Seattle 2018 Trip

Huge shout out to my cousin Diana for being a fantastic host on my recent trip to Seattle. Feel free to use my travel notes as a guide for your future visitors (including myself!).

Fun

Starbucks Roastery (Seattle location), Capitol Hill)
I took a leisure walk to this place on my first full day. I ordered a coffee ((Pantheon 2018, pour over) and did some people watching (so much to see!). On my last day I went to the shop again and got some freshly roasted beans (also Pantheon). They of course also have food options, tons of coffee (made with your favorite brewing method) and plenty of Starbucks Reserve goodies. I can't wait for the NYC roastery to open up soon.



Seattle Center International fountain
Best place to enjoy a bit of sun (on those sunny days in Seattle, lucky me!) and people watching. and also a great place to snap a pic of the Space Needle.

I looked into the music a bit more when I was organizing my trip notes and found some great resources below:

• article about the DJ from the Stranger
• actual playlists!
• I haven't listened to this specific playlist but the date range matches when I visited the fountain. 

Tours

KEXP tour (Seattle Center)
Having listened to KEXP live in studio performances podcast, I was intrigued by the station tour and also the setup of the space. They have a rotating coffee place and also a record store in the lobby. The tour was clearly well-advertised because we had people from all over the world (including Scotland and South Africa). I haven't watched too much of their youtube channel but it is also very popular around the world. The actual studio had glowing, pulsating blue LEDs that are surprisingly calm (note for my future lighting project, ha). I was really impressed with the massive CD library. Each CD also had personalized notes from the DJs. The collection is already being digitized and everyone was relieved to hear that the CD notes will also be scanned and stored as part of the effort. The space had a lot of neat artwork, this one showing the skyline of Seattle was my favorite.


Mount Rainier National Park (2 hours drive from downtown)
Earlier this summer I went to the Grand Canyon and caught the national park fever. Given Seattle is so close to several national parks, I had to visit one! After searching, I found a tour group called Evergreen Escapes and went on a small group tour to Mt Rainier.

We got lucky with the weather and had possibly one of the best days ever for hiking. We were surrounded by beautiful colors of the fall and also amazing old growth trees/forests. I'm glad I took this tour closer to the beginning of my trip (since I traveled from East coast and still woke up at 3am on my first few days in Seattle). The tour specs included a round trip from downtown in a comfortable van. Our tour guide also provided water, snacks, and lunch so we didn't have to bring much. I would definitely do this same trip (perhaps a diff season) and other outings with this company again.





Underground Tour (Pioneer Sq)
I went on this highly recommended tour when I first went to Seattle but my cousin Diana hasn't experienced it yet (because tours are for tourists, not locals)! We joined a bunch of people during a weekend session and had fun walking around underground and looking for purple glass (skylights).  If you go on this tour, you will be causing sidewalk traffic jams like proper tourists. I enjoyed the storytelling part of the tour more so than the so-called 'relics' and 'artifacts' but decide for yourself! 

Theo Chocolate Factory Tour (Fremont)
On the last full day of my trip, I woke up to a gray and rainy day. I skipped my plans for the zoo/garden and ventured out to Fremont for a chocolate factory tour instead. The tour gave a description of the bean to bar process, a peak inside the factory through clear observation room, and of course chocolate samples. I picked up some bars at the store afterwards.

Colorado Trip Notes

I visited Colorado for the first time and wanted to share some sights and tips from my visit. I enjoyed both Denver and Boulder and would definitely come back for more fun. Some specifics around restaurants / hikes / beers / food stuffs have all gone out of my head. hopefully S. and T. have better notes and/or memory and can add a bit more.

day 1 Denver

beautiful airport with tent structure and fantastic lighting http://www.flydenver.com/

16th st free mall ride http://www.rtd-denver.com/FREEMallRide.shtml

state Capitol building. restoration of house and senate chambers (check it out next time). hall of president portraits. http://www.denver.org/listings/Colorado-State-Capitol/3679/

Tattered Cover Bookstore with coffee and ice cream shop (reminds me more of Powell's than Strand) http://www.tatteredcover.com/

Wynkoop Brewery. http://www.wynkoop.com/ Rail yard Amber ale (also part of the downtown brewery listing from the visitor center. food was also pretty good. I ordered trout with polenta.

Union Station. yet another station that’s prettier than our Penn Station. I didn’t take the train and we walked inside where they had many food shops and even décor for Halloween.

day 2 Boulder

We took Green Ride from Denver to Boulder. http://greenrideboulder.com/

walking around on Pearl St. one memory store was the puzzle store and one memorable street art was watching people make art by sticking leaves and flowers on the rock with water slowly running down it. http://www.boulderdowntown.com/visit/history-of-pearl-street

tried a pumpkin cannoli from this shop: https://pieceloveandchocolate.com/

hiking and panorama views (photo from S.)

