If you had 48 hours in Seattle what would you do?

Eat. Drink. Play.

Distance from Packwood/ Mount Rainier to Seattle: 187 miles

Where we stayed: AirBnB

What we did: The White Swan Public House , Ferry to Bainbridge Island, Volunteer Park Conservatory & Garden, Pikes Market, Piroshky Piroshky, Beechers Cheese, Chihuly Garden & Glass Exhibit, Space Needle, Gas Works Park, Freemont Troll… drive by.

The last part of our west coast trip to Washington was spending some time in Seattle with my cousins. After our time in Mount Rainier we booked it back up to Seattle. This is a long post full of photos so hope you enjoy. First we set up shop at our Airbnb in a progressive neighborhood and it was perfect for our stay, 2 story, 1 bathroom… the only part I didn’t like was how small the couch and living space ended up being. In the photo online it looked like there should have been another armchair but there was only one couch. Alas.

That night for dinner we went to the seaside restaurant, The White Swan Public House. Excellent appetizers and drinks overlooking the harbor at sunset, can’t go wrong there.

 

 

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The next day we packed in as much as possible! Started the morning off with breakfast and coffee at the bnb, then headed off to Volunteer Park Conservatory & Garden. I am a sucker for beautiful botanicals, greenhouses and cactus gardens. We try to visit botanical gardens in all the major cities we visit. We’ve been to conservatories in Montreal, Copenhagen, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, DC and so many more.

 

 

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Next was the famous Pikes Market again, and this time we really enjoyed it! First stop was Piroshky Piroshky. My cousin had been raving about it all day so I had big expectations and boy did it satisfy! Delicious meats and cheese stuffed into a pastry pocket for the win.  After that we had a “quick” tour inside Pikes main market, watched the ‘throwing of the fish,’ picked up some fresh strawberries and plumots, then walked down to the harbor for ice cream and back up to the market for a beer at Seattle Beer Co. Last but not least on the market we stopped at Beecher’s Cheese!

Side note- I’m a total cheese fanatic and was obsessed with going to Beechers, but the lines to order food were horrible and I was being impatiend. However, if you just want a quick sample, Yes please!, skip the line and go to the back of the store where the check out counter is, you can sample anything and then purchase goods to go. Along the wall is the great glass window where you can watch the cheese being made, yummmm cheessseeee.

 

 

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Next up we Ubered over to the Chihuly Garden & Glass Exhibit and Space needle. The package we purchased for both exhibits was about $44. The Chihuly garden and exhibit was amazing and an absolute must see when you are in Seattle. I could have gone without the Space needle, due to the lines and wait and weird circus popcorn and feet smell at the top, but I’m glad we did it and could check it off our bucket list, and the view from the top is pretty spectacular.

 

 

It took us about 1.5 hours to get up to the top of the space needle. Our ticket had a reserved time, that got us in line, for the line to get in the elevator. In the end, it was really nice and the view was beautiful.

 

 

The next day we dropped my cousins off at their cruise ship, and said bon voyage as they headed for Alaska. (not jealous at all…. cough cough)

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Before leaving Seattle we had one more thing to do. When I was a little babe my mom and dad made friends with another military family who had 2 boys the same age as my sister and me. Over the years of our childhood we hung out a lot, moving to Germany, road tripping, camping, swimming in the summer, visits to Switzerland and Italy, touring castles, etc. We moved back to the states and were only a few hours driving time from each other at first, but over time and by the time we we all teenagers and my family moved to Hawaii we all lost touch. Flash forward 15+ years and the friend my age lives in Seattle with his beautiful wife and two kids. So I reached out and we met up for a burger!

Here’s the conversation (roughly):

Me: Where should we meet up?

D: Uneeda Burger

Me: Sounds good, where should we grab a burger

….waits for reply…

D: Thats what its called, U need a burger

Me: omg, LOL YESS

Uneeda Burger is the best!! Everything was perfect from the burger selsction to the fries and tasty beer (again none for me).

After burgers they took us past the Freemont Troll and then to Gas Works Park where the view looking back over Seattle was a perfect way to end our trip. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful and people were outside taking advantage of the gorgeous west coast weather. Getting to catch up with an old friend and reconnecting was priceless. I could see Gas Works Park being a wonderful place to picnic or bring the kids to hang out if we lived in Seattle. The old industrial plant turned into colorful kiddie play area and park is a great example of how a city should repurpose historic features. In fact the whole city was very appealing and livable and we cant wait to go back!

 

 

The last polaroid was from Frankenstein castle in Germany, and yes that’s me crying.. good times.  

Till next time, thanks for reading and have fun y’all!