Our Weekend Trip to Seattle, WA
The Pacific Northwest has been one of my favorite places in the states ever since I visited it as a little girl! I had wanted to take a trip back with my partner for years, so when his cousin moved up there for work it seemed like the perfect excuse! We took a quick trip over the weekend in September to see all the touristy things and even some things off the beaten path!
Where We Stayed
Since we were making this trip to see my partners cousin, and he was our transportation for the weekend, I found us an AirBNB not too far from where he lives in Lynnwood (about 20 minutes outside Seattle.) I absolutely loved staying here! It’s set up like a basement apartment with a bedroom, full bathroom, full kitchen and a nice living space! If you’re mainly going to spend your time in Downtown Seatte, this isn’t the best location due to how much time you’ll spend driving back and forth. However, if you’re going to be spending time north of Seattle as well I recommend checking this place out
What We Did
When we travel we like to do a mix of touristy things as well as things off the beaten path and I’d say we got a nice mix on this trip! We visited the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass Museum, and also visited Mukilteo up north and the Seattle Japanese Gardens. I’ve broken down what we did by each day below.
Day 1
I staggered our flight times to give us the most time possible in Seattle where we were taking such a short trip! We arrived fairly early in the morning and made our way to the Seattle Center to see the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass Museum. I’ve wanted to visit both since my first trip to Washington and I’m so glad we finally made it happen! While they are both very touristy things, I think they’re worth it!
The Space Needle provides amazing views of the city below and is home to the only rotating glass floor in the world! I was a bit apprehensive standing on the glass floor, but it was such an amazing experience! I can’t wait to eat at the restaurant one day when we go back.
The Chihuly Glass Museum had 8 different galleries showing various pieces of work over the course of Dale Chihuly’s career. Art museums aren’t usually something I would seek out while on vacation, but after watching Blown Away on Netflix and visiting the Tacoma Glass museum as a little girl I knew this was a must stop! One of my favorite parts of the museum was the garden. While Chihuly has displayed is artwork in gardens previously, he specifically worked with a landscape designer for this gallery! According to the museum’s website “The unique plant collection is specially chosen to complement Chihuly’s work and the striking colors and forms of the trees, plants, and flowers create a rich backdrop for the art.”
After spending most of the day at the Seattle Center, we made our way to Kerry Park. Kerry Park is a tiny park located in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle providing stellar views of the skyline! When you picture the Seattle skyline, this is most likely the view you envision. Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day our first day in town so we weren’t able to see the full grandeur of the skyline, but I love the effect the clouds add to the pictures I got!
Day 2
We were pretty tired after our first day in town, so day 2 was spent sleeping in and exploring Mukilteo. Mukilteo is located about 25 miles north of Downtown Seattle and is home to my all time favorite salad. This was also the most stormy of the days on our trip driving us to spend most of the day inside!
Our first stop in Mukilteo was Diamond Knot Brewing for lunch, where I had the best salad in my life. This place was highly recommended by my partner’s cousin and I’m so glad we gave this place a try. I got a delicious cider that was described as “the PNW in a cup” which was spot on and their Warm Bacon Spinach Salad. I was a bit apprehensive to try this since I had never tried a warm salad before, but it’s pretty safe to say I’m obsessed now. I am absolutely horrible at describing food, so you can check out their description of the salad HERE!
Before things got too stormy, we did a portion of the Mukilteo Walking Tour around the Mukilteo Lighthouse. The walking tour provides a history of the town and the lighthouse! I love learning a little bit about the history of the places we travel while we’re there, it helps me feel more connected to the place and makes the trip more memorable in my opinion!
Our last stop in Mukilteo was Ivar’s to try their clam chowder and fish & chips. You can’t visit the PNW without getting clam chowder in my opinion! We each got a bowl of clam chowder with a bread bowl and a serving of fish and chips to share.
Day 3
Our final day in Seattle was a great mix of both touristy and non-touritsy things. We started off by visiting the Seattle Japanese Gardens just west of the city. This place is a little hidden gem! Located next to the Washington Park Arboretum, the Japanese Gardens pays homage to traditional gardens you would find in Japan. I love the mix of traditional Japanese plants as well as Pacific Northwest Natives!
We then ventured on to find some souvenirs for our friends and family, grabbed some sushi for lunch, and headed to our last stop, the Hiram M Chittenden Ballard Locks. Unbeknownst to me, the locks are a National Historic Site! Here you can tour a small visitors center, stroll through the botanical gardens, watch boats travel through the locks, and view the salmon migration! We were a bit late to see the salmon, but we loved watching the yachts travel through the locks! If you have a National Parks Passport, don’t forget to grab your cancellation stamp while you’re here! If you do forget your passport like I did, they have little slips of paper they can stamp for you to take home.
I hope you enjoyed getting a little peak into our trip to Seattle! I’m clearly not a travel blogger by any definition, but traveling is one of my favorite things to do and I love sharing my experiences with you! Have you been to Seattle? What was your favorite thing you did while you were there? Let me know in the comments below!
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