The Pacific Northwest Trip.
Yes, I live in the Pacific Northwest but, a friend wanted to see the Twin Peaks sites so came my way from Tennessee to see them. A trip from Eastern Washington to Seattle and it came at the perfect time, the beginning of September. after the summer vacation crowds had ceased.
The Seattle weather was warm but not horribly hot. We got to stay in a cool hotel called Staypineapple because there was a “end of summer” deal at a hotel booking site. It was a nice boutique hotel about 9 blocks from the Space Needle. It could be a tiny bit noisy (Hello screaming person at 3 am on the street) but it was comfortable. It was also in the perfect location to see the downtown sites and since we were only there for 3 nights? Perfect for us.
The first full day there we took the monorail (Yes, it is real public transportation in Seattle from downtown to Space Needle and some museums in that complex!) to The Space Needle, MoPop Museum, and Chuhuly Garden and Glass. We had gotten the CityPASS deal which allowed us to go to 5 museums and attractions. It was a great deal for us since it included 4 places we were to visit. I highly recommend it.
We went to The Space Needle first. They had remodeled it since I had last gone in 2010. The observation deck has thick safety glass instead of railing and the revolving restaurant is now an area you can walk on clear floor to look down on Seattle. I like the very sci-fi looking, 60s, style elevators and the views. I did feel a bit weird without railing visibly there to make me feel “kept from edge”. My friend enjoyed it and we spent a little while there looking out on the many views the Space Needle offered.
We next headed across the park to MoPOP for some music and sci-fi history. They have a lot of music artifacts including a Jimi Hendrix exhibit and one totally devoted to Nirvana. My friend asked if it was weird seeing an exhibit of music from the time I was involved in the scene (referring to the Nirvana exhibit). It really wasn’t because I am a person who sees it as long ago in my life yet also fresh in my memory. The sci-fi and fantasy exhibits are fun to see. The horror exhibits we closed due to reimagining so we did not get to see that.
After walking around MoPOP, we headed over to a museum I had never seen, The Chuhuly Garden and Glass.
This museum was very impressive with lots of beautiful, blown glass, sculptures. I am glad I got to see them after hearing a lot about them and the museum. We even got to watch a demonstration of how Chuhuly and his assistants blow glass in the museums courtyard. It was definitely worth the entry fee.
Enough Chuhuly glass sculpture photo spam. Defintiely see the place if you are in Seattle.
The next day was the day we walked around Pike’s Place Market. The market is a must see if you go to Seattle. There are fish, meats, fruit, flowers, and artisan made goods that are sold in stalls all throughout the market. There are many shops to look through. So many restaurants you can try. You can spend a morning or the whole day just exploring this market. We spent the morning looking around and seeing what was being sold at the market.
Then we went to the Seattle Aquarium in the first few days of the opening a HUGE new tank called The Ocean Pavilion. You can now access the Aquarium from Pike’s Place Market as well. We spent the whole afternoon there looking at all the sea life. It was just so relaxing. It is a very cool aquarium and even shows how they recycle the salt water used in the tanks. The aquarium is all about teaching and conservation.
We ate a lot of good food while in Seattle. I leaned heavily on seafood because it is just so fresh there and to pass it up is crazy. I had the best Alaskan Halibut at Ivar’s as we sat on the deck watching ferries come in and out of the Puget Sound carrying people toward the many, many, islands. This was a trip with no “misses” when it came to food.
We headed back to Eastern Washington and stopped at the Twin Peaks sites along the way. I had never done this before. Yes, I have lived in the PNW all this time and had never stopped to see Snoqualmie Falls or Twede’s Diner. Both were very impressive.
The Falls were low due to the time of year but, still very impressive as they fall a long way over the waterfall. The Lodge next to it doubled as “The Great Northern Hotel” in Twin Peaks. The viewing area is connected to a hiking trail that is very tree covered. There is a lot of information about conservation along it. There is also a gift shop/cafe nearby to buy Twin Peaks inspired, cool, gifts as well as food and drink.
Further down the road in North Bend is Twede’s Cafe.
Twede’s looks like a time capsule of a place. Just like it was lifted out of the Twin Peaks tv show. Well, it was filmed there so that makes sense. The food was surprisingly good. I was expecting the usual diner type food but this place takes diner food up to 11. I had an omelet…and of course cherry pie and coffee. It was not busy since tourist season was on the wane and is really a diner in a small town. A mixture of local people and tourists who all were snapping photos inside and out as they ate. Both my friend and I were very surprised by this place. It exceeds expectations.
So, that was my Fall Northwest getaway. I have at least one more trip before the year comes to a close. I am liking getting out to big cities and seeing life carries on…and life without a lot of political crap pushing you down like it does in the small, read leaning, city I live in. It is freeing to travel and I am glad I am getting to do quite a bit in post-pandemic times. I hope to get back to Seattle in the near future.