Childless Summer Adventures 2021 (3/5) – Seattle

In this series…

San Francisco
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Seattle
Los Angeles
East Coast

We took a weekend trip to Seattle. Heading up after work on Friday and returning home Sunday afternoon, we didn’t have a ton of time on the grounds. But we maximized our time there including a 14-mile walk on Saturday. Here are some highlights.

Bainbridge Ferry

This was one of the most memorable parts of our Seattle weekend. We aren’t boat people, but there was something really neat about unwinding on a gigantic public transport slowly moving across calm waters on a cool sunny day. The size of the ferry was impressive – I counted it carrying 134 cars and two motorcycles, which would take up 2/3 of an acre when parked in a standard lot. Above the cars were two passenger decks with so much space that it felt like we owned the ship, despite riding it with hundreds of people. Even the bathroom on board was among the nicest public bathrooms you could find in this country.

Boarding the ferry through the lower / car deck.

Nana’s Green Tea

We fell in love with this Japanese dessert chain a while back, and planned a couple more visits during the now-cancelled summer 2020 trip. It’s puzzling that downtown Seattle was its only North America location, as opposed to SF’s Japantown or LA’s Little Tokyo. Nevertheless, it was heavenly to stuff our faces with these decadent Japanese parfaits again.

These parfaits were identical to what we had in Osaka 3 years ago, in both construction and taste.

While similar to sundae, bingsu, shaved ice, and che, this parfait always brings us a special kind of happiness because it reminds us of our honeymoon.

Dick’s Hamburgers

Per Dave’s recommendation, we scheduled a stop at Dick’s to check out Seattle’s local burger scene. The Queen Anne’s location was conveniently between Nana’s Green Tea and Kerry Park, providing a great rest stop on our otherwise longest stretch of the day. Supposedly this was the only Dick’s location with seating… but hilariously there was not a single table or chair inside, presumably due to COVID. There was just this oddly empty rectangular space with a smooth concrete floor.

We also arrived at a weird time, because Dick’s is allegedly a place drunk people go when bars close for the night. There was no line in the late afternoon, and we shared the entire restaurant with maybe 3 other people. It was a nice snack: tasty, low-key, and cheap. I would love to run a blind taste test for this place, In-N-Out, and Whataburger… too bad it’s impossible to get all three of them together.

I like my food tasty, and I love my food cheap. This basic meal was under $6, in the same range as McDonald’s and In-N-Out. On most days I’d prefer this to Gott’s and Shake Shack.

Kerry Park

We love city skylines and have paid to visit plenty of skyscraper observation decks. Even better than that, though, is a free public park that provides the same kind of view. Kerry Park took some uphill hiking to get to, but it was one of the best things we did in Seattle. Plus, the hike gave us an excuse to take that refueling break at Dick’s.

Final set of stairs after a 2-mile hike.

This was where we stopped walking and summoned a Lyft.

Bangrak Market

This Thai restaurant on 2nd Ave was quite something. The food was very good, though didn’t measure up to the tastiest Thai dishes that we grew used to. In particular, all the dishes were severely lacking any hint of the spicy flavor. Nevertheless, we consider it one of the best Thai restaurants in America because of its decor and ambience. With colorful lights, rustic furniture, energetic music, and Southeast Asian props like a food stall and decorative fruits, this place was immersive like a food market in Thailand. Even the patrons were a fitting back drop because our memories of Bangkok and Koh Samui were filled with multi-ethnic tourists from the Western Hemisphere. Although it was merely a Saturday night dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant, it felt like a vacation in the hot and humid tropics.

Pike Place Market

The obligatory visit to Seattle’s biggest tourist attraction was saved for the second day. It was a close walk from our hotel so we were able to get there early in the morning and traverse the space before it became overly crowded. The famous gum wall was the only part of it that Hong decided to avoid because it was too gross.

Most stalls were not open for business yet.

We got a surprisingly tasty bun from a Cantonese bakery.

And then there were the mini donuts inside the market.

Starbucks

Although this chain coffee shop could be found on everyone’s home town street corner, tourists in Seattle still couldn’t help but wait in long lines to visit the first store and the reserve roastery. Objectively speaking, they had less space and fewer drink options than the Starbucks downstairs from our hotel. But they each carried unique souvenirs that you couldn’t find anywhere else, so that’s that.