Seattle, WA

[flitcraft]

The georgetown is a little far for me. I'm going to Fremont brewing by the fremont troll.

They always have their Dark Star oatmeal stout on tap; but at 8% ABV (!) it's probably a one-and-done kind of beer. They do can a no alcohol stout, too--I might be tempted to order both and mix for a more sessionable option!

 

[moosejunky99]

I'm planning on staying at Seattle Marriott Waterfront then doing the Seattle Aquarium (if train is on time) and then doing the Zoo on next day then do the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass on the next day.. then head home. Giving my self an extra day in case the train in late and i miss my train home LOL and have to stay in downtown Chicago. Has to be 8hrs late to miss my train home. and doing 8-9 breweries along the way.. I love planning all my trips with Wanderlog. It is nice app.

thanks mod for fixing my bold madness. Sorry did not know about those rules.

 

[NW cannonball]

Just a few tips based on my recent visit to the Emerald City:

If you're arriving by Amtrak, you will be getting off at King Street Station, a little south of downtown. If you go straight out the door, you will be in Pioneer Square, the oldest part of Seattle. Some of this area can appear a bit rough looking, with the occasional homeless person wandering about, but it seemed safe enough to me when I was there, especially in the daytime. If you're heading uptown, you will be going uphill. I was staying at the Marriott Courtyard on 2nd Ave, which is a short walk from the station, but which has a slight upgrade, which one can notice more if hauling luggage. The cross streets connecting 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave. and so on have a more distinct grade. I don't see Downtown Seattle as hilly as parts of central San Fransisco, but the grades are pretty steep. Thus, it was a nice downhill walk from my hotel to Alaska Way along the waterfront, but a stiff climb back up.

If you are riding the Link "light rail" (more like a subway train with low, level boarding platforms), You can avoid the uphill walk to 3rd. Ave. by taking the elevator up to the 2nd floor, and then exit of the plaza facing Jackson St.. Turn right on Jackson St., cross 2nd. Ave Extended and 4th Ave, go past the old Union Station and you will soon find the entrance to the "International District/Chinatown" Link Stop. There are ticket vending machines, but no faregates. They apparently do random checks to make sure you're paying the fares. The Seattle Streetcar runs along Jackson Street and links Pioneer Square to a neighborhood called "Capitol Hill," even though Seattle isn't the capitol of anything. Note that the Link light rail also has a stop at Capitol Hill. You can buy an Orca card, which is good on pretty much everything transitwise in the city, though if you buy a day pass, I know it's not good for the Bainbridge Island Ferry, and I suspect it's not good for the Sounder commuter trains, so you would need to put some cash on the Orca card to be able to use it for those two services.

View attachment 34909

King St. Station from the plaza on Jackson St.

View attachment 34910
Streetcar to Capitol Hill on Jackson St.

View attachment 34911
This is Union Station, right next to the Link light rail station, it was built for the Union Pacific and Milwaukee Road. It's no longer in use as a train station but serves as the HQ for Sound Transit.

View attachment 34922
Here's the "Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel," originally used for trolleybuses (or "trackless trolleys" to those of us from Philadelphia), now used exclusively for the Link light rail.

View attachment 34913

Here's a Link train. They call it "light rail," but the parts I rode sure seemed more like metro with low platforms as far as I was concerned.

I only had a day and a half to spend in town, so I focused my visit to the waterfront, including a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, hanging around the Pike Place Market, a visit to the Space Needle via the monorail, and a ride on the streetcar to South Lake Union.

Great summary, thanks for posting. I was there within that same week last December. I've visited family in and about Seattle, often on Amtrak, most years out of the last 20.

"Do buy an Orca card, which is good on pretty much everything transitwise in the city" like "AMEN, brother"
ORCA cards work on almost all public transit in the whole metro, you can buy one from the fare machines, then just "tap on, tap off" buses, lrt, even the ferry to Alki Point (not sure about the big ferries to Bainbridge or the islands).
I do know that the ORCA worked from NS Everett to Tacoma, even a decade ago. BUT if you want the big "senior discount" ORCA go to soundtransit.org before you arrive.

About walking Seattle, parts of the city are steep. Not as steep as parts of, say, San Francisco, or Duluth, but steep for us flatlanders from Saint Paul or Fargo.

Also, about walking Seattle, I arrived delayed at SEA-Tac, got to Westgate Link Station, December rain, 23:something, the "D" bus was detoured, blah blah, So I walked the less than two miles in the rain through a few kinda sketchy bus stops in Belltown (nobody threatening, some of that "bad dope smoke stink)
to my hotel on the west edge of Seattle Center on one of the ?three? "1st streets" in that corner of the "Queen Anne" neighborhood (lotsa good cheap food there, and excellent transit connections).

One thing I don't recommend in Seattle, or anywhere, is arriving at King Street station less than 10 minutes (or 30 for wimps) before the Empire Builder or the Coast Starlate departs. I've done that three times, never missed my departure, road traffic near King Street station is often brutally congested, don't try it