Rob In Seattle

The World Cup has arrived in Seattle!!

I think the World Cup is pretty special and every four years look forward to the World Cup, since I just feel a little more happy and connected to the world at large when it happens.

You may have heard (hahahaha) the World Cup is taking place here in Seattle and I have to admit that as a lifelong Seattle resident this is something I never expected to see in my lifetime. But here it is. I’m trying to focus on the positives (excitement along with civic improvements, including SeaTac and the Waterfront) rather than the negatives (traffic!! and the dubious/murky financial return-on-investment for host cities like Seattle). But regardless of whether it’s a positive or a negative, the World Cup is here and it’s here in Seattle. With that in mind, here are the dates (for congestion-planning purposes) and my favorite Seattle sites to visit (for out-of-towners):

SCHEDULE

Here are are the six days when the games are being played at Lumen in Sodo (note: Pier 62, Pacific Place, Seattle Center and Victory Hall all have large public viewing screens):

1. Monday June 15: Belgium vs. Egypt
2. Tuesday June 19: United States vs. Australia
3. Wednesday June 24: Qatar vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Friday June 26: Egypt vs. Iran
5. Wednesday July 1: Round of 32
6. Monday July 6: Round of 16.

PLACES TO VISIT THAT IMHO CAPTURE SEATTLE:

I was born and raised in Seattle, and with the exception of three years away at college and a year in Bend Oregon have lived my entire five decades of life here, just as my parents and sister have lived their entire lives here too. When out of town friends and family visit, here are the sites I like to tell friends to see and that I myself like to go during my occasional staycations:

1. Bainbridge Ferry. Ferries are important part of this area, the Bainbridge Ferry is especially amazing and you can actually do a round trip in less than two hours by just walking on. On the one side of the ferry is the Seattle Skyline, Cascade Mountains, Mount Baker and Mount Rainier, and on the other are the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Mountains, and the entire time you have the sea and fresh air all around you. A pretty amazing way to spend a few hours and to see Seattle’s amazing scenery and experience Puget Sound in all their glory. 
2. Duwamish Longhouse. Seattle as we know it started when the Denny Party landed on Alki Beach in 1851. But for (truly) countless centuries upon centuries before Denny’s arrival, the city was the home of the Duwamish people. You can visit the history of this tribe and pay respects to their heritage by visiting their longhouse along the Duwamish River. After visiting you can continue on to Alki Beach, just a 10-minute drive away and probably the best beach in Seattle with great people watching along with a plaque dedicated to where the Denny Party landed in 1851. As an added bonus, I’m personally there on Saturday and Sunday. 🙂
3. The Ballard Locks. Ballard was a major world producer of Cedar Shingles and the state’s first incorporate city in the late 19th Century before being annexed into Seattle in 1907, and The Locks that opened a decade later (1916 for boats and 1917 for the public) is a major attraction in Ballard. In addition to being an important part of Seattle’s modern maritime history, The Locks have a fish ladder and beautiful gardens/grounds, and there are great views of the canal as an added bonus (I actually spent a lot of my childhood in the 1970s playing on the rolling green grounds near the governor’s mansion). Discovery Park on Magnolia is a magnificent park nearby with nature walks and a lighthouse, then for lunch or dinner historic Ray’s Boathouse (where my family used to rent boats to go Salmon Fishing back in the 1970s) or historic Ballard are pleasant places to relax and dine that are very close to The Locks.
4. Smith Tower. When it was officially opened in 1914, the Smith Tower was one of the tallest buildings in the world, and remained the tallest building on the West Coast for another 50 years until surpassed by The Space Needle. It’s a grand old building located on the border of historic Seattle’s Pioneer Square and worthy of maybe visiting or at least taking note of. As much as any building in Seattle, to me it’s a major part of Seattle’s history and a key landmark that that has been within eyesight of me for my entire life.
5. Kerry Park on Queen Anne. Of course, you can visit the Space Needle. But I actually prefer Kerry Park on Queen Anne. Why? You can have similar views without having to brave the lines. And it’s home to the counterbalance which one was a prominent component of Seattle’s trolley lines, as well as the mythical (since the building doesn’t actually exist) location of Frasier’s condominium (link goes to GQ article about the Frasier’s affordability 🙂 ). After visiting the park, the Seattle Center and its fountains and monorail are just a 5-10 minute drive down the hill (my favorite childhood memories include playing amongst the arches outside Climate Pledge Arena during the 1979 Supersonic’s NBA Championship run).
6. Fremont. Fremont in itself is quaint, but for me it’s the boat-infused canal and the bridges (both the drawbridge where I’ve waited for passing boats in my car an ungodly number of times in my lifetime and the towering Aurora bridge) that make Fremont interesting. More than a century ago, before the Ballard Locks, the ship canal was actually a salmon-infused creek along a muddy gorge but now it’s a great place to boat watch. About 10 minutes north-east of Fremont is Green Lake, north Seattle’s modest equivalent of Central Park in New York.
7. Snoqualmie Falls. I love Snoqualmie Falls. Yes, it’s a minimum 45-minute drive each way. But the drive is toward Seattle’s majestic Cascade Mountains (while driving past quaint Issaquah) before reaching the thundering 268 foot falls. I personally have driven out there many many times just to spend a few minutes pondering the falls and clearing my head, then grabbing a quick refreshment from the historic inn bordering the falls and maybe driving by the historic train trestle in downtown Snoqualmie on the way home. If you have half-a-day for some outdoor activities, there are several great day hikes (AllTrails is my favorite app for searching) in close proximity, as well.
8. Pike Place Market. Finally, and I mention it last because it’s already famous, there is the Pike Place Market. It’s best to go there without an agenda IMHO — just go, take it all in, and make a few stops at the various shops, stalls and eateries here and there.
9. Finally, if you fall in love with Seattle and are interested in maybe purchasing a home here after visiting, please keep Larissa and I in mind if you need a local agent (disclaimer: this is informational only and I’m not soliciting your business if you already have an agent 🙂 )! I’m personally Larissa’s licensed co-agent, assistant and blogger/analyst, and Larissa herself has been a top-producing high-quality agent/broker in Seattle and Bellevue for 20 years.

That’s it! Have fun!