Greg and I spent 4 days in Seattle to celebrate our anniversary and Greg’s birthday. We hadn’t been on vacation in ages. It was nice to return to Seattle. We haven’t been here for a couple of years. Our hotel was 4 blocks from Pike Street Market. Our first night here, we checked out the market.
The weather called for rain pretty much for our entire stay. We got very soaked this evening, but other than that we really lucked out.
I highly recommend happy hour at Japonessa. Such great food and service. It’s very affordable for happy hour.
The next day we bussed to the Fremont district for the Fremont Street Fair. I was so grateful that our hotel had a parking lot where I could leave my car for the entirety of our trip. Driving in Seattle is just not any fun. Their bus system is pretty darn good, although they seemed to run late always. The street fair was HUGE! It was a very sunny day and we had a great time looking at all the different booths.
There was a crazy car fair too. The squirrel car was my favorite.
Greg had bookmarked all of the record stores in town. We went to many record stores. This one in the University district was my favorite.
On our third day, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I remember doing this with my cousin probably 15 years ago. I loved getting out on the water. The views were just amazing.
We walked along the waterfront trail on Bainbridge which surprisingly wasn’t along the waterfront all that much. Once we hit the marina, we walked on the docks and admired the beautiful boats. We had lunch right on the water and it was really just perfect.
OK, how have I never heard of the Gum Wall before? I’ve been to Seattle many, many times. This was the first time we heard of the Gum Wall located just below Pike Street Market in Post Alley. Of course, we had to see it. Yep, it’s a lot of gum.
So many folks were also checking out the gum. Several of them added their own gum to the collective. I tried to not get too close to the wall.
We headed to Capital Hill for more record shopping. I’m going to make a confession; I’m a closeted hipster. I take for granted how hip Portland is. I was surprised that Seattle was lacking places with fancy cocktails and interesting atmosphere. We finally stumbled across St John’s in Capital Hill. It was exactly the kind of establishment I had expected to find on every corner. It was nice to relax after a long day of walking with a cocktail.
On our way home, we stopped in SeaTac to visit the Museum of Flight. Greg was able to check 2 more SR-71 planes off of his list. This is the only place (we believe) where you can sit in the cockpit of a SR-71. That was great fun. This is a wonderful museum.
We also got to walk through a Concorde. What an amazing plane.
This is the 3rd Air Force One we’ve been able to walk through. I really like these planes. So much history! This plane was used by Kennedy and Johnson.
I took this self portrait in the mirror of the presidential bathroom.
The last highlight was getting to see a B-29. My grandmother worked on B-29s in the 1940′s and that is how she met my grandfather. This plane used to be used for target practice. It’s been completely restored now, but it’s been shrink wrapped to protect it from the elements until an indoor home can be found for it.
We had a busy, but still relaxing vacation. As much as I enjoy Seattle, I was very happy to return to my beloved Portland.