Mar 14

Mar 14 Seattle, WA

My first trip to Seattle was March 2018 with a girlfriend of mine from back home. We decided to throw together a last minute trip to somewhere and with a few minutes of searching, Seattle won for timing, price, and interesting things to do. And boy did we do some things. Despite only being there for about 3 and a half days, we knocked out some pretty awesome stuff. Shall we get started?

DAY 1

Gum Wall

We just stumbled upon the gum wall completely by accident. It is right next to Pike Place Market and a little wandering through the stairwells puts you right at the wall. Gross as it is, it was necessary to participate.

pike place market

Pike Place Market has so much more than fish. The most surprising of which was probably the flowers. Everywhere you turned, there are fresh cut flowers for remarkably reasonable prices. It reminded me of My Fair Lady a little bit. Fresh fruit, fresh veggies, flowers, arts & crafts, and of course, fish. They sell some amazing things.

DAY 2

breakfast at the sweet iron

Sweet Iron Waffle Bar in Downtown Seattle

There are a few locations of Sweet Iron's downtown, this one was near 3rd and Seneca, across the street from the Light Rail Station. There are a few options for what you can get, like Plain, Chocolate Covered, Creme Brulee Banana (delicious, by the way), and even dozen packs of mini-waffles either regular or chocolate dipped. The dough is good and the options are slightly limited, but I tried it twice and both were good.

seattle monorail

The Monorail runs from Downtown to the Space Needle in about 2 minutes for $2.50 per ride.

The Monorail felt just like Disney. We even rode in the front. They offer reduced fairs to a handful of people, including a Military discount. I appreciated that greatly. The ride was quiet, the driver was nice and the view was pretty darn neat.

space needle

The Space Needle was under construction while we were there, but the views were still pretty alright. The key, I think is to get there early so that there aren't a bunch of people up there crowding the windows. When we were looking at times online, they said that the observation deck opened at ten in the morning. We headed that way a little early and lo and behold, they had opened at nine. So, pro tip: Get there early.

Olympic Sculpture Park

This park was not as extensive as we were hoping, but it still has some neat modern art scattered about. The real joy that I found here and one of the best free things to do in Seattle was sitting here in the park and looking out at the Olympic Mountains across the water. Well worth the walk.

One of the best free things to do in Seattle, sit in Olympic Sculpture Park and check out the mountains

amazon spheres

Much like the Olympic Sculpture Park, this was not a long stop. Just a quick pass-by to take a couple of pictures of the beautiful Amazon Spheres. These buildings are filled with plants and tables and look like quite the comfy place to sit and think. From here, we decided to get lunch.

The Yard House

This place had a really great lunch deal for a small pizza and a side salad, gorgeous cocktails and lots of beers on tap. Although... When we were there, apparently their landlord had screwed something up with their water lines and they had no beer. I didn't know that could happen. They had a good looking selection, but we had to stick with cocktails.

Seattle Underground Tour

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour of Seattle

This tour was by far one of the coolest things to do in Seattle. There is a long history about how the city was founded, the fact that it was named after a Native American Chief (though Anglicized), and the fire that led to the creation of the underground. I'm not going to go into the whole story, that is for the tour guides to do. If you ever make it to Seattle, this is an absolute must-do! The ticket was $22 and well worth it. There is a fair amount of walking and over uneven terrain with low hanging obstacles and in some very sketchy looking spaces. If you are claustrophobic or don't like caves, then you may not enjoy this tour as much. But, if you like history and learning cool stuff, worth it.

Underground Tour of abandoned lower level of Downtown Seattle

Skylights in the Underground that let a little bit of light in still today from the original first floor of Seattle's Downtown.

The Sound Wave Band

These guys were incredible! They made me want to go by to highschool band for sure. They danced and sang and were there advertising for the soccer match that was coming up the next day. It's amazing what you can run into while wandering through a city like Seattle.