French restaurant near pearl st. I think it was brasserie ten ten? great happy hour specials https://www.brasserietenten.com/menus/happy-hour/

SFjazz Michael Jackson tribute (with jazz interpretation) http://www.sfjazz.org/events/2015-16/1022/collective

day 3

origami convention

west end tavern rooftop – forgot which beer I had? smoker selection (pork, chicken, sausages) http://www.thewestendtavern.com/

day 4

flat iron coffee. http://www.flatironcoffee.com/

flat hiking around Sawhill Ponds https://bouldercolorado.gov/osmp/sawhill-ponds-trailhead

celestial seasoning tea tour http://www.celestialseasonings.com/tours learned about herbal infusions and the overpowering “mint room”. of course sample all the teas there ( I liked watermelon zinger and chamomile lavender) and buy some gifts for your friends and family back home! I enjoyed reading about the history and also looking at the illustrations that they have for each tea.

teahouse lunch (amazing décor outside and inside, visit it!) we sipped some tea and I loved the Mediterranean salad which came with hummus, grape leaves, and olives  http://www.boulderteahouse.com/

street art near the teahouse

more hiking with more slope and views Chautauqua https://bouldercolorado.gov/osmp/chautauqua-trailhead

chophouse and tavern (??) split lamb chops with T.

we sampled java porter (coffee flavored beer) at mountain sun bar and caught haymarket square 'punkgrass' band performance. http://haymarketsquares.bandcamp.com/ the bar also offered prime people watching opportunity. we saw poker players, board game groups, dancers, couples, visitors, and more. http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

day 5

the buff for breakfast http://www.buffrestaurant.com/

Next Time:

• Denver Visitor Center Tips
  • Appaloosa grill 10pm music http://appaloosagrill.com/
  • Jazz at Jack's http://www.jazzatjacks.com/
  • http://www.denver.org/things-to-do/day-trips-around-colorado/denver-beer-triangle/
• Coors Field baseball stadium tour http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/col/ballpark/
• Denver zoo http://denverzoo.org
• various parks and stuff
  • http://estes-park.com/peak-peak-scenic-byway
  • http://peaktopeakguide.com/

Resources:

• Colorado Beer Tour iOS App. I consulted this along with Yelp for a few good outings. https://appsto.re/us/LL6zz.i
• University of Colorado at Boulder
• Visitor Centers and Trail Maps

Seattle– The first 24 hours

Seattle was the fourth leg of my west coast trip from August. My one-week stay last year [entry] was substantially longer and slower-paced than this quick two day stopover.

Cast of characters
me – Arrived by BoltBus and looking to wrap up my 10-day trip. What, we’re going hiking and a show?
E. – My gracious host who moved recently to a new apt with a view of the space needle. Attempting to complete his mountaineer program while entertaining me and J, who are both visiting from out of town.
S. – E.’s friend from college, visiting Seattle for the first time. Originally from NY and based in Chicago. Huge radio lab fan and avid traveller.

The Night Before
Sushi, sake, and funny Portlandia show

The Prep
Breakfast: E. made scrambled eggs with turkey, spinach, tomato, mushroom for all of us. Way to start out the adventures with a bang!Coffee pickup: Caffé Vita [http://www.caffevita.com/]
Lunch pickup: Bahn mi place that I can’t remember the name of. We got awesome sandwiches though.
Backpack contents: 2 jackets (one fleece, one windbreaker), water, blue Gatorade, chocolates, trail mix, Bahn mi sandwiches for lunch, camera, extra shirt, socks.

The Road Trip
Mt. Si is a few hours away so we spent time talking, listening to podcasts (mainly SYSK and Radio Lab I think?) and NPR. I don’t have a pic but we actually made a make-shift iphone speaker out of a camping cup. E. and S. would make for good road trip buddies.

The Ascent
Besides taking a few photo breaks here and there, I used most of the climb listening to our hiking footsteps (quite relaxing), chatting, and just letting my mind wander. The hike was tough but incredibly rewarding. I will let the photos speak for themselves:

Mt Si VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Best pizza outside of NY
During my previous visit in Seattle, E. introduced me to Verde Primo pizza from Pagliacci Pizza. I liked it so much, I actually requested to have it again. Here’s the description from their menu: Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, goat cheese, garlic and mozzarella on our seasoned tomato sauce. We also tried some Mac & Jack beers on tap from the place.

It’s (Radio) Show Time

Before the show I only knew Radio Lab as a cool podcast (I loved the Colors episode!). Props to S. for suggesting this awesome live show, especially as there probably was zero chance to ever even get near tickets in NY. The only unfortunate part was we were so exhausted from the hike, we ended up missing a portion of the show. Some highlights that would sound incomprehensive to people who haven’t seen it: space part near the end, lights in the audience, dancing eyeball people with eye patches. Go check out the live show if they are going to your town. Or if you don’t get a chance to, check out the podcast.

Stay tuned for the next 24 hours:
-Pike’s Place Market
-Coffee / Cafes
-Lowell’s
-Meeting J.
-Shopping