Seattle and Your Travel Suggestions

Here's another one of my New Year's Resolutions.

This resolution came around because of my work.  I started working full time last year in April. Before that, I was happily working 20 to 30 hours a week. When I had that sweet work schedule and Lee was in school, we would go on a lot of short trips whenever we could fit it in.  It was great.

Then I started working full time...which is great.  Don't get me wrong--I love my job and the people I work with. However, it really puts a damper on just up and traveling somewhere whenever we please.  

Which brings us to my/our next resolution: Go somewhere once a month.  It can be near or far--just somewhere to help keep that travel itch well scratched!

In January, we went to Seattle.  I know, I know--going somewhere kind of cold and dark in the middle of winter doesn't make too much sense, but I've been wanting to go back with Lee ever since my trip with Mom K there while Lee was hiking Mt. Rainier a couple years ago.

Lee and I had a blast.

Here are 12 things that we loved about Seattle:

1.  The giant popsicle sculpture we happened to find on a walk one evening at 4th Avenue and Blanchard in downtown Seattle.

It's ginormous!

2. The Mecca Cafe for a good greasy spoon diner breakfast (526 Queen Anne Ave N in Seattle).

I love breakfast!

3. Hanging out with our good friends, Kararara and her husband, the Scandinavian.  And the Daily Dozen Doughnut Company in Pike's Place Market.  A) Our friends are wonderful.  B) The mini doughnuts are to die for.  Add A + B together, it's pretty much the awesomest thing ever.

The Scandinavian and Leland

Kararara and the doughnuts

4. Finding Sunny Day Real Estate on the big map which connected all these musical groups back to Nirvana at the Experience Music Project Museum.  Lee loves SDRE!

Sunny Day Real Estate and Fire Theft...great bands!

5. The fact that it snowed in Seattle and shut everything down while it was nice and sunny in Utah.

At the Westlake Center watching the snow come down

At the Cakespy Shop...closed!

6. The Crab Pot on the pier. Fun to get messy!

Lee and his leeeelte fork!

7.  The Wishing Chair in the Smith Building.  Apparently, the last Empress of China was good friends with the owner of the building, Mr. L.C. Smith of Smith and Wesson fame.  As a gift to him, she decorated a room on the 35th floor, and one piece of furniture she sent was the Wishing Chair.  Apparently, if any unmarried woman sits in it, she will be married within the year.  I am not sure what it does for those who are already married, so we just made a wish when we sat down.

Plus, we got to see the room when the tour was actually closed because of the snow and ice. The door man and elevator hop felt bad for us, so they let us go up for a couple seconds to take a picture!

There is phoenix and dragon carved into the chair = marriage for single women!

8.  Piroshky Piroshky at Pike Place Market.  Having both served church missions in Russia, we appreciated the authentic piroshkies, one with cabbage and the other with potatoes and mushrooms.  Makes for a nice snack at the airport.

These are fancy!



The Russian eating his Russian food


9.  Pike's Place Market. Yeah, I know--it's a tourist trap, but I love it. I love how crazy it is there...it reminds me of Russian markets.  And I love the pig statues.  And the flowers. And the fruit. And the samples. Even the gum wall in Post Alley. Love it all!

Leland cheeseball smiling.  He never does that...weird.

10.  Taking in the Seattle skyline at night from the Space Needle with Lee.

Gorgeous!

They also take these pictures of you before you head up to the Observation Deck. You can choose a background for your picture and send yourself a free copy, which you can conveniently post in your blog!

I am trying to pull off a Russian smile and Lee is trying to be smarmy.

We're such cheeseballs!

11. Dim sum at the Dim Sum King in Chinatown. And seeing a white girl that was dressed like a crazy Asian at the Chinatown metro stop (weird!).


Yes, those are chicken feet.  They're a delicacy.  Ask Lee sometime about his first time eating chicken feet.



Yes, Lee totally got a picture with her.

12.  Getting to spend some needed time with Lee and having a fun, fun time!

Here we are, waiting in line to see Laser Daft Punk at the Pacific Science Museum.  Lee was trying to get the Space Needle in the background, but it just wasn't working!

We love love Seattle!


But we need help, dear readers! We now need a place to visit for February.  We want to go somewhere close, somewhere we could drive to since February is more than half gone and we'd probably make a day trip or overnighter of it. 


Where would you suggest?  What should we see and do there?  More importantly, what should we eat while we're there?  Anyone want to come along?