Visiting Seattle

[Nonsensei]

In the next couple of months I will be visiting Seattle with a friend.

A lady friend. 

Anyone from or living in the Seattle area that knows of any particular things we should do or places we should visit? We have looked online but I presume thats all generic stuff.

We will do some of that generic stuff of course but I was wondering if there are any well kept secrets we could try.

Thanks!

[missingnocchi]

Seattle is home to one of the only brick-and-mortar Go clubs in the western hemisphere. They have beginners lessons and pro lectures in addition to open play. Kind of a niche thing, but if you're looking for secrets, niches are where you'll find them.

Although not even close to a secret, it would feel wrong not to recommend a drive through the Cascades. I've been to every mountain range in the continental United States, but the Cascades are in a class of their own.

[Baruch]

I have heard this is an interesting tour ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Underground

Though not as interesting as the Roman Catacombs.

[drunkenshoe]

All I know about Seattle that it is a highly secular place, it is the jazz home of the US and it is in the greenest state. I have seen Oregon and the coastal forests were amazing there and I am told Washington state is greener and more of that.

[SGOS]

I've been to Seattle many times.  I'm not a city person, but if I had to live in one, Seattle would rate very high.  I've taken the underground tour, and it was interesting.  Think of it as a history tour of Seattle.  Ask about the trolls under the bridge (seriously).  I had close friends there for awhile who took me to a lot of cultural stuff, but I just put myself in their hands.  On my own, I'm not sure where I'd start.  Check out the fish market on the wharf, and eat seafood at one of restaurants around Lake Union.

I'd go visit a marina and tell them I was shopping for a 40 to 44 ft sailboat.  Tell them you are looking for something in the 200 to 300 thousand dollar range, just as an excuse to walk around on the docks and look inside some yachts.  If you like quaint places, take a ferry to Port Townsend and walk around for a couple of hours.  You won't need to take your car on the ferry.  But if you like ferry boats just for the sake of being out on the water, take one all the way to the San Juan Islands and visit Friday Harbor and Orcas Island.  It would be nice to have a car on Orcas Island.  On the very south-eastern tip of Orcas there is a back to nature type resort, with vegetarian food, a clothing optional hot tub, and well, you get the idea.

The downside is that over the years, the traffic has gotten horrible.  It used to be unnoticeable, but at times it now rivals Los Angeles.

Edit:  I definitely second the recommendation on the Cascades.  They are not as high as the Rocky Mountains, but every bit as steep and rocky with some short hikes through fauna as lush as you can imagine with tumbling creeks and waterfalls.  These hikes can be accessed from the Columbia Gorge highway.  At the more northern end is the North Cascades Highway, which is also very scenic and a days drive over the Cascades, but all of this takes time.  How much have you got?

[hrdlr110]

bellingham and  chuckanut drive. While you're there, go to Vancouver bc. Get on a ferry and see the San Juan islands. I went to wwu, located in Bellingham in the early 80's. I'm from Washington state, lived there for 38 years. My 2¢!

[hrdlr110]

That area also produced glenn beck - shame!

[Baruch]

That area also produced glenn beck - shame!

Maybe Glenn Beck is one of your giant slugs (and a shape shifter) ... run away ... but you don't have to be very fast ;-)

[Hydra009]

Question: how's the weather in Seattle?  Does it really rain there almost every day?

[SGOS]

Question: how's the weather in Seattle?  Does it really rain there almost every day?

It has that reputation, but in actuality that's not true.  They get more rain than average because it's the Pacific Northwest, but from my experience, it's way more sunny than it is rainy.  It's a moderate climate that I find appealing.  I sailed around there a lot.  We would rise from our bunks to glorious sunshine most of the time, and the joke was to see who could be the first one to say in  faux-displeasure, "Goddamit.  It rains all the time here."  Even on the off chance that it did rain, we would still say it, and laugh.

In Montana, people used to talk about all the rain in Seattle, some who had never even been there.  It's just one of those articles of faith that people believe because everyone else believes it like "the Republican Party is the party of fiscal responsibility."  It rains more there then Western Montana, but you would have to consult weather charts to know that.

Soggiest Cities in the United States

Seattle gets 38 inches of rain a year.  Now look at these others.