Pitstop at Cupcake Royale

The friend that I traveled with is a baker, so this was an essential stop for us. I have to admit though, that the cupcakes were not that good and they had a bit of a limited selection, so I will likely not revisit this locale. But, the cupcakes were pretty nonetheless.

Day 3

The Original Starbucks

The original Starbucks coffee shop is a popular stop for many people in Seattle everyday. The lines were out the door and around the corner nearly every time we went by it. The main distinct difference is the symbol. The original symbol does not look like the green one that you may be used to. The coffee tasted like the coffee anywhere else, but the vibe in the store is a little different than what the regular ones. The people were great and the service was excellent, which I found surprising. At a lot of high-tourist areas tend to have staff that are less than excited about helping you when you come in, but these guys were great. They took their time, made sure I was getting exactly what I wanted to get and explained the details of beverages despite the line behind me. I was pleasantly surprised and I highly recommend this stop. Pro-tip: Get there early. They open at 6 AM and we were there around 8. The line wasn't bad when we were there, but it did take a minute to get our drinks, as they were still very busy. One of the best things they did was toss the cups to one another. The guy who takes your order stacks your group's cups together, shouts out the number of cups that he is about to toss, then tosses it to a ready and waiting barista on the other side of the shop where they make your drinks for you and call out your name to come get them. And, they thank everyone by name. It was a great experience.

top pot doughnuts

My friend decided to buy a bunch of souvenirs at the Original Starbucks, so we stopped for Top Pot Doughnuts on our way back to the hotel.

Fremont Troll

Any 10 Things fan will recognize the Fremont Troll from the movie. I had to see this landmark to nod to my younger years. This was another of many quick stops on this adventure. We weren't here long, but it was fun!

Norm's Super Dog Friendly Restaurant

This restaraunt allows your dogs to come in and even have a doggie menu

If you are in love with your dogs and want them to mingle with others outside of the dog park, give Norm's a visit. Seattle overall is pretty dog friendly, but Norm's takes it to a whole new level.

Theo Chocolate tour

This tour was very educational. We learned all about how cocoa plants are grown and harvested and how their chocolate is made from the beans of the plant. This company seems to have strong ethics and they are very proud of what they do and how they do it. On top of all that, their chocolate is pretty damn delicious! I bought a couple bars to bring home with me. They sell them at Whole Foods, so if you're interested in trying it, swing by a Whole Foods and give it a whirl.

Seattle Great Wheel

The wheel was pretty cool at night. I'd like to do it again during the day to look out at the mountains and the water. But, this way was all city and if there was ever a location that looked like Gotham City, holy crap, this is it.

Seattle from the Seattle Great Wheel, at night. It's Gotham City, seriously.

Once you come down from the wheel, you are shuffled through a long maze of small shops and attractions that are meant to make you spend your money, but I admit, some of them were really cool. Take your time going through here and enjoy the old-timey feel of a carnival long since gone.

Day 4

The final day was fairly uneventful. Just a quick bite at the Sweet Iron again with a quick hop over to the Light Rail Station to get to the airport. And you know, despite the fact that my friend and I were flying to opposite sides of the U.S., we ended up flying out of the same terminal! Hers was the flight right after mine, so we got to sit together a while longer.

The last leg of this trip was pretty cool, too. You see, I had a credit with the airline from a previous cancellation and since I could only use the credit on a single flight for a single person one time, I decided to upgrade to first class. For the first time in my life, I flew first class. That was some pretty fancy stuff. Free drinks, in glassware. Real silverware, lunch. I couldn't hardly believe it. It was still airline food, but it was way prettier than any airline food I had ever seen before.

Salmon salad with a raspberry vinegarette dressing and a turtle cheesecake for dessert.

That's all I have for you guys from this trip. We did a lot in a short amount of time and I hope that if this interested you, then you should make your way to Seattle soon. If you'd like to see the full gallery, check it out on Pinterest.

Thanks, y'all!