Unless I'm mistaken, fly is in the Portland area, not Seattle but don't quote me!

Funny thing is, I had planned to make a similar post but hadn't gotten around to it yet. My son is now doing research for the Forest Service on climate change and the effects in the national parks. He's living in the Northern Cascades but has to make presentations in Seattle and last year lived in Rainier so has some familiarity with the area. Obviously his 'expertise' is mostly nature oriented but I can ask him for suggestions of not to miss places if outdoorsy stuff appeals to you.

I live on an island just off the coast of Seattle and the ferry has tons of free printed tourist-type brochures. If you tell me what kinds of things you are interested in I'll be happy to mail some info to you(email me your address privately). I know there are wine tours, Pikes Place Market is a big attraction and there is lots of shopping. Oceanna and Meg711 live in the city I think, so maybe you could email them for ideas. Lots of people take the ferry out to Bainbridge Island and walk through town. There are several nice places to pick up a bite to eat.

I think that if you could hold out until later in the summer you will get much better weather.

Terriks is correct about the weather. Generally we have rain until the 2nd week in July (but last year we had a beautiful spring so who knows!).

*sighh* nan lives where I'd *love* to live, but yes, we do live in the Portland area. We've been up there every so often but we don't know it as well as locals.

There are also good GWs/other thrifts in Seattle, judging from the eBay listings, btw; only a true thrifter would do that on a vacation! (yes, I did it in SF... :))

I meant to add that I can try to give you some ideas too, but just keep in mind they're from a visitor (whose DH went to UW for grad school, but still a visitor). One thing I love that should look beautiful at that time is the UW Arboretum, actually.

Whenever we go up we've found ourselves staying in the same hotel because it's convenient, clean, and not too expensive--I'll try to ask Dh what it is, if it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: just fabulous and serene :)

Seattle is pretty quiet compared to Vancouver - which is really a big city. Vancouver's West End is great for eating and people-watching. Spectacular natural beauty in Stanley Park and in nearby Grouse Mountain.

gwbr, do you live there? We'd *love* to move to Vancouver, if we could, actually, but I think we're too old to emigrate to CA. We still hope to visit it someday.

I would add Burchart Gardens in Victoria B.C. to your list of things to see. You'll need a full day but I think it's worth it. I'm pretty certain we drove there and back from Vancouver in one day (my memory is fading fast). Victoria is a charming "town" and you can have tea at the Empress Hotel or at least visit that beautiful landmark.

I'm not a tour bus type person either (I like to do things on my own schedule); however, it is the best way to really sight see. What we like to do when we visit a new city is hire a driver for one day to see things. It can be a bit costly, but it can also make a vacation.

Also, and please don't be insulted because I'm certain you already know, don't forget you will need a passport or equivalent to go into Canada. I only bring this up because I've spent two days at the passport office trying to expedite my renewal.

Flyleft - Nope, but we like it so much when we vacationed in Vancouver, that we actually looked at real estate, and continued to look when we got home. But real estate is quite pricey there, and eventually inertia won.

There's a suspension bridge in Vancouver, which I think is pretty cool. It's a tourist attraction, so you can google it. I just can't remember the name of that bridge.

Capilano is the suspension bridge -- it was pretty cool!

Did you try this site? Looks like you can get printed info.
What do you guys like to do on vacation? There is so many things to do in both cities, it helps to recomend if I know what you like.
Definitly visit in July, August or Sept if you can swing it. Last June was great but every other one in the 5 years we've been here has been rainy.

Cathie

Here is a link that might be useful: Washington state

August or up to mid September is going to be your safest bet for good weather. But if you come early, come to Port Townsend which is in a rain shadow and gets a lot less rain than Seattle. Port Townsend can be a day trip from seattle, but if I were you I'd stay overnight or for a couple of nights and enjoy the olympic peninsula. Port Townsend is one of only three true victorian seaports in the US. From here you can drive an hour to Port Angeles and visit the parks or take the ferry to victoria (walk over on the ferry) and do a day trip there or two (everythign is in walking distance from the ferry dock or there is a tour available like buchart gardens (which are beyond fabulous in May and June).

In Seattle do the Pike one day, the underground and the old town another, the zoo is great, and walking on the waterfront is a treat. Eat at...gad it's a letter...Z or Y? up about 5th street if you're a wine drinker (lovely selection of wines and cheeses). Dinner at the Brooklyn is a fancy night of fun, wonderul food and a really educational oyster bar as well as a great wine list. It's old fashioned seattle glamour at it's best.

Bainbridge island is a fun visit. You can walk on the ferry and then up a block into town to enjoy the day, but I'd drive over (on the ferry) and enjoy a bit more of the island. If you love nordic vikings and all of their blonde buxom wonder, drive from bainbridge to poulsbo (about 30 mins) and park downtown on the water. Sly's bakery is worth the wait, but there are several that are wonderful. I get all of my "home made" pies at another bakery there (they sell them in glass dishes so you can lie and say you made them....oh geeze now if you have pie at my house you know my secret LOL).

