QF WP’s do Disneyland (LA), Seattle and beyond

[carls888]

Loving this TR still. We travel with our kids (now 11 and 9) and are seriously thinking about hitting Seattle, Oregon and ??? next year. We have never explored further up than SF.
What month did you go QFWP? And was it nice and hot?

 

[QF WP]

Flew out on 28 June (a couple of days before the start of the school holidays). Flew back on 18 July (kids had an extra weeks holiday). Perfect time to visit USA - summer weather. Wait until to see the next 2 weeks of the TR. You’ll want to go next year.

Our kids are of similar ages (well they were 11 and 8 when we went).

 

[Dr Ralph]

F You’ll want to go next year.

I am going next year So really looking forward to this part of the trip report.

Already booked for June/July 2019.

Fly to Vancouver. Plan to drive to Seattle/Spokane area.

 

[QF WP]

After a deep sleep fueled by last nights dinner, we waited for the rush to go before coming down. That allowed us to prepare ourselves (backpacks, water bottles, snacks etc) and perhaps even some space for some surreptitiously secreted food from the buffet

Arriving at the restaurant podium for breakfast we were given these tags which allowed the servers to know we were allowed access to both the continental and hot breakfast options.



They were handy every morning when the bill cane because otherwise it would have been an expensive experience



Of course, a fiver was used for the server tip every day so we never left at no cost. They were all really friendly, joked with the kids and one went out of his way to find one cereal my kids felt like eating (they liked one in particular from the Hyatt Place - he went back into the kitchen to track some down).

Okay we were ready to explore what Seattle had to offer. We knew where to go and it’s only a 400m walk back to the lift or steps to get up to the station level.

We were going to get off at most of the CBD light rail stops in the next 4 days so time to read the map



and important to get on the right platform



Here it comes. Regular services (every 10-15 minutes) and whilst smaller than trains in Australian, it was mercifully air conditioned.



Right, where to first. There are a number of great options that I had explored online and using the AFF community in a separate thread.

 

[QF WP]

Whoops, I forgot to start the previous post with this photo. Very easy ticketing system to use, like any in Australia. There are different zones and if I recall correctly $4.50 was the most expensive one-way fare. Brilliant to get the light rail to SeaTac If you have outbound flight and you get to see a bit of the suburbs on your trip.



Our first stop was going to be Pike Place Markets, however we had been told about a great place to have lunch just nearby so we got off at this station and I Alief down the hill.



Met a couple of panhandlers on the way down so at first I thought I’d made a bad decision. A bit of roadwork going on as well didn’t diminish from the negative thoughts either. Keeping my family close and my wallet closer, we walked under a freeway and saw our lunchtime destination:



Okay, if you are ever in Seattle, do yourself a favour and eat here. Both sit down (either in the enclosure on the left or on the back deck/jetty) and take away (on the right where the guys in red were).

This is the obligatory photo opportunity out the front next to Ivar’s statue



Or out in the jetty where the majority of the seagulls are better fed than some people. They were enormous - easily double the size of Australian ones. And noisy...nothing like a flock of seagulls fighting over some chips.

 

[QF WP]

The seating outside was to my mind, the better place to sit. Just check out the fence. Quite a sight to see birds sitting there, or flying around looking for the thrown chips or the birds sitting atop the water below, waiting for those thrown over.
Plus, remember these aren’t the seagulls that we have in Australia - these are seagulls on steroi_s and they have cries to match.



So we sat down for some fish n chips. We weren’t massively hungry but we wanted to tick Ivars off a “must do” list. The kids loved feeding the birds whilst we marveled at their size and helping choose which birds we fed. After all, why feed the strong - the downtrodden, the weak and sickly can do with our help. Anyway, why are we feeding them deep fried chips - that can’t be good for their diet.



So on the way back out, we read the story under the statue



and walked to the next Pier we were saw just how far we were away from other major centres in the world



Now it was off to possibly the most important tourist place in Seattle.

 

[QF WP]

Back to this thread lest I forget all about it.

So we’ve eaten lunch and now it’s time to head up to Pikes Place Markets - Seattle’s most famous and just next to the inaugural Starbucks.

Past the Pier with the Ferris wheel:



and up to the lower street level where the markets start. Now there are two options from here, the stairs to the right (which go all the way to the top with access points off to each level) or the lift straight ahead. Now we’re nit talking a fancy digital lift here but not quite the ones with the wrought iron gates and handles that need to be wound. But certainly it was antiquated and slow. Next time we’ll tackle the stairs.





We decided to head to the top and work our way down as my wife was interested in shops and shopping ;and my daughter is quickly learning some bad habits from her mum).


On our way along, we came across this bucket tickling the ivories and wow, was he good - he was raking in the tips. That bucket would have been filled by the end of the day

 

[QF WP]

What I found interesting is that the Pike Place Markets backs onto the Interstate, however I suppose that’s like the road nearby Circular Quay:



Some of the shops in Pike Place, after all there are 5 levels of them:



But the one that gets the most attention is the fishmongers and their ability to throw fish (not that I saw them in action):



There’s all sorts for sale around here.



