Weekend in Washington

On the second morning, we opted for getting up early to enjoy a quick walk along the beach, then, as quickly as we could manage, head straight back to Forks for breakfast. We found a warm, wholesome American breakfast at a diner called In Place. We dined on classic fried eggs, hash browns, and toast. The restaurant even has hot apple cider on their daily menu, could you get any more classic American than that?

After our second visit to Fork, we drove down towards Aberdeen, WA. This is the longest stretch of driving we did over the weekend but we broke it up by stopping in Quinalt to return the raccoon canister and use the restroom. Then we drove down a random county road for a bit just to take in the density of the forest and snap some photos.

In Aberdeen, we stopped for a quick coffee break and a little traffic. This town is neat to see because even from the main town roads you see where water from all over the state feeds into the North Bay (which feeds into the Pacific).

From Aberdeen, we continued on to find the Mima Mounds, just west of Olympia, WA. This area of land is covered in conspicuous dirt mounds in a grid-like pattern. This hidden treasure is a place you have to see to believe. There’s a perfect walking trail that takes you through the mounds and into a little forest. There are many theories as to how the mounds came to be, but none have been given the stamp of approval, though the two main ideas are permafrost and gophers but I don’t believe either of them. It was definitely aliens… ;) We spent a lot of time here to fully take in the magic of the land.

After we visited the Mima Mounds, we drove the 2 hours back to Seattle. We didn’t make any stops along the way as we wanted to make it back to Seattle with enough time for dinner and early to bed. Olympia, Washington’s capital, has a lot of things to do and see. Tacoma also has some cool things like a glass museum and a bridge with a wonderful Chihuly tribute, but we just didn’t have time for this.

Once back in Seattle, we went to dinner at Lil Woody's, a hamburger chain in Capital Hill. They have vegetarian options as well as the best queso fries I’ve ever had. If you’re looking for a staple Seattle stop, Dicks is also a great option due to the extremely low cost and apparent tastiness of the quick burger (but I don’t eat meat so I can’t tell you for sure).

Our last stop of the day was Fremont Brewery, a neighborhood north of Seattle called Fremont. This half-in-door-half-out-door brewery is the perfect place to grab a flight of beer and relax after a busy two days of driving. You can bring in your own food from one of the awesome restaurants around Fremont, or eat the free pretzels if you just need a snack. They have long communal tables and board games sprinkled around for added good times.

On our last day, we did as much of the Seattle tourism as we could fit in. Because we only had 1 day to fit in as much of Seattle as we could, we stuck to the essentials: Pike Place Market, the Water Front, and Seattle Center. This is my interpretation of Seattle tourist essentials after living in the city for 2.5 years.

We started off the morning by getting coffee from the Starbucks Reserve Store downtown at 1st & University, across from the Seattle Art Museum and 2 blocks from the Pike Place Market. The famous coffee company has a small number of high-end Reserve locations. They carry small lot coffees and fresh pastries from an Italian baker and they even have a cocktail bar. I recommend the cold brew malt.

The Harbor Steps, right next to Starbucks Reserve, take you straight down to the waterfront. There is plenty to see here like the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, the famous Seattle Ferris Wheel, and of course the Seattle Aquarium. We had a nice walk around the piers, grabbed some souvenirs from the Curiosity Shop, and then found our way to the Pike Place Market. We went through Post Alley just north of the bottom of the Harbor Steps to see the Gum Wall on our way in. This sweet-smelling, bubble gum-covered, brick alleyway is a sight for strong stomachs

The Market is always busy but it’s fun to be apart of the mass of crowds buying fresh fish and veggies and meandering around the local artists' booths. There is a little bagel stand called Seattle Bagel Bakery (located next to the best tiny doughnuts stand, Daily Dozens) where we got some schmeared bagels. We ate them in the Secret Garden— if you’re standing at the bagel stand (which is also in front of DiLaurenti) head inside toward the rest of the market but turn left towards The Hands of the World shop and turn right down the hallway just in front of the shop. Follow this and it’ll take you right outside to the cutest garden with a wonderful view of the piers and waterfront.

After the market, we grabbed some e-bikes and road all the way up to the Seattle Center, stopping first at Amazon Spheres. These are giant glass domes full of lush greenery, used as a co-working space for Amazon employees. If you’re not an Amazon employee you can visit inside on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. It wasn’t one of those days so we didn’t go inside. Instead, we grabbed a snack from the first-ever Amazon GO store around the corner and then jumped back on the bikes and rode up to the Seattle Center.

The Seattle Center is home to many of Seattle’s tourist attractions. Even if you don’t go into any of the attractions, you can see a lot just by walking around the Center. It is very well structured with beautiful architecture and plenty of space. Festivals and events are constantly held inside its vicinity. Other than the Space Needle, the Seattle Center is home to the Pacific Science Center, Children’s Museum, the Key Arena, the Armory (food court), and the Museum of Pop Culture (plus more). One of my favorite spots to sit and eat (especially for a cheap date night) is at the Mod Pizza in the Armory- get a cheap pitcher of beer and sit outside on the patio. You get good food, a great view of the Space Needle and Center, and usually, there is someone playing live music.

We dropped our bikes right at the entrance next to the Space Needle. The Space Needle was reconstructed in 2019 and now the entire top viewing floors and it is now covered in glass (including a rotating glass floor). It provides a great 360-degree view of the city and the Puget Sound and being the iconic Space Needle, it is an awesome place to visit. But we decided to skip it and instead opted for the Modern Pop Culture Museum (MoPOP).

MoPOP was the perfect choice. This modern museum has incredible architecture and art on every wall. Even the building itself is a magnificent art piece. The museum exhibits all things pop culture like movies, music, fashion, and video games. You can easily get lost in here for hours.

After a visit to the museum, we took the Monorail system back to downtown Seattle. The rail system only has two stops, the Seattle Center and Westlake Center, in the heart of downtown. Whenever I meet someone visiting Seattle, I always recommend the Monorail. It’s like a roller coaster. The futuristic transportation system is 3 stories high and follows along 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle. The chairs face out big windows, it’s like flying through the Seattle skyline. Plus, it’s the same price as a bus ride, there’s no traffic, and you get a sneak peek inside the MoPOP (the building was built around the monorail), so it’s definitely my top choice for transportation between the two spots.

Once at the Westlake Center, we walked all the way up to Capitol Hill and had dinner at Kitsuki, the best miso ramen in Seattle.

This trip around the Pacific North West was a dream. It was the perfect way to see a huge chunk of what this area of the US has to offer in such a short time frame. Summer is the perfect time frame for an outdoor, sightseeing adventure like this one, and great for all ages.