Since we were going for just a quick trip we were leaving early on the Saturday. Dayna’s mum (or “mom” as she would say) was coming over on the ferry from Gibsons to pick us up along with Dayna’s sister Courtney and her boyfriend (also conveniently called Matt) who we were staying with in Vancouver. We bundled into the van and were on the road by 8am with the obligatory stop at Tim Horton’s on the way to the Peace Arch border crossing.

Crossing the border

I had been worried that crossing the border into the USA might take us awhile but I shouldn’t have worried – we were over the border with just a few minutes wait. I think the multiple cameras pointed at the car with facial recognition software might have helped speed it up. Or the fact the Canadian dollar has tanked lately and nobody is popping over the border for shopping trips anymore.

Kerry Park

One of the things we were looking forward to in Seattle was just checking out the view of that famous skyline and the best place for that is Kerry Park, just north of the Space Needle, the most famous feature of the skyline. On our first stop there Seattle was living up to its reputation of raining all the time and we could barely make out anything – even the Space Needle wasn’t visible through the cloud.

Pike Place Markets

We were spoiled for great markets in London but Pike Place Markets is an institution. It’s been around since 1907 and as we explored the huge number of stands with cool crafts, fresh fish and local farmer’s produce we could understand how it’s been around so long.

The only thing we struggled with was finding a top choice for lunch; we browsed a bunch of different places but we actually ended up right back where we started at the nearby Beecher’s for the self proclaimed “world’s best mac and cheese”. That is one huge title to claim but I would at least say it was a very good mac and cheese. It’s nice to be able to stand and watch the cheese being made right there at the store as well.

The Original Starbucks

I recently read “Pour Your Heart into it: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time” by Howard Schultz so I was excited to go see the original Starbucks store where it all started. A LOT of other tourists had exactly the same idea and the queue was winding down the street when we got there.

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After getting pepped up on Starbucks we oddly crashed for a bit and made the most of our sweet hotel room’s comfy couch while waiting for the sun to set for our next stop.

The Space Needle

I struggled to get this name right the whole time we were in Seattle for some reason. I called it a lot of things: Sky Needle, Space Noodle, Sky Tower – anything that wasn’t Space Needle really. It was easy to find at least when you’re staying right next door.

It was worth the $22 to get up there.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

I had never heard of Dale Chihuly before but he is a famous glass sculptor. His huge works of art transformed the way Glass sculptures were made and used so we couldn’t skip town without visiting his art gallery.

I can see why it is the top attraction in Seattle. It cost $22 but you can get a combo ticket for $36 that includes the Space Needle next door.

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