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall include:
• Mobile, Ala.: 67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• New Orleans, La.: 64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days
• Lafayette, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days
• Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Miami, Fla.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days
• Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days
• Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Lake Charles, La.: 58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

[TrueStory]

It has that reputation, but in actuality that's not true.  They get more rain than average because it's the Pacific Northwest, but from my experience, it's way more sunny than it is rainy.  It's a moderate climate that I find appealing.  I sailed around there a lot.  We would rise from our bunks to glorious sunshine most of the time, and the joke was to see who could be the first one to say in  faux-displeasure, "Goddamit.  It rains all the time here."  Even on the off chance that it did rain, we would still say it, and laugh.

In Montana, people used to talk about all the rain in Seattle, some who had never even been there.  It's just one of those articles of faith that people believe because everyone else believes it like "the Republican Party is the party of fiscal responsibility."  It rains more there then Western Montana, but you would have to consult weather charts to know that.

Soggiest Cities in the United States

Seattle gets 38 inches of rain a year.  Now look at these others.

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall include:
• Mobile, Ala.: 67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• New Orleans, La.: 64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days
• Lafayette, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days
• Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Miami, Fla.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days
• Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days
• Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Lake Charles, La.: 58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

That really only tells part of the story.  Seattle is one of the top if not the top of the lower 48 with days of cloud cover, so it might not rain but you'll be lucky to see the sky.  But that only happens in winter.  In the summer Seattle is much drier with almost no cloud cover.  To me there is no better place to spend a summer than the PNW and the winters are a bit dreary but fairly mild.

[SGOS]

That really only tells part of the story.  Seattle is one of the top if not the top of the lower 48 with days of cloud cover, so it might not rain but you'll be lucky to see the sky.  But that only happens in winter.  In the summer Seattle is much drier with almost no cloud cover.  To me there is no better place to spend a summer than the PNW and the winters are a bit dreary but fairly mild.

Every story has parts, and if anyone wants to come up with statistics to make something seem a certain way, certain parts can be selected to show that.  As the article pointed out, there is a difference between how much rain a city gets and how many days it actually rains (which was what Hydra was asking. i.e. how many days does it rain)), and apparently nearby Olympia holds the record for days of rain, although doesn't match those other cities in quantity, and apparently even at that, Olympia only gets 63 days of rain on average.

By the way, I love the rain.

[Hydra009]

Every story has parts, and if anyone wants to come up with statistics to make something seem a certain way, certain parts can be selected to show that.  As the article pointed out, there is a difference between how much rain a city gets and how many days it actually rains (which was what Hydra was asking. i.e. how many days does it rain)), and apparently nearby Olympia holds the record for days of rain, although doesn't match those other cities in quantity, and apparently even at that, Olympia only gets 63 days of rain on average.

By the way, I love the rain.

And even the statistic for how many days it rains can be misleading because Seattle could get a light drizzle frequently and be considered more rainy than a city that gets downpours but less often.

I can look up the stats, so that's not what I'm after.  What I'm after is the subjective experience of Seattle - does it feel rainy to someone who lives there for a long period of time?  Are you stuck indoors often because of miserable weather outside?  Do you have to adjust your routine?  (Like taking a jacket or umbrella with you)  Does the rain inconvenience or frustrate you?

I ask because a friend of mine really wants to go there someday, maybe permanently.

[SGOS]

I ask because a friend of mine really wants to go there someday, maybe permanently.

I don't know.  California might be a better choice for him.  While Seattle simply doesn't warrant the exaggerated rainy rap it's been given, it certainly might be wetter than what some people see as ideal.  People flock to California for the sun and warmth.  They flock to Florida for the same reason, even though Florida has 4 cities in the top ten most soggy cities list.  So the "feel of the place" to which you referred, is going to be influenced strongly by personal experience, and probably other factors as well.  Probably, rather than considering rain, your friend might want to consider how strongly he would be affected by a damp chill that calls for a wool sweater and a wind breaker.  And this aspect of the climate noticeably influences Seattle "fashion" which leans toward a lot of outdoor gear, like LL Bean and REI, at least it's something I notice when I'm there.  Dress just seems to get a little more casual and practical for that environment.

Warmth might be a bigger issue than rain.  When I wintered in Hawaii, I walked to town the first week there, and got caught in a downpour wearing shorts and a T-shirt.  Being from Montana, I immediately experienced hypothermia alarm.  I was soaked to the bone.  Then I started laughing at myself.  Yeah, it was a real drencher, but it was 85 degrees, so I just walked home and enjoyed the rain thinking about how foreign the experience was.

[Baruch]

FYI ... Florida is surrounded on 3 sides by the ocean, and is barely above sea level ;-(