Plan my Seattle vacation

[+WeightMan]

I'm using some free ticket vouchers to fly to Seattle for a week at the end of June, and I'm looking for recommendations. My wife, my three kids (ages 7-14) and I will be traveling.

 

What caches would you recommend?

Restaurants?

Hotels?

Attractions? (I have a guide and have researched the standard stuff. Anything offbeat?)

Day trips? (I'm thinking of kayaking one day. Know any good guides/rental places?)

 

Is there anything you wouldn't recommend?

 

At this point, we're open to any suggestions. Is a car needed to get around? I'm thinking we could go car-less around the city for a couple of days, but would be necessary for day trips.

 

Horning in on your thread here a bit, I hope you don't mind. I'm going to be in Seattle as well, June 10-13 - but sadly on conference at the Marriott downtown, and will probably only have a couple of hours here and there, plus evenings to go caching. But I *will* go caching

 

So, in doing my queries on the area I'll have easy access to, it looks as if there are a slew of puzzles and micros, but hardly anything in the way of regular caches to drop the batch of TBs that want to come with me off, or to trade them out. Am I missing something? Do you all have any cache recommendations for someone who's going to be hoofing it downtown?

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied to CacheNCarryMA with the attraction/ restaurant recommendations, I'll look some of those up. I wish I could get further afield, and spend more time there ... *sigh

Sadly there are very few caches in downtown Seattle that can handle a TB. One comes to mind. Although ii is a puzzle, A Criminal Education is large enough and the puzzle is not that hard. I have not done that cache, but it does come highly recommended.

[+cougarox]

Sadly there are very few caches in downtown Seattle that can handle a TB. One comes to mind. Although ii is a puzzle, A Criminal Education is large enough and the puzzle is not that hard. I have not done that cache, but it does come highly recommended.

 

Thanks, WeightMan - I will definitely try that one, and the GC HQ as well - what a cool cache!

[+KT1I]

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of a two day stop in Seattle on a cross country train trip probably late May. Some questions on Seattle:

 

1. Hotel suggestion < $200 per night downtown. Doesn't have to be fancy but clean and in a safe area.

 

2. I won't have a car so will hit some of the downtown caches that I can hit from public trans. Any really good ones not to be missed.

 

3. I would like to take a ferry ride for the experience. A short one and preferably one that lands in a populated place.

 

4. Is there anything at Groundspeak to see? Are cachers welcome?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Charlie KT1I

[+hydnsek]

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of a two day stop in Seattle on a cross country train trip probably late May. Some questions on Seattle:

 

1. Hotel suggestion < $200 per night downtown. Doesn't have to be fancy but clean and in a safe area.

 

2. I won't have a car so will hit some of the downtown caches that I can hit from public trans. Any really good ones not to be missed.

 

3. I would like to take a ferry ride for the experience. A short one and preferably one that lands in a populated place.

 

4. Is there anything at Groundspeak to see? Are cachers welcome?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Charlie KT1I

1. Can't help with hotels. Plenty of online hotel lookups, tho.

 

2. Yes, see our NW Classics bookmark list, made for folks like you.

 

3. One of the best short ferries is Seattle-Bainbridge Island, in my book. Esp. the return trip from Bainbridge at night, when you are looking at the Seattle skyline across the water. Awesome!

 

4. Yes, be sure to get the Groundspeak HQ cache. They normally welcome visitors, by appointment, on Fridays at 2 pm. Other days by arrangement. Contact the Lackeys, the owners on the cache page. The Groundspeak HQ cache is part of the Northwest trifecta (along with the APE cache and Original Stash Plaque), and are all on the NW Classics bookmark list (Groundspeak cache is the first one on the list, in fact).

 

Hope that helps, and if you let us know of some free time, we'd love to have a get-together with you!

[+WeightMan]

Hi,

 

I'm thinking of a two day stop in Seattle on a cross country train trip probably late May. Some questions on Seattle:

 

1. Hotel suggestion < $200 per night downtown. Doesn't have to be fancy but clean and in a safe area.

 

2. I won't have a car so will hit some of the downtown caches that I can hit from public trans. Any really good ones not to be missed.

 

3. I would like to take a ferry ride for the experience. A short one and preferably one that lands in a populated place.

 

4. Is there anything at Groundspeak to see? Are cachers welcome?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Charlie KT1I

1. Can't help with hotels. Plenty of online hotel lookups, tho.

 

2. Yes, see our NW Classics bookmark list, made for folks like you.

 

3. One of the best short ferries is Seattle-Bainbridge Island, in my book. Esp. the return trip from Bainbridge at night, when you are looking at the Seattle skyline across the water. Awesome!

 

4. Yes, be sure to get the Groundspeak HQ cache. They normally welcome visitors, by appointment, on Fridays at 2 pm. Other days by arrangement. Contact the Lackeys, the owners on the cache page. The Groundspeak HQ cache is part of the Northwest trifecta (along with the APE cache and Original Stash Plaque), and are all on the NW Classics bookmark list (Groundspeak cache is the first one on the list, in fact).

 

Hope that helps, and if you let us know of some free time, we'd love to have a get-together with you!

 

4. Actually the best way to contact the lackeys is to email to the contact address. The owner is Signal and s/he (I forget which it is) doesn't read email often.

 

Also check out Metro Transit. They have good coverage of most of the county.

[+GrievousAngel]

I'm no kayaker, but the currents under the Deception Pass bridge look FIERCE.

 

I reserved a three hour tour ...<Gilligan's Island echo>a three hour tour!</Gilligan's Island echo> with Anacortes Kayaks. The time slot I booked is during a slack tide.

