August 2017 & June 2023

I visited Seattle both times with my good friends/old college rommates: Kelly & Priscilla. The first time was in August 2017 and it was for my birthday trip – we did all of the touristy things. We visited Portland, Oregon first and took the train from there to King’s Street Station. It was a gorgeous three hour train ride.The second time we visited was for Kelly’s birthday in June 2023 and we went hiking! I had a blast both times. I’ve listed things to do/eat below in alphabetical order.

Where did we stay?
The 1st time, we stayed at an Airbnb near Capitol Hill neighborhood. The 2nd time, we stayed at an Airbnb Southwest of downtown Seattle (it was about a 15-20 minute drive to downtown).

How to get around Seattle?
I would say the easiest way is probably a car. Unless, you’re planning to stay right in downtown, then you don’t need a car, because you’re able to walk around everywhere. The first time, we did not rent a car, and uber/lyft everywhere since we were a bit closer to downtown. The second time, we rented a car, since we were mainly there for hiking.

How was the weather?
Both times were so sunny and warm! I don’t think I’ll ever go to Seattle outside of the summertime! I don’t know what it’s like, but could imagine that it’s cold and rainy all the time.

Things to do/see
Boat ride/booze cruise
Cascade National Park
Chihuly Garden and Glass museum
Chinatown
Colchuck Lake
Columbia Tower
Diablo Lake Vista Point
Ella Bailey Park
Fremont Troll
Gas Work Park
Gum Wall
Kerry Park
Pike’s Place Market
Smith Tower
Starbuck’s Reserve/Roastery (and the first Starbucks!)
University of Washington

Things to Eat/Drink
Fremont Bowl
Hello Em
Michael’s Noodle House
Shiro’s Sushi

Bars
Comet
Nuemos
Phocific Standard Time
Unicorn Bar

Things to do/see
Boat cruise
We booked our boat cruise with Sailing Seattle company. I think we booked in person at the counter, because I do not have the receipt/confirmation in my email. The boat ride we took was an afternoon ride and it was for 1.5 hours. We were able to bring our own alcohol on there. The boat ride provided blankets and coolers for us. The instructors and sailors provided instructions about safety and all that. It was a very relaxing boat ride and the views of the ocean and Seattle was beautiful! 

Chihuly Garden & Glass Museum
This museum was very pretty inside and outside, and self explanatory so I don’t need to explain about this one. I did ask if they have discounts on admissions for birthdays and they said no haha

Chinatown
I don’t have a good picture of Chinatown, but it was like your normal Chinatown 🙂 fun to visit and to eat at too! Parking may be a bit tough to find!

Colchuck Lake
This was about a three hour drive east towards Leavenworth. We left our Airbnb at 4:30am and arrived at 7:30am, but did not start the hike until 8:00am. Once you get closer, you will drive on pave dirt for about 1-3 miles. If you get there early enough, you can park your car in the parking lot area, but if you don’t, you will park your car on the side of the road. We parked the car on the side of the road but we were not too far from the entrance. There is only 1 restroom (not flushable and no soap), so bring wipes and hand sanitizers! Before you go on the hike, you will have to pay $5 and get the receipt and put it on the dashboard of your car. The hike itself is about 4.5 miles in and 4.5 miles out, so a total of 9 miles round trip. The first two miles was not too bad, but once you cross the 2nd bridge, the incline starts to build and there are huge rocks. I am short so my legs were going up high. If you have walking sticks, that may help you. There are a ton of mosquitoes and we got bit a couple of times, so please bring bug spray. There’s also two “toilets” on the hike up. I quote “toilets” because it’s a hole (well that’s what the hikers told us haha). Once you get to the lake, it will be a reward! It was absolutely beautiful! We got there and it was a bit cloudly so the lake looked a bit dark, then the sun came out, and the color of the lake turned aqua/turquoise color – it was so beautiful! I was so close to taking a quick dip in the lake BUT the clouds came back and believe it or not, it started to rain and thunder! Mother nature is something else. I am glad we saw the weather change because we got to see the different colors of the lake! The hike back down was harder than going up, maybe because my legs/feet were tired and it was also raining. It was hard on my legs to go down since the rocks were so high up. Take your time and enjoy the hike. It was one of the most beautiful hike and lake I’ve seen yet. Don’t forget to pack water and snacks too!