Even a connection with Australia:

 

[QF WP]

Now in our travels my Australian backpack was starting to fall apart at the seams so we were on the lookout for a new sturdier one - lol and behold what we stumble across here:



That one hanging up there looks the go





We wander back out into the top road and our map takes us back to the inaugural Starbucks, but thankfully the line was long and we don’t drink coffee, although my daughter had a fixation on going inside. However even she begrudgingly admitted it would take an hour just to get a seat.



So it was onto explore some more...

 

[QF WP]

It was time for a lunch/early dinner meal after all that shopping and walking, so we found a little cafe (microbrewery?) just down past Starbucks and settled in for some local fare:



Some interestingly named brews



Cheese and avocado quesadilla IIRC



Pot pie for Mrs QF WP:




I had the seafood crowder and if I could have fitted in another, I would have:



Had great service from the waitstaff and I had her select the 2 beers I drank (both locally brewed).

 

[QF WP]

This was the view of the restaurant (I really must get the name of it).



Across the road (where we were standing) is a small park and a most intriguing monument:



So of course the kids wanted to check it out and run around so we let them burn off some of their lunch, all the while watching some of the strange people also hanging around.

We also wandered to take a good photo of where the ferries ply their trade to the local islands:



On our way back, we had been alerted by AFF’ers to this most interesting “piece” of artwork just down from the fish markets, so we had to check it out:



Yes, quite unhygienic yet a study in how bubblegum stuck on walls can become iconic. Don’t pick me to be on the team that ever has to clean them off:

 

[QF WP]

Now to head home, but on our way my wife wanted to stop off at a quilting shop. The kids and I all agreed to let mummy go on her own, whilst we explored a nearby park (Occidental Square) which had a lot of games to play (of which we were able to partake in most, as mummy took an awfully long time):



and a monument to the local firefighters who had died in active service:







My daughter thought she could beat dad, but she soon learnt just how accurate Daddy was at this game. So she tried throwing 3 at once. One of of three wasn’t a bad effort (and I was thrilled with my camerawork)

 

[QF WP]

The closest light rail station was Pioneer Square and as we had wanted to visit most of the stations in our stay here, we walked to it



and entered a most surprising station:



Getting off at SeaTac, I thought Id take a photo to show just how close the Crowne Plaza is from the airport:



and as we walked into our home away from home, just had to snap this photo of the Hilton’s Airport Shuttle

 

[QF WP]

My father always says reconnaissance is rarely wasted and that’s what we needed to do next morning. Our next stop on our trip was Everett. In order to get up there, I’d researched that a local bus service went there and stopped at the Everett Bus Exchange

So on our way into our days outing, we got out at the nearest train station (which also happened to be where our first event of the day was going to be) and found the correct bus stop:



See darling, cheap as chips (certainly significantly cheaper than the other options I researched)



Perfectly timed, here what our bus looks like (and my wife got in close to make sure there was sufficient space for our luggage)



So I added photos of the road corners so we knew where we needed to find (Always do this so that when we come back, if we’re confused we can look back on the photos to remember)





Oh no, it’s a Starbucks - my daughter didn’t fail to notice. Damn, looks like we were heading there as she started pleading...and I mean pleading

 

[QF WP]

Surely I get Dad of the Year for this...well in my daughters eyes anyway.





I was then promised that they would be on their best behaviour - well we’ve all heard that reasoning before and know where it ends up...

 

[QF WP]

So the schedule for today was focused on Seattle Centre, included a monorail ride. It was just around the corner from the Starbucks and above the light rail station





So up the stairs and escalators we went to find out about getting there:



Well, he’s still a popular lad:



After getting our tickets, we moved forward to wait in line to board the monorail:

 

[QF WP]

It wasn’t long before we reached the front of the autonomous monorail



and onboard some interesting facts



Each of the carriages aren’t very big but you can see through to the next carriage:



Okay, after getting off this piqued my curiosity - Seattle has monorail man:



Turned around and sure enough, there he was in person:

 

[QF WP]

So time to head to the Seattle Centre and all it had to offer. Don’t worry about getting lost, signs are everywhere.



In the forecourt is a great children’s playground which can easily while away 30 mins:



So whilst the kids got to burn off some of that sugar fix from Starbucks, we got to reading up on the attractions. My wife wanted to go to this one:



which was really easy to find:



But first, I wanted to tackle this maze. Surprisingly took a while to walk it and I had my daughter behind me, but she may have cheated to win...

 

[QF WP]

But first our empty stomachs beckoned is to find a lunch venue - this cafe was next to the ticket sales for MoPop so it was the winner (I think more for the green jelly than anything for the kids!)

My son decided the cheeseburger kids meal was the go:



My wife went for this (with the obligatory crisps):



Whilst I thought this would fuel me up for the afternoon (for the life of me, can’t remember what was inside it)



and my daughter chose chicken nuggets



These fries were interestingly cut (I think that was the whole reason we bought them)

 

[Denali]

Did you notice the street art in Seattle? I love how it's all over the place but sometimes you have to look up or down to spot it. Im told it's funded by a % from development applications.

This is one of my favs, at Pike Place, it was about 5mtrs up light feature.