Summer is a sweet time to soak up the Seattle vibe
Summer is a sweet time to soak up the Seattle vibe
Even though I go out there every other year to visit my in-laws with my family, flying into Seattle on a clear day never gets old.
The Cascade Mountains, rising above the cloud line as the plane is about to descend, declare a permanence that existed long before Starbucks and grunge music. Once we land, the mountains are visible everywhere we go: Mt. Baker on the city’s east side and Mt. Rainier to the southeast.
Seattle stretches north-south, with bodies of water surrounding it and cutting through, and it’s difficult to get through a day without seeing a plane, train or ship, since Boeing is a huge presence, as are the ports that lie along the fringes of the city.
The tech industry has also had a profound impact, leading people to think of Seattleites as tech-savvy, Northface wearing, coffee loving hipsters. Rivalling Microsoft and Amazon, however, is the cultural scene with its vibrant music, arts and restaurants. Southeast of downtown in Renton, where we stay, we often jog out past Jimi Hendrix’s grave, which is steadily attended by those who want to pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest rock guitarists.
It’s a fascinating city to explore. After several visits, here are my must-sees:
Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium
One of the most iconic sights in Seattle is that of fishmongers tossing a large salmon to one another in Pike Place Market. Food stalls (fresh food, preserves and beyond) line one area of the enormous market, where buskers play banjos or perform on intricate percussion set-ups. Beyond that are restaurants to catch a quick bite along with a maze of craft stalls. Keep going and there are stores that sell everything from ceramics to vintage matchbox cars. One favourite: a joke shop where my son bought his first whoopie cushion.
The market edges the west side of the city and it’s the perfect place to go after visiting the Seattle Aquarium. If you have the wherewithal to take a slightly lengthy (nine blocks or so) stroll, you can make your way up to Olympic Sculpture Park, where the largescale pieces of outdoor modern art are both lovely and enlightening.
To the south are Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, home to the Mariners and the Seahawks, respectively. We almost always catch a baseball game at Safeco, which feels intimate compared to Toronto’s Rogers Centre, and is listed among the top 10 places to eat because of the numerous restaurants in the stadium.
Space Needle and Seattle Center
North of the market, past Belltown (full of restaurants and excellent cafés) and before the Queen Anne neighbourhood, lie Space Needle Park and Seattle Center. There are enough attractions here to keep one busy for days. The Space Needle is Seattle’s landmark structure, and though it is shorter than the CN Tower by more than half, the views at the top are outstanding. We walked around the observation deck on a clear day and were treated to the sights of Baker and Rainier mountains and the Olympics, along with the Pacific Ocean and the islands just off the coast.
Next door to the Needle is one of our favourite stops: the Museum of Pop Culture. A huge screen called the Sky Chapel greets you as you
Seattle has a booming culinary scene and many of the chefs know how to utilize the fresh ingredients from the sea.
enter, showing music videos that are often related to the current exhibits. (David Bowie was rocking the mike while we were there.)
A standing exhibit highlights Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain; we also explored a Muppets exhibit that detailed the career of Jim Henson, and one on Star Trek. Both sucked us in with video clips, interactive activities and plenty of memorabilia, including the actual puppets, such as Grover and Kermit, used on Sesame Street, and costumes worn on the Enterprise.
Washington is also home to Dale Chihuly, the famous glass artist. His works are on display at Chihuly Garden and Glass, a museum that sits across from the Needle, next to the Pacific Science Center.
For ballet and opera lovers, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is also within that block; we were lucky enough to see a performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle there during one visit.
The Seattle Children’s Museum is nearby too.
To the west is Seattle Center, an outdoor market with an indoor food court that’s a haven for those who get hungry before or after taking in the sights.
The Museum of Flight
Travelling south of downtown, you will pass Boeing Field, where jets and planes built by the aeronautics company are lined up.
We caught a glimpse of some planes that were green, not even painted for commercial flight yet. If you like watching planes take off and land, you could hang out there for hours.
But be sure to head a little further south to visit the Museum of Flight, too. Like Hamilton’s Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, it has plenty of warplanes on display. This one tackles the entire history of aviation, including passenger planes, mail planes and space flight. Throughout the museum is signage with descriptions of historic events, and short biographies of famous men and women involved with flight.
At an adjacent tarmac, we were able to tour jumbo jets, an Airforce One jet that carried American presidents Johnson, Nixon and Kennedy, a Concord jet, and the actual model of the Space Shuttle that NASA astronauts used for training, before going to the moon.
Eats around the city
Seattle has a booming culinary scene and many of the chefs know how to utilize the fresh ingredients from the sea. Sushi is a winner, including at Shiro’s Sushi Restaurant in Belltown.
Then there’s the Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen, an empire of 13 restaurants serving Pacific Northwest cuisine. Douglas is an entrepreneur, author and talk show host who has appeared on “Top Chef.” We always stop at one of these, Dahlia Bakery, on our way downtown to get some of the best fresh doughnuts ever made, served with house-made jam and mascarpone cheese.
Flying a little lower under the radar is Sam Choy’s Poke, in the south end of the city. Fat chunks of raw tuna or salmon, dressed in a variety of ways, come with seaweed salad, cucumbers and more, at this fun and reasonably priced joint.
To go beyond fish, we stopped at Katsu Burger, which offers breaded pork, chicken, tofu, and beef cutlets on a bun garnished with almost anything you can imagine. They are huge and delicious. Pro tip: don’t eat beforehand.
We also tried out the Walrus and the Carpenter, to celebrate my in-laws’ 49th anniversary. This is a restaurant dedicated to seafood and creativity. We hit the oyster happy hour (you can Google many of these throughout the city) and had dishes such as scallop crudo, ling cod (Pacific rockfish) ceviche, and braised pork belly with yuzu kosho aioli.
Nature
In a place where mountains are the most prominent landmarks, it’s only natural that parks are a major attraction. We are able to borrow camping gear from relatives, but there are hotels close by if you are travelling without it.
Mt. Rainier National Park is about a 90-minute drive from Seattle and you can camp or hike right along the base of the famous active volcano. The views are stunning and wildlife abounds; we spotted some marmots while out hiking. The well-populated trails are for moderate to serious hikers but we took our son when he was just seven and he did fine on a fourmile loop.
About a three-hour drive from the city is Mt. St. Helens, with a variety of hiking trails.
The biodiversity within Olympic National Park is among the most extensive found anywhere in North America. Plan a trip of at least two days to make it worth it, since you have to take a ferry west from Seattle. It’s a unique experience. The various ecosystems in the park host giant Douglas firs and the ubiquitous moss that pads the trunks of most trees, as well as a wide range of animal life. Park rangers will provide informative talks, but just hiking through this beautiful park is an education all by itself.
Within the city limits, Discovery Park and the Washington Park Arboretum do their share to show off Seattle’s greenery. The Emerald City gets enough rain to create a verdant landscape but going in summer means avoiding the rainy months. On our recent visit, there was a drought and we caught the beginning of a heat wave.
But the weather is usually temperate and summer is the perfect time to explore the nature and sights that Seattle has to offer.