The View from a Drawbridge

When I moved alone to this area in 2014, I had never been here before, and I didn’t know a soul. I was hoping to get to know people and also explore the area, but I didn’t know where to begin on either project. The primary hurdle seemed to be cultural. People are so much more reserved out here. I still haven’t gotten used to it. It feels insulting to me, like the primary message is, “You can’t be trusted.”

There is actually a name for this phenomenon: The Seattle Freeze. I wound up blogging about it 3 times. You can read the most recent blog post here, and that post has links to the other two. But the upshot was that I couldn’t even get people to relax enough to recommend places for me to visit.

Of course, I could find the basic, most common places that tourists typically would check out, but what I was hoping for was the inside scoop from the locals. I wanted to see Seattle’s best kept secrets, you know? Or at the very least, I wanted to go to places that weren’t as well known. But it took me years to find those places.

So now, when I run into someone new to the area, I go out of my way to make recommendations to them. I know I would have appreciated someone doing that for me. And I’ve written many blog posts about various places I’ve visited in the area, in hopes that if someone out there is in search of this type of information, they might stumble upon these posts.

So what follows, in no particular order, is a list of fun things to do in around here that I’ve blogged about. I hope it will help you get to know this wonderful area better. Welcome!

• Wings Over Washington
• Dine (or just ride) on a Ferris Wheel
• Vashon Island
• Snoqualmie Falls
• Volunteer Park
• The Pacific Science Center
• The Seattle Aquarium (Although it’s now new and improved!)
• Olympic Sculpture Park
• Magnusen Park and Sound Garden
• Nordic Heritage Museum
• Woodland Park Zoo
• Seward Park
• Seattle Public Library–Main Branch, and University of Washington Botanic Gardens
• Carkeek Park
• Fremont Troll/Pike Place Market/Gum Wall/International Fountain/Space Needle/Chihuly Garden and Glass
• Ballard Locks and Gardens, and Discovery Park
• Pacific Northwest Trolls
• Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
• University of Washington Cherry Blossoms
• Still more UW Cherry Blossoms
• Kenmore Air Seaplane Adventures

Some things that are a little further afield, but worth the trip:

• Skagit Valley Tulip Fest
• La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum
• Chuckanut Drive
• Mount Rainier National Park
• Leavenworth
• Fort Nisqually
• Roslyn (where Northern Exposure was filmed.)
• The Cascade Loop
• Tacoma

When I told Dear Husband what I was blogging about, he made a few more suggestions:

• Carnation, Washington a cute little town, and nearby Remlinger Farms with their U-pick raspberries.
• Franklin Falls is about a mile hike on relatively level trail, then you arrive at the falls, which has a nice pool beneath it for wading or swimming.
• The Washington State Ferries is a very PNW activity, and if you park near the waterfront, you can walk on for a ride to Bremerton, which is an hour each way. Probably the best ride to just view Puget Sound. And then wander the new Seattle Waterfront, if you do , make sure to visit Ye Olde Curiosity Shop,
• Take a whale watching tour from Pier 69 along the Seattle waterfront. https://www.clippervacations.com/whale-watching/
• Elliot Bay Book Company
• The Center for Wooden Boats
• The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
• Fremont is the most Bohemian neighborhood in Seattle and has a lot of quirky little shops.
• Ballard has so many breweries, with a wide range of styles and flavors making it easy to discover that not all beers are tasty, but also that some are especially delicious. He likes Georgetown Brewing Co., south of Spokane Street, with a selection of flavors available at their tasting room.
• Boehm’s Candies and Chocolate

And if all these things make you fall in love with the Seattle area as much as we have, my husband happens to be a top-notch realtor (and an all around wonderful guy, but I may be biased, there), and he can help you find a home in King or Pierce Counties and the surrounding area. You can contact him through his website here.

Oh, and another thing I recommend, no matter where you travel, is that you check out the Atlas Obscura website and plug in the place you’re going to go, because they often have really quirky cool little things to do in the various places, and that’s always fun.

If you know the Seattle area and have any other suggestions, please tell us in the comments below. Thanks!