 

They don't actually go into Deception Pass under the bridge because it's too dangerous. The tours go east of the bridge - in Bowman Bay - and along the coast. The webpage for their Deception trip says something like "Great for Kids".

 

You'll love this company--they have great equipment and very competent guides, and the young couple who own the company are charming. Bowman Bay is quite safe, and you'll often be followed by seals You'll all have fun! If you're driving up from/back to Seattle and pass through Mount Vernon at mealtime, I recommend a stop at Skagit River Brewery for solid food and excellent beer.

[+Dgwphotos]

This is an old thread that has been bumped.

[+fairyhoney]

This is an old thread that has been bumped.

 

Oh, I see that It WAS Last year (June) that they came to visit

[+GeoTeeth]

Just like the topic starter we are going to Seattle. We intend to join the Spring Fling event in Port Orchard in May 10th, 2008. Beside that event we like to do some caches in the surroundings of Seatlle. Ofcourse we already have an invitation for Groundspeak HQ . But the cache that was advised stongly to me is “Mission 9: Tunnel of Light” .

However, since we are living in the Netherlands, I’m note quite sure how to prepare, and how long the cache will take.

But what I do know is that I have to be back in Seatlle at 14.00h to visit the HQ.

For that reason I’m looking for American geocachers who can advise me or / and are willing to join me for the Tunnel of Light cache on Friday May, 9th 2008.

 

Gerrit jan aka GeoTeeth

[+WeightMan]

Just like the topic starter we are going to Seattle. We intend to join the Spring Fling event in Port Orchard in May 10th, 2008. Beside that event we like to do some caches in the surroundings of Seatlle. Ofcourse we already have an invitation for Groundspeak HQ . But the cache that was advised stongly to me is “Mission 9: Tunnel of Light” .

However, since we are living in the Netherlands, I’m note quite sure how to prepare, and how long the cache will take.

But what I do know is that I have to be back in Seatlle at 14.00h to visit the HQ.

For that reason I’m looking for American geocachers who can advise me or / and are willing to join me for the Tunnel of Light cache on Friday May, 9th 2008.

 

Gerrit jan aka GeoTeeth

The drive to the parking area for Tunnel of Light is about an hour from Seattle. The one way hike to the cache is about three miles. The hike is pretty much level, but the hike through the tunnel may not be at normal hiking speed for you. Some people have to slow down walking through the tunnel as your balance may be affected. It is possible to rent bicycles to ride to the cache.

 

Be advised that the tunnel is scheduled to open on May 1, but with the snow pack this year it might not be safe to open then. If the tunnel is not open then the hike into the cache may take longer.

 

At this point, I'm not sure if I can be there that day. I will take a closer look about that time.

[Team Misguided]

Just a note. I love that this thread has been kept alive so long, there is a lot of great information in it. Because of that I've edited the topic title a bit to make it more generic.

 

Here is a link to several places around the Seattle area to rent bikes. I can't tell you anything about any of these places, it's just a quick link I found. The last place we used is no longer renting bikes.

[+Dgwphotos]

Just a note. I love that this thread has been kept alive so long, there is a lot of great information in it. Because of that I've edited the topic title a bit to make it more generic.

 

Here is a link to several places around the Seattle area to rent bikes. I can't tell you anything about any of these places, it's just a quick link I found. The last place we used is no longer renting bikes.

 

I wonder if pinning this thread might not be a bad idea.

[+intolerable]

Sci Fi Hall of Fame

 

While I thought that the Sci Fi Museum was *awesome* (no, really, *awesome*), its primarily props from endless movies and tv shows, comics, books and more... enough to make any fan of the genre fall over, but it (at least when we went a while back) was mostly just displays and not much in the way of hands on there for kids.

 

If I remember correctly, admission for the EMP includes admission to this also (they are in the same building), so you could always pop in there real quick to check it out if you went to the EMP.

 

If nothing else, the robot collection and Bab5 costumes are worth a visit IMO ;-)

 

And *now* I note that this thread is over a year old...

Edited February 23, 2008 by intolerable

[+MonkeyCakes]

Our family had an EMP membership, we bought it because there was an exhibit we really wanted to see and the membership was only a few dolloars more than one visit would be...They have since dropped their prices, but I personally don't think it's worth the cost. I would rather spend my money on the Pacific Science Center. The Underground Tour can be fun, a lot depends on the tour guide. My sons (11 & 14) love the Museum of Flight. If you rent a car, the Washington State history Museum in Tacoma is nice. If you are in town on the Third Thursday of the month, the Art Museum, Washington State History Museum and Museum of Glass in Tacoma are open late until 8:00 pm with free admission from 5-8 pm.

 

According to the website, the Klondike Gold Rush Museum will once again be offering a walking tour of Pioneer Square in Seattle starting June 23, at 2:00 in the afternoon. In the past this tour has ended at the observation deck of the Smith Tower. The tour is free, normally it's $5.00 - $7.50 to go up to the observation deck.

[CacheNCarryMA]

Nostalgia bump!

 

Now that summer is here, I get nostalgic about last summer's vacation in Seattle. It was one of the best vacations my family has taken. My high school aged daughter wants to move to Seattle for college and beyond!

[+TrailGators]

Nostalgia bump!

 

Now that summer is here, I get nostalgic about last summer's vacation in Seattle. It was one of the best vacations my family has taken. My high school aged daughter wants to move to Seattle for college and beyond!

This is a helpful thread. My family is going there next week! Did you all ever rent bikes for the APE cache? I was wondering where to rent them....