Seattle: Nest: Day and Night

This view from the rooftop bar Nest at Thompson Seattle confirms what you thought, only the eagles have it better. 

We were celebrating a friend's birthday last week with dinner at Scout (inside Thompson Seattle) and we arrived a tad early, so we went up to Nest to have a drink and enjoy the sun.

I ordered a citrus mocktail and enjoyed it while watching the Washington State ferries travel back and forth to Bainbridge Island. 

Though I am so very happy to be living in the same city as my husband in a beautiful new house, I am still grappling with the reality of moving to the Pacific Northwest. This isn't temporary. Our house is Michigan has been sold and my friends of 20 years are trapped on the other side of my glass monitor, residing within Facebookland. 

When I am in my home office, life feels weird. When I am in a big city on a weeknight looking at this view, life feels exciting.

After a delicious dinner, we returned to Nest where the management was holding the indoor corner lounge for the birthday girl and her guests.

I dashed between the raindrops out on the rooftop deck to take this photo. From left to right, you can see the blue arc of Century Link Field (home of Seattle Seahawks football), a cruise ship docked in Puget Sound with her lights ablaze, the Great Wheel Ferris wheel and then the bright red sign "Public Market" at the entrance to the famous Pike Place market, where fresh fish are thrown and fresh flowers are photographed. 

What a view! 

Seattle: Ferries Deliver A Terrific Skyline View

Every visitor to Seattle has "capture the skyline" on the must do list.  Most people think "up," but I want you to think "out."  Look at the magnificent photo I was able to take from a ferry!

I wanted to visit Bainbridge Island while I was in Seattle but I dragged my feet making the plans because I knew I would have to ride a ferry.  I was very seasick on my ferry ride to Victoria, B.C. (Yes, it's true, I was the only one that felt the rocking and swaying - everyone else aboard was eating nachos and reading.), so I wanted to pick a perfectly quiet day.  Sunday was the day! 75 degrees and full sun.

My husband pointed out that it was wonderful to get a "boat ride" in the Puget Sound, in addition to actually getting transported to our destination.  He was right, it was a beautiful trip and I took some of my best photographs from the deck of the ferry.

Mount Rainier was "out" (Did you know that Seattleites refer to whether you can see the mountain the same way we refer to the sun?) and she looked postcard-perfect against the clear sky and deep blue water.  The Washington State ferry in the photo was similar to the car ferry that I was traveling on.

When you are visiting Seattle, be sure to ride a ferry out of downtown Seattle.  You can travel with your car or as a passenger and the relaxing boat ride will be one you will never forget.

Seattle: Ray's Boathouse and Cafe

It was all about the view for me the night we had dinner at Ray's Boathouse and Cafe in Ballard. We had a late start after work so we missed the sunset, but we had a nice meal of fish & chips indoors and started to plot our return to Ray's. We simply must sit on this patio as the sun sets. 

Over looking Puget Sound, Ray's has a hard-to-believe water view with a backdrop of the Olympic Mountains.  After the sun sets, there was a chill in the air and in addition to the heat lamps being turned on, I noticed the staff handing out Ray's blankets to keep the patio patrons warm.  How thoughtful!

Ray's has a more formal restaurant on the first floor (Boathouse), but the indoor/outdoor cafe upstairs was exactly what we were looking for: fresh fish and a scenic view.  We will be back.

Seattle: A Little Northern Exposure in La Conner

To me, this looks just like the television show, Northern Exposure.  You see it too, right? In reality, it is the popular "weekend getaway" destination La Conner, Washington. As we walked around the town we had the feeling that we had been there before. For my Michigan readers, it is a Suttons Bay of the Pacific Northwest.

A friend in Seattle recommended that since we were heading on a daytrip to the Skagit Tulip Festival, we should see the tulips and then go West on WA20 and drive around the perimeter of Fidalgo Island and then south WA20 through Deception Pass State Park (which has saltwater and freshwater shoreline!), over Deception Pass (the bridge) and across to the Whidbey Island to the Clinton - Mukilteo ferry crossing to head back to Seattle.

Others had mentioned that La Conner was a great little town to have lunch. We combined the two suggestions and found an outside table at La Conner Waterfront Cafe where we could enjoy the sunny day and have some fresh fish and chips.  Truth be told, the cafe was overwhelmed by the "tulip traffic," so it wasn't ideal, but we enjoyed our very very long lunch on this outdoor patio that was right on the Swinomish Channel.

Spring is just beginning to wake up this little town - I can only imagine how picturesque it will be when summer is in full swing.  Be prepared to hold hands and spend an afternoon wandering past the art galleries and resort shops.