Seattle ok, B&Ms POO, Sites are great!

[ca21455]

Wife had business in Seattle so I tagged along. Arrived on Sunday and the weather was great the first two days. Since then, cool and rainy.

Staying at the Double Tree south of Seattle near the airport. Nice hotel with balconies for smoking. Bad thing is the noise from the airport and you have to drag furniture from the room since there is none on the balcony.

Driving in Downtown Seattle is not easyand parking is expensive. The Space Needle provided some great views but a $14 per person elevator ride and parking fees distracts from the enjoyment.

Have visited most of the aquariums in the US and Seattle's is pretty average. Pike street market is similar to most big city markets.

B&Ms in Seattle (at least the ones I found) are pretty poor. This is the first time I have been in 4 -5 B&Ms and not bought anything. Selection is slim. Brought my own stash and could not find anything worth supplementing what I had.

The scenery and hiking in western Washington is fantasic. Here are a couple of photos of Snoqualmie Falls:





Also visited Mt. St. Helen's, there is still a tremendous amount of evidence of the eruption in 1981. A few more pictures:





Next week we will be on a cruise to Alaska.

[hova45]

do you mind if I take one to put as my background those are some beautiful pictures and what a great landscape.

[Papichulo]

I use to live in Seattle and the B&Ms do suck. Smokey Joes is the best cigar lounge up there in Fife. It is located just before Tacoma at a casino called BJs if I remember correctly. They have an ok selection of smokes. Food is not bad too. Have you been up to Deception Pass outside of oak harbour? I usually go up there on business between SEpt and May once per month. Thanks for the pics

[ca21455]

Originally Posted by hova45

do you mind if I take one to put as my background those are some beautiful pictures and what a great landscape.

PM sent.

Originally Posted by Papichulo

I use to live in Seattle and the B&Ms do suck. Smokey Joes is the best cigar lounge up there in Fife. It is located just before Tacoma at a casino called BJs if I remember correctly. They have an ok selection of smokes. Food is not bad too. Have you been up to Deception Pass outside of oak harbour? I usually go up there on business between SEpt and May once per month. Thanks for the pics

I saw Smokey Joes on the internet, but will not get a chance to go out that way. Only have short time in morning to smoke while wife is at meeting.

Have not been to Deception Pass. Will look that up since we have some time to kill on Saturday. We were planing on visiting the Boeing museum, and the underground tour. They both sounded interesting.

[drawfour]

Yeah, western Washington has some really good outdoor sites. While the rain can be a bit... depressing, the summers are usually very gorgeous and there's plenty of green around.

Been here for 7 years, and don't plan on going anywhere else for a LONG time (other than the vacations, of course).

[papajohn67]

Don't let them catch you smoking or they will have you drawn & quartered.

Got to love our State of Washington. In the retirement center where my wife use to work the residents now have to smoke outside in the corner of the parking lot as mandated by all of the latte loving, wine guzzling voters. Not in their own rooms or on their own balconies but out by an orange cone...rain or shine.

[Papichulo]

Originally Posted by papajohn67

Don't let them catch you smoking or they will have you drawn & quartered.

Got to love our State of Washington. In the retirement center where my wife use to work the residents now have to smoke outside in the corner of the parking lot as mandated by all of the latte loving, wine guzzling voters. Not in their own rooms or on their own balconies but out by an orange cone...rain or shine.

They are like Nazis up there when you smoke. You can't even smoke on the balconys of hotels.

[Mister Moo]

The drive out to the Mt. St. Helens park is worth it. The vista is spectacular (on a sunny day). You have to see the mountain from a distance to imagine the immensity of the cataclysm that occured. Great shots.

[mugwump]

Like most other desirable locales in the country the congestion and pace of life here in Western WA are getting worse and worse but the natural setting makes it all worthwhile. I live about 10 minutes from Snoqualmie Falls and still enjoy regular trips to see the views. Deception Pass is a great side trip that's about 1 1/4 hours from Seattle. We go just about every other summer weekend as the kids like running from the freshwater Cranberry Lake across the dunes to the saltwater beach.

But don't miss the Museum of Flight. This is another touristy spot that I still visit regularly. They just opened a new space exhibit this summer and have a great collection of WWI & WWII planes on display.

If the weather stays cruddy all day like it's supposed to then a trip to the Pass will be a waste as none of the spectacular views will be, well, viewable.

Hope you're enjoying your stay and believe it or not all this rain is not the norm for this time of year. Blame it on that typhoon out of Japan last week.

[snkbyt]

lived in OR for 10 years and visited Mt St Helen a few times...........are the trees till looking like a version of pick up sticks and do the Elk still own the area where the lake use to be (counted a herd of 100+)

[ca21455]

Originally Posted by Papichulo

They are like Nazis up there when you smoke. You can't even smoke on the balconys of hotels.

Sure you can, as long as you do not get caught. Funny thing is the hotel was pretty much no smoking except for a small crappy outdoor area, but they sold cigarettes and cigars in the hotel store!!

Originally Posted by mugwump

Like most other desirable locales in the country the congestion and pace of life here in Western WA are getting worse and worse but the natural setting makes it all worthwhile. I live about 10 minutes from Snoqualmie Falls and still enjoy regular trips to see the views. Deception Pass is a great side trip that's about 1 1/4 hours from Seattle. We go just about every other summer weekend as the kids like running from the freshwater Cranberry Lake across the dunes to the saltwater beach.

But don't miss the Museum of Flight. This is another touristy spot that I still visit regularly. They just opened a new space exhibit this summer and have a great collection of WWI & WWII planes on display.

If the weather stays cruddy all day like it's supposed to then a trip to the Pass will be a waste as none of the spectacular views will be, well, viewable.

Hope you're enjoying your stay and believe it or not all this rain is not the norm for this time of year. Blame it on that typhoon out of Japan last week.

We were going to go up to Deception pass the Saturday before the cruise but the weather was yucky. Went downtown instead and went the Pine Street Market and the Underground tour. Was going to stop at the Museum of flight but took a wrong turn and then it was to late.

Originally Posted by snkbyt

lived in OR for 10 years and visited Mt St Helen a few times...........are the trees till looking like a version of pick up sticks and do the Elk still own the area where the lake use to be (counted a herd of 100+)

Where we were all the trees are still down. They are making a visitors center further away from the mountain where you can really see all of the destruction. It is not open yet however.

We did have binoculars with us and saw quite a few moose hanging around.