Columbia Tower
Before going to Seattle, I never heard of this place, until our uber driver told us to go here (in 2017). We paid for the ticket on the first floor and went up. The view was beautiful since we went during sunset…but also funny story, I actually fell asleep on the chair at Columbia Tower because we went from our boat (booze) cruise to Columbia Tower haha. Fun times! Also, if you were keen to detail, you can see that I did not put Space Needle on things to do/see, because I did not go to the Space Needle and don’t have the urge to. Columbia Tower & Smith Tower showed me the views of Seattle 🙂

Diablo Vista Point
This is a quick viewpoint very close to Colchuck Lake. It was pretty! This point area have a very large parking lot and some restroom (not flushable and no sink). This view is nice for a qiuck break. in the middle of driving through the mountains.

Ella Bailey Park
This park was a nice family park! There are a few picnic tables, a large grass area, playground, and a nice view. If I come back to Seattle and have some free time, I would do a picnic here.

Fremont Troll
I’m not sure what the meaning of this sculpture is, but it a quick stop to see this fun sculpture. There is no parking lot, all street parking.

Gas Work Park
My favorite park in Seattle by far! There is a parking lot, but gets full, so we parked on the street. It’s a little hilly but the view is FANTASTIC. Love the water and view of downtown Seattle. I would definitely go here again.

Gum Wall
The infamous gum wall! You have to put a gum on the wall if you visit this place. It does smell as you get closer to the wall haha.

Kerry Park
Another smaller park to see the view of downtown Seattle and the space needle. It’s a nice 5 minute stop. I would recommend to go to Ella Bailey Park for a larger picnic park vibes OR Gas Work Park.

North Casades National Park
This was about a three hour drive up north from Seattle. The park was free to enter and we did the Thunder Knob trailhead. There was parking for about 15 cars. The trail itself is very easy and took about 1 hour round trip to do. The view is of the lake like the picture below. This trail is good for families with little kids. I was impress with how clean the public restrooms were. They had flushable toilets, actual skins and soap! There is also a lake at the bottom near the parking lot too. We saw some people kayak, paddleboard and swam out there.

Pike’s Place Market
This place is famous as well! Nice area to get lunch/dinner, walk around, and shop.

Smith’s Tower
This is another view spot place is famous as well! The tower reminded me of Tower of Terror because of the elevator, it was gated, and had a bellhop. At the top, there is a bar and a nice view. We stayed and watch the sunset and saw the city light lit up. To compare this to Columbia Tower, it is glass walls so you can’t go outdoors – whereas Smith’s Tower is outdoor but gated. Columbia Tower is higher but Smith’s Tower is closer to downtown. They had a small gift shop at the bottom too. See? I saw the different views of Seattle, no need for the Space Needle haha.

Starbuck’s Reserve/Roastery & The Original Shop
If you love coffee, then ofcourse, visit the original Starbucks shop at Pike’s Place Market. We did not go inside because the line was super long but we did take a quick selfie in front of the sign. We weny to the Starbuck’s Reserve/Roastery. Fun fact, I actually don’t drink coffee 🙂 It was still cool to see the roastery though.

University of Washington
For some reason, I like visiting college campuses when I go to other States. I’m not sure why, but it’s fun to me! We visited the library, but it was closed on Sunday. We explored a little bit of the campus. I want to see it one day with the cherry blossoms.

Things to Eat/Drink
Fremont Bowl
We got the Chirashi bowl which included tuna, chopped fatty tuna, salmon, yellowtail, albacore, shrimp, freshwater eel, masago, rice, with fresh wasabi and soy sauce. It was YUMMY! We got the bowls and ate it at Gas Work Park. Also, the parking for this place is all street parking.

Hello Em
It was an aesthetically pleasing Vietnamese coffee shop. As you read above, I don’t drink coffee, so I got the rambutan & passionfruit oolong tea along with the pate banh mi. It was really good!

Michael’s Noodle House
I honestly don’t remember what we ordered her, but it was good Chinese food in Chinatown!

Shiro’s Sushi
I remember this place being VERY expensive. Would I go there again? Probably not! Haha! So why would I put this on my blog? Well, I like sushi and want to support businesses.

Bars
Comet
I do not remember too much of this (since it was in 2017), but I remember they let us bring a small birthday cupcake and candles to blow out. They had an upstairs and downstairs section. Upstairs was a small seating area, and downstairs had more seatings, a dance floor and the bar.

Nuemos
I do not remember this either LOL. Apologies.

Phocific Standard Time
This bar, I do remember! It is upstairs above a pho restaurant. The place is very small and fit maybe about 15-20 people. The cocktails were delicious and we also had a shot of Jameson with Pho Bac broth. It was yummy.

Unicorn Bar
This bar is super fun and whimsical! This bar was located in Capitol Hill. It was very colorful. If I remember, all of the drinks were fruity and fun. They also have an arcade at the bottom of the bar.

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to Seattle? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know.