Everyone has told us we shouldn't even consider moving to Seattle until we've been there in the winter. Of course we took this as a challenge and decided to visit Seattle in the winter.
There was a bit of rain when we arrived on Thursday but by Friday the sun was shining and Mt. Rainier was out in its glory. Our hotel's in Capitol Hill so we spent the morning walking around the neighborhood, visiting the Sorrento Hotel and the Frye Museum before grabbing a burger for lunch at Dick's Drive-In and recovering by sitting in Cal Anderson Park. Later in the day we walked downtown to Pike Market and along the waterfront, stopping for a chowder taste-testing at Ivar's. Our hotel was uphill from there so we wandered over to Pioneer Square to wait for the hotel van to pick us up.
On Saturday the fun really began. Terri had gotten in touch with Gwen, an old friend from their days working for the Texas Legislature, who has moved on to much bigger and better things and now lives in Seattle. She and her boyfriend Kerry picked us up at the hotel for a whirlwind day of eating, driving, and walking. We had lunch at Plum's, took a drive through Madison Park and Queen Anne, enjoyed incredible views from Kerry's beautiful condo in Belltown, walked leisurely down and back up 1st Street, ate a light dinner of Vietnamese crêpes at Long's, and finished with a nighttime drive out to the suburbs across the lake. It was one of those perfect travel days, hosted by a lovely couple we hope to see again soon.
On Sunday the fun continued. While the rest of the world gathered to watch some sort of sporting event, a super something or other, we enjoyed the quiet streets and headed to the Seattle Museum of Art. Afterwards, we went to the top of the Smith Tower to enjoy the views. In the evening we walked up Broadway to the heart of the Capitol District and the home of our friends George and Ward. George and I have 'known' each other for years via Flickr and lately on Facebook, but this was our first chance to meet in person. He prepared a wonderful dinner (shellfish and pasta!) and I finally got the hear the story of how a kid from Minneapolis went to Manhattan, Hawaii, and now Seattle with stops in India and Paris, but still wants to go back to Venice. Ward and George are the poster children for Family Values: they've been together for 56 years.
Today is our final full day in Seattle and we're still figuring out what to do. Terri is checking the ferry schedules so I suspect we may get out on the Sound.
I am still going through the snaps from the trip; this is what I have so far: my camera's view of Seattle.