Lots of antique stores, stuff from norway (even a king or queen on occasion visits) and historic housing. Not as good as Port Townsend, but still worth the visit. PT is another 40 mins across the floating bridge on the hood canal. It's full of wonderful eclectic artists, druids from the 16th century, (I swear that's what those burlap wearing people are) and odd balls like me :)

Antique shopping in Seattle is something you can do all day if you have an inkling. If you like modern shopping, hit bellevue mall. Or just wander around downtown seattle.

What else can I tell you? :)

Wowza! Thanks for all the info! I will study this more thoroughly later today when I have more time. And then possibly have more questions!

A sincere thank you to everyone who took the time to reply.
Jean

Hey Jean, pop me out an email if you get a sec? I wanted to give you a bit more information I don't want to post online. (I can't see an email link with your name...)

Dawn

Jean, I lived there for 12 years and now live in Oregon in the Willamette Valley. We still have our son in Seattle, so we visit often.

I would go in the middle of July or August or September. Beautiful weather. Weather isn't bad in June but it is unpredictable and you may have some rain.

The usual places visitors go is Pikes Market, the Underground Tour, China Town, Pioneer Square, Ivar's for great fish and chips on the piers down by Elliot Bay. Also, there is a great Dale Chihuly glass museum in Tacoma WA about 30 or so miles south, if you have a car. If you have time, you could go to Mt Rainier and look at the visitor's center or to Mt Saint Helen's.

Don't forget to take a light jacket as it may get cool in the evenings.

We were in Seattle and the San Juan Island last August, and had a blast. The Seattle Art Museum is wonderful, a very eclectic collection. Don't miss the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, watching the glass blowers in the hot shop was a real treat. Cafe Purple in downtown is very good, albeit noisy, but many offerings and a great vibe! There's an aquarium down on Elliot Bay near Pikes Market, but we weren't inside to offer a real report.
Vancouver is a great city, it's been about 10 years, so I don't have a current report, but the Buchart Gardens are something very special and yes, Stanley Park is lovely!

In Vancouver, there would be Granville Island, the tram up to Grouse Mountain, Londsale Quay (you could ride the Skytrain in Vancouver and then take the Seabus over to Londsale Quay). The west end of Vancouver is lots of fun as is Kitsalino and Yaletown (where Expo '86 was located).

The drive up to Whistler would be beautiful, and it's a great place to visit, even in the summer.

There are lots of museums in town to visit. A trip over to Vancouver Island would be tons of fun. There's always lots to do in Victoria, and it is for the most part a walking city, although transportation is needed to get to Buchart.

I also vote to wait until later in the summer or even early September...with one exception - the last 10 days or 2 weeks in August when it always seems to rain. The PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) takes place during that time, and it always seems to rain for that.

As for exchange, the Canadian and U.S. dollars are pretty much at par now. Note that there is GST (federal sales tax) and PST (provincial sales tax). They are changing (increasing) taxes, although I can't remember when that takes place. It seems to me that the last time I was up there, taxes totalled about 13% to 14%.

Mandie
(who lives in Portland, Oregon but grew up in Vancouver and still treks up there several times a year to visit family). Note - expect long lineups at the border over the summer. Unless we go through in the middle of the night, 2 to 3 hours seems to be the norm for us. If you use alcohol at all, take time to hit the duty free stores on your way back into Washington to check out the prices. I pick up my Grey Goose for almost half the price :-)

Happy travels!

Duh, shows how groggy I am from the pain meds I'm on...I was thinking, gee, Seattle and Vancouver aren't exactly close. I'm so used to thinking Vancouver, WA. Sigh.

I've only been to Seattle once, we went in early October, and it was GORGEOUS. Didn't get to the Space Needle, but enjoyed our brief visit. We did go to the Tacoma Museum of Glass...Mecca for Dale Chilhuly fans.
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I didn't read all of the suggestions but I highly recommend that, BEFORE exploring Pike's Place, take the Savor Seattle Food Tour. (You WILL thank me later for this!) My husband and I did this with a few friends this summer and it was so much fun!

A bubbly tour guide will take you through Pike's Place and give you a run-down on it's history and how it came to be (which is pretty interesting). You will also get free samples from various vendors throughout the market---salmon, homemade donuts, chocolate covered coffee beans, fruit, prize-winning chowder, mac and cheese, specialty teas/spices, Polish pastries.... and learn stories about their businesses. At the end of the tour, you will be STUFFED and they give you a discount card that you can flash to any of these same vendors and get some more goodies. (They were all so good that the next day we went around to almost all of the same places and bought stuff to take home). It was a blast!!

Check it out on TripAdvisor Seattle---it's hands-down the number one tour and has extremely positive feedback. It's a great way to get an introduction into the city.

(Btw, book early too. We had problems getting the tour we wanted a couple weeks in advance)

Here is a link that might be useful: Savor Seattle