Posted on 08/10/2022 4:22:22 PM PDT by End Times Sentinel
We're traveling on pleasure, I can either check it, in which case the chances of it getting stolen are too high, or I try to carry it on which is a TOTAL nightmare, and if the Pilot wants to be a jerk about it, I have to wait, disembark, check it, face the probability of being stolen. Plus, my EDC is not my duty weapon, it's just a maze of terrible outcomes.
If you're going to FLETC, yeah, you've got the weight of FLEO behind you. You're doing this on your own with a personal side arm, for pleasure, and you're opening yourself to all the trouble in the world.
There is a Coast Hotel at the airport, I always stayed there on my trips to Seattle. Across the parking lot is a good restaurant called the Broaster (I believe). It’s not great but good and close. However, a few doors down is a Thai restaurant which is excellent. I settled on their Salmon Curry as my go to meal. It is the best curry I have ever had. Not much in the way scenarycaround there but if time is tight, that may be the way to go.
I second the drive through the Columbia River Gorge on I-84, then up I-5 to Seattle if you have time. If you don’t have time, take a short detour off I-82 in Selah, WA and drive SR-821 to Ellensburg on your way to Seattle (about 30 minutes longer).
As others have said, the waterfront areas are pretty safe but once the crowds start to die down it’s best to find your way back to the hotel. The troll under Fremont Bridge is a cool local site but I’d visit during daylight. There’s an expensive Ferris wheel on the waterfront but it’s worth it at sunset.
For food, check out the local reviews on fresh fish and/or sushi. Better to get it at the ocean than inland!
I would recommend the Chihuly Garden and Glass near the Space Needle, as well as the Space Needle itself. Just take the elevator to the top...food isn’t worth the added price though.
I spent a lot of time in downtown Portland and Seattle up until 2018 and never felt unsafe but the homeless problem has accelerated since then.
I’ve had no problems during the day.
As for safety (the topic of this thread before we turned it into a travelogue), I haven’t been there since late-2019, but at least at that time downtown didn’t seem particularly dangerous, especially compared to places like Chicago or even Denver, where I live. Most of what I saw back then was just the typical liberal-caused deterioration. Lots of street people hanging around everywhere, but otherwise I felt relatively safe. I stayed at The W that time, for reference. Don’t know how events since then may have changed things, though.
Seattle is a beautiful city. St. James Cathedral, finished 1907, is worth a 30 min visit (804 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104). Starbucks, started 1971, has a Tasting room (1124 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122). Costco, started 1983, has the first store from in sketchy, rough area. (4401 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134). The Boeing Museum of Flight, opened 1965, has a Concorde (9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108).
Yes, Boeing field museum is a must see.
I lived in Seattle in 2008/2009. Some of my best memories. Absolutely beautiful and I pray the people they wake up from their slumber.
Just saw your post that your’re flying...
I would still recommend the glass museum, ferris wheel, and Space Needle if you’re going to venture from the airport to Downtown Seattle.
If you’re staying near the airport...there isn’t much around. I would make a trip to Seahurst Beach Park near sunset to experience the sound, or better yet, Hamilton Viewpoint Park for great views of downtown Seattle.
You are likely to have good weather in September. Not absolutely guaranteed, but likely. IMHO, September is the best month to visit Seattle.
Why are you visiting Seattle? Are you interested in seeing any sights? What kind in particular?
There are parts of Seattle that you do want to avoid, but other parts that are pretty much ok.
Someone recommended Ray’s Boathouse. It’s a decent, moderately pricey, old fashioned restaurant. My father really liked it.
There is plenty of good ethnic food in Seattle.
I grew up in Seattle, but currently live in Olympia, the state capitol, about an hour to the south.
In the ‘80s we used to love to stay at the Olympic. Not sure how it is now.
Carrying an umbrella is a dead giveaway you’re a tourist so don’t do that.
I remember when Pioneer Square was called Skid Row back in the 60s. Then they spent a lot of money refurbishing it. Too bad.
Prostitution has gotten really bad on Aurora Ave. N.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P-LsuXrjUw&ab_channel=TOON215
One night in Seattle makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Seattle and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Seattle city center has gone way down since you were there in 2019.
The riots came and then the abdication of laws just before the pandemic. It’s a ghost town now. Amazon moved a 2000 person office out and has announce further moves due to violence.
As for the flight museum, I was pleased to hear that the Flying Heritage Collection (Everett WA) was recently purchased from the Paul Allen estate by one of the Walton (WalMart) heirs. Unlike the museum at Boeing Field, all the planes are in flying condition. They expect to reopen later this year. Put it on your list for a future visit!
There is a video called “Seattle is Dying” on YouTube made by a news station in Seattle. Keep in mind that the documentary is three years old and things are worse now.
My wife is doing the EXACT same thing! She has about ten more to knock off the list in the next two years. The only thing I can offer is for him to do Alaska on Sept 10 to 20 range, specifically Denali! The grizzlies will be out putting on weight by eating the berries. Everything comes alive that week, such as Caribou, huge moose, fox, and more. I shot a documentary during those days and it was perfect!
Other have given good advice. I second the “no umbrella” (probably won’t need it in September) and the underground tour is really cool if you are into history.
Seattle used to be in the lowlands and it would flood often. So they decided to take the sand from the nearby hills and using water flushed it down into the low areas to build it up.
Except there were already dirt roads and buildings there. For a certain length of time the sidewalks and store fronts were down below, and the road was 10 to 15 feet above the sidewalks!
Now many of those sidewalks are tunnels that are not used anymore, but you can pay some money and take a tour, with a lot of the old stores and hotels open for the tour. And those levels are just as they left them, so like walking back in time to 1890 or whenever it was.
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