Pacific Northwest Trip Part 1: Seattle

Tommy and I decided we wanted to do something different than we had done in the past for our First Anniversary trip and we decided to visit the Pacific Northwest and boy am I happy we did! We really wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been so we could explore together. (apologies now for all the pictures)

Our first stop was...Seattle! We left early on Thursday morning and got there around 11am. We headed to our AirBNB (we had never done this before. Much more affordable route than hotels. It was fine. The Seattle place we stayed was the basement apartment in this older couple's home) to check in. We walked down the street from the house to this bistro in a nursery for a quick bite before heading into Downtown. Our first stop in town was the Pike Street Market. This place is HUGE and has everything you could imagine. The flowers smelled AMAZING and a beautiful bouquet was only TEN dollars. I couldn't believe it! 

From the market we walked uphill to the Starbucks Roastery and Tasting Room where they roast all the reserve beans for the world and there is one blend that they only sell at that location. We walked around and got some coffee to enjoy!

We then walked back down Pike Street, through the market, and down to the waterfront. We found a bar/restaurant by the ferris wheel to sit and have a beer. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the views from the water. 

After an afternoon beer, we walked along the waterfront before finding a place for an early dinner to get our seafood fix. We were still on Atlanta time so we called it an early night. 

(view from dinner spot)

Day 2 in Seattle we started our day with breakfast at the market. We got mini doughnuts, coffee, and a breakfast bagle. MMMM they were so yummy! 

We then headed to the pier to catch a ferry to Bainbridge Island. My friend Casey had recommended if it was a pretty day that we do this. Boy was she right! The views you get of the city from the water is wonderful and the ride is only about 30 minutes from pier to pier. 

Once on the island we walked into the downtown of Willow to find a lunch place. We decided on Fork and Spoon We got some yummy sandwiches with more local beer before we figured out the rest of our day. 

On our way off the boat, we picked up some maps and brochures of places to go on the island. We decided we wanted to try out Bainbridge Island Brewing Company. On the brochure it had the walking directions from downtown. Well we decided to walk and explore. Little did we know that this was a two MILE walk. Luckily it was only in the 70s that day and we weren't in a rush. By the time we got to basically the other side of the island the brewery wasn't open yet. Next door was a tasting room for a winery so we figured why not! So we stayed and tried a flight of wine from Fletcher Bay Vineyards. 

By the time we finished the wine the brewery was open. The world is very small. On both sides of us were people from the Atlanta area. We were on a small island 30 minutes by ferry outside of Seattle on the complete opposite side of the country. I can't make that kind of stuff up! We had great conversation and great beer!

By the time we finished up and were ready to leave the brewery we of course missed the last bus for the day. We were NOT walking another 2 miles back so what does Tommy do....he starts talking to people. He meets this couple that lives on the island and sparks conversation with them. Before I know it we are in their car headed to their house to get their suburban to drive us to the pier. They were so nice and so generous to drive us around! We thought we had just missed a ferry so we walked down to the water to explore. As we were walking up to the pier we hear on the intercom system that it was the last call for the 4:30 ferry (it was now 4:55) so Tommy says "RUN" and we bolted and made it on the boat just. in. time. phew

After the ferry ride we headed to the area around the Space Needle to find a dinner spot. We walked around and found a pizza place called Zeeks. We had a delicious pizza then walked to the Space Needle. I bought our tickets on trip advisor and the tickets said 6-11pm. I thought that meant you could come anytime between those hours and get on an elevator. Well when we showed up at the Space Needle they were busy selling tickets for 10pm. It was 7:45....So Tommy again used his talking skills and talked to the ticket line lady who sent us to will call who spoke to the ticket guy who convinced him to give us elevator tickets for right then. Love that chatty husband of mine! The night couldn't have worked out more perfectly because we were able to see the city from the needle before, during and after sunset. Just stunning!

Day 2 was a complete SUCCESS!

Saturday morning we woke up early to get a head start to our day. We didn't have a rental car in Seattle but needed one for traveling to Portland and around Portland so we took an uber to the Seattle airport to pick up the car. From Seattle we drove to Mount St. Helens (about a 2.5 hour drive). We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Seattle and would love to go back some day. We were so fortunate the weather was beautiful and we had NO rain!