Because I’m physically back from vacation, but mentally still there… Welcome to my trip recap mini-series.

We got killer airfare to fly out west to Seattle and the trip had two pretty different parts. The city and the mountains. (Airport and diabetes-related topics aside)

We went out to Seattle two years ago and were actually out there over my 22^nd birthday so I ended up with a 27-hour celebration accounting for the time zones. But I digress, I mention our previous trip because we’d already done the “Seattle” stuff. We rode the monorail, visited the Space Needle, checked out Pike Place Market (and watched the fish throwing), wandered downtown and of course visited the first Starbucks. We also snow shoed on Mt. Rainier. So this trip we wanted to do new stuff.

Museum of Flight

Brad started looking into activities for our time in Seattle (he could moonlight as a budget-savvy travel planner!).  The Museum of Flight was on our radar so Brad started researching it. He was comparing admission prices ($18) for adults and the options of City Pass, when he discovered that on the first Thursday of every month, Wells Fargo sponsors free admission to the museum from 5-9pm. The first Thursday of May happened to be the day after our arrival. Score!

Don’t get me wrong, the museum would totally be worth $18 a person but the savings were amazing. We got there are the start and worked our way through the museum, and it was Space Day so there were some extra features.

I can’t cover everything that we saw but my favorite parts were sitting in a cockpit, getting on a space shuttle trainer, checking out the Concorde that was on loan to the museum and touring a decommissioned Air Force One. It was an experience to be on an airplane that carried multiple presidents of the United States, this one was in service for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. The little touches for each were also interesting.

The Underworld

Most Seattle residents have been on one of the various underground tours of the city. Our hosts for the week (Uncle Tom and Aunt Lisa) had been on the tour multiple times. What many may not know is that at one point in time, the city of Seattle burned forcing them to rebuild, but in the meantime businesses and transportation moved underground.

Pioneer Square where our tour began and ended

We took the more adult version of the tour that only runs at night and included more than the standard history discusses… things like plumbing and sanitation evolution, prostitution, drug trade, prohibition, rats and interesting taxes. It was amazing to be underneath the sidewalks and buildings and see what used to be shops and lounges.

REI

While in Seattle we stopped at the flagship REI store. REI stores in general are interesting places with everything you need for outdoor activities. This one is situated in its own park-like setting with walking paths and a water fall. The store also has a climbing wall inside was is pretty neat.

Have a wonderful weekend!