When we headed to Seattle last spring, we had been traveling through rain, rain, and more rain along the Oregon Coast for what seemed like weeks. Ironically, Seattle is known as the city of rain, yet I looked so forward to our destination, and I hoped I would be able to return to my teen years just for those few weeks as we closed in on the Puget Sound. (See my earlier post asking Can You Go Home Again?)
Our visit to the home of the Seahawks turned out to be a mixed bag of old and new for me. With our first week being spent on Ft. Lewis (now joint base Lewis-McCord), I was able to retrace my earlier steps, skating at my old stomping ground and hunting down the places that had emotional connections for me. And then we moved onward to another extreme, far from the business of the city and just below the beautiful snow-capped mountains.
During our stay, we drove into Seattle for a downtown experience, spent a few days driving through and visiting remote little towns, and met up with a group of amazing ladies I’d only known online previously. Each experience created a lasting memory, but my lunch in Snohomish with the three lovely ladies brought me great friends that I hope I never lose touch with from this point forward! (Love you Adria Williams, Shelley Rolston, and Rachel Lynnette!)
Now, I must admit that we did see a few cloudy days while visiting one of my favorite cities, but Seattle gets a bad reputation for its wet nature. It is actually a beautiful city with an incredible skyline and amazing sites. From Mt. Rainier in the South to the Puget Sound to the countryside just north, there are lovely visions to be seen rain or shine.
My recommendations for anyone else going to visit this beautiful piece of our nation? There are many!
- Take a walk downtown, making sure to stop and watch all of the action at the great Seattle Pike Place Fish Market.
- If you like heights, make a stop at the high and spiky Space Needle that towers from the city skyline.
- Visit the Zoo at Pt. Defiance Park in Tacoma where you can see animals on one side of the peninsula and beautiful boats in the inlet along the other.
- Take a drive into the countryside to visit quaint little towns like Snohomish where you can find awesome restaurants, original artwork, and antiques galore.
- Drive South the to Marina in Olympia (or any of the many marinas) where you can see every size of sailboat with beautiful sails blowing in the wind.
- Hike up Mt. Rainier where you can travel through evergreen trees up into the clouds on this magnificent mountain.
No matter what you do, don’t let a little rain scare you away from this wonderful place. All else fails, you can always go see the Seattle Seahawks. After all, they have a stadium that’s a site to see all by itself!
Happy Travels!