Seattle

I have been to Seattle a few times and it is a fun destination. Yes, it does rain frequently, but grab an umbrella and make the visit as there is a lot to do.

Coffee & the Space Needle

Seattle’s most iconic drink and Seattle’s most iconic building. The Space Needle is a fixture in Seattle’s skyline. And you can’t walk a block without passing a coffee shop or two.  Seattle has more coffee shops per capita than anywhere else in the United States! 

Downtown Seattle

No stop to downtown Seattle would be complete without a visit to the Public Market. If you go early, you can see the traditional “fish toss” as they bring in the day’s fresh catch. Also, there are numerous vendors that sell food items and various other products.

Chilhuly Garden and Glass

The Chihuly Garden and Glass museum is home to a large collection of glass sculptures from the artist Dale Chilhuly. If you are not familiar with his work, you will still likely appreciate the numerous unique glass sculptures. It is definitely worth a visit.

Museum of Pop Culture

Sorry Star Wars fans, my pictures are from a tour of Star Wars costumes that was temporarily at the museum. However, don’t worry, there is a lot of cool stuff at The Museum of Pop Culture. You will especially love it if you are interested in Seattle grunge-rock, as there displays for Nirvana, Pearl Jam and others.

Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill is one of Seattle’s hip areas with lots of independent restaurants. People outside of Seattle may recognize it for its publicity during the “Occupy” protests, where they instituted the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone barring police from entering. However, it has since returned to normal police presence.

I wouldn’t be too concerned as Capitol Hill is going to be a fun and safe option to hit up some of Seattle’s up and coming restaurants. It is also home to Starbuck’s “roastery”, which includes some of their new coffee creations.

Bainbridge Island

If you are looking to get away from the city for a day, consider a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. However, it was used during World War II as a Japanese internment camp and there is a memorial on the island. Also, there a lot of pictures of the time period, many photographed by Ansel Adams.

Additionally, today there are some restaurants and wineries that operate on the island.

ALSO CONSIDER VISITING THESE NEARBY AREAS

Check out some of the other sights in the Southwest page. That would include visiting nearby Carlsbad Caverns NP, Big Bend NP and Big Bend Ranch State Park.