Seattle Center for the first couple of days (then I moved to the UW campus for my meeting), which was really convenient. I walked mostly, all around Seattle Center area, downtown, and over to the lake one morning. I think other places are easier with a car although the bus would probably work too. (I drove around with Aida and also with Angie so I didn't try using the bus.) There's also the little monorail that goes between Seattle Center and downtown. One thing I wish I had had time to do was go for a ferry ride to the islands.

Aida

How fun!! Great tips from the other ladies already, and Diana has shared about what I know as well -- as you can see, all my knowledge is food centric Freemont is a cute quirky little city, I bet your girls would enjoy it; Wallingford too, though I think it's a bit more spread out while in Freemont you can hit several interesting spots all within walking distance of each other. I think the waterfront will be more opened up in July as well? One of the Seattle gals could probably confirm/deny that.

You're getting a day or a few hours to yourself so that I can come meet you right!??

EDIT: Wanted also to point out that there are a LOT of outdoorsy types of things to do out here, if you can get a bit out of the city. And if your girls are into that sort of thing. Loads of great hiking/mountain biking, you can rent little paddle boats out on Lake Washington (among others), I think you can rent bikes in some Seattle neighborhoods too. In July there might be some decent salmon fishing, and crabbing may also have started (you can do fishing tours out here too). Feel free to PM me if you need anything!

Great tips, Robin, Diana and Aida! Thanks so much. I am out of town right now but will look into these when I get home.
@Diana: Very helpful to get a visitor's perspective. I totally forgot about UW. DD#1 will be a senior this year so we have been looking at colleges--but mostly in state.
@Robin: Adding the Hammering Man to my list!
@Aida: Fremont sounds perfect for walking around. I think one quirky shopping area is probably enough for us and it sounds more accessible than Wallingford. I will read up a little more on both though. I would love to do some outdoorsy stuff but we do a fair bit of that at home already and I'm not sure we want to schlep that kind of gear for such a short trip. And yes! I am hoping to meet up with you and whoever else is available once I get our trip sorted--even if it's just to meet for a beer or coffee!

Thanks so much again for your help!

greycat6

Great ideas here already. I wanted recommend adding the Theo Chocolate Factory tour if you are spending time in Fremont. Free samples!

Okay back at a real keyboard. Kelly, when, exactly are you coming in, where are you staying, and do you and your girls prefer more of an urban experience or active, etc? How sensitive to outdoor temperatures are you all? I have a ton of ideas for you, depending on all that.

As for Robin's idea of the Duck Boat, I say YES. It is corny and fun and you see a lot of Seattle without walking. If you did it on the first day, you'd learn about the City and maybe get new ideas for the rest of your stay. One of the Duck Boat outposts is across from the Experience Music Project Museum, a unique museum that I've not seen anything like, elsewhere in the country. http://www.empmuseum.org

Angie

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You need to take the girls to Capital Hill.

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