My American adventure has started off well on the wrong foot. Seattle airport had serious problems today and I was caught behind planeloads from South Korea and the Middle East. So I missed my flight to Bozeman. I’m rebooked on tomorrow night’s flight so I’ll have a day to kill tomorrow.
I’m booked into the Jet Motel by the airport - chosen really at random.
DAMMIT!! I’ve wanted to meet a Doper, but I’m out of town! I live about 25 minutes from the airport.
Are you a walker/hiker? I just looked where your motel is and you’re not far from the Des Moines Creek trailhead. It’s two miles downhill and two miles uphill on the way back, but you’ll end up at a lovely park and marina, and there’s a farmers’ market there tomorrow. If you don’t want that exertion, you could take an Uber or a cab down there. There will be food trucks and you could have lunch.
The area by the airport has zero charm, and I think Des Moines is probably your only option for entertainment. Although…if you’re into smoking weed a dispensary is down the highway from you. You could take a bus there and back. It’s called Greenside Recreation and is quite respectable.
Oh, shoot, I got ahead of myself. I thought it was Friday. The farmers’ market is Saturday, not tomorrow. There’s a very nice local place called Wally’s that I highly recommend for your lunch if you take an Uber or cab. You could also walk to the marina from there. It’s not right on the water, but it’s close.
If you hike the trail, take food and water along. There aren’t many amenities along the trail or at the marina on non-farmers’ market days.
Check out Pacific Galleries if you want something like a mix between a museum and art exhibit for free.
No idea what to do around the airport, but if you drive up to Southern Seattle, there are a number of interesting restaurants to try out on Airport Way.
If you have an interest in aviation, planes, and space shuttles - the Museum of Flight is just up the road from your hotel (Bus 124). I’m not 100% up on the current collection, but in the past I have gone inside a Concorde, one of the old Air Force One’s (I think Nixon’s visit to China), and they have various simulators if you are up for a spin (I think they even have a space shuttle simulator).
If you like history, I highly recommend a trip up to the city for the Underground Tour (AirLink Train up to Pioneer Square). It is quite interesting to go underground and see the original streets and buildings – the current street level is actually up at the second level!
It sounds cliched but I really liked Pike Place Market - lots of funky shops and fooderies.
Also, the Museum of Pop Culture downtown by the Space Needle is extremely cool, and there’s an exhibition on the Terracotta Warriors from China at the Pacific Science Museum which is worth seeing too if you enjoy history.