I’ll be joining my best friend as he goes on a business trip to Redmond, WA next week, from the 10th to the 16th.
He’ll be busy from 9-5 every day and I might just be chillin’ in the hotel. But I know we’ll want to go out for some nice dinners, and see what we can see in Seattle.
I am not fond of fish but I know he wants a crab cake sandwich. Do they do that in the PNW?
We’ll hopefully visit the fish market, and I might be persuaded to try some salmon.
Anything else we can do? How’s the distance from Redmond to Seattle? Any tech museums? I am a super nerd and was really disappointed that the computer museum was closed when I went to Mountain View last year.
Ever been on a bus tour of Seattle? I am hip to bus tours. Is it worth it?
Oh, my friend wanted to swim in the Pacific but I told him that’s not something you do in Seattle, especially not without a wetsuit. Anywhere we can go to at least dip our toes in?
I love Seattle. I visit my favorite cousin there every year or two.
Hop on one of the ferries and tour Puget Sound. With or without a car. Incredibly scenic, especially in the late afternoon.
And
If you find yourself in the mood for fast food, Dick’s Hamburgers (also called Dick’s Drive-In, I think) has been downtown forever and is much loved by many of the natives. Including my cousin. And me.
Without traffic, it’s less than 30 minutes from Redmond to downtown Seattle, with traffic…well, it can get really ugly. Tons and tons of fab restaurants in Seattle, really epic stuff. Salty’s at Alki Beach has good seafood and a stunning view. But, there are SO many great restaurants, it’s tough to pick just one to recommend.
For tech museums, what about The Museum of Flight? Took my dad there, it was super cool.
I lived in Redmond for nearly 10 years, never once put a toe in the Pacific. I honestly don’t know if there’s any place to swim in the ocean.
Am I wrong here, but Seattle and surrounding suburbs are not on the Pacific Ocean but rather they are on Puget Sound. By land, you could travel west and south onto the Olympic Penisula and reach the Pacific.
Ah yeah, EMP! I remember when that opened…then promptly forgot it.
I am a Nirvana fan while my friend is the sort of guy to be a Steve Miller Band fan (srsly) but it was just decided today that I’ll have my own rental car, so perhaps I can sneak out there while he’s busy
Thanks for the suggestions so far, folks. And I’ve convinced my friend that “sitting on the beach, one or two nights” is really, seriously out of the picture.
Drag your friend to the EMP; I’m pretty sure it’s not limited to flannel-shirt wearers
For beaches, I dunno. I am used to Oregon beaches, and yeah…night on the beach is awesome, but no matter the time of year my feet completely cramp up the second they enter the water. The free crab <no females, over 6 inches on the bottom, mind!> is worth it Not to mention the only aurora boreali I’ve seen have been in the summer on the west coast. And meteor showers, awesome! But the c hances of all that happening while you’re there are slim. Stick to the sure things
It’s not a real big thing right in Seattle. I think your best bet would be at the Steelhead Diner or Blueacre Seafood (they’re run by the same guy). Out on the Olympic Peninsula, you can get “dungeness melts”, which are real good.
It’s not a question of distance, but of traffic. If traffic is light, you can get to Seattle in 20 minutes or so; if it’s heavy, it can be 90 minutes.
Near Redmond, you might want to check out Snoqualmie Falls. If you head up to Woodinville, a bunch of wineries have tasting rooms.
If you’re okay with enforced cheer, the “Ride the Ducks” tour is actually a pretty decent tour. Argosy Cruises are also real nice if the weather is good. The Underground Tour can be very good if you get a good guide.
Don’t. You’re asking for hypothermia. If you want to see an impressive shore, though, a nice day trip would be up to Deception Pass (don’t go in the water!), then down the island and take the ferry back across.
If you are going to hanging around by yourself in the daytime look in to a “CityPass”, I’m not a shill for the company, but I have had friends that lived in Seattle for years get one for a week and discover the touristy things about their own city that they never would have done without it. Instead of sitting around the hotel you can take a ferry tour, see the aquarium, the space needle, the EMP and a bunch of other stuff for about half off and get to skip the lines.
Not to mention the only aurora boreali I’ve seen have been in the summer on the west coast. And meteor showers, awesome! But the c hances of all that happening while you’re there are slim. Stick to the sure things