do NOT drive in downtown Ballard anywhere near lunch time Mon - Fri. Go see the Hiram Chittenden locks (permit egress/ingress between Puget Sound/salt and the inner lakes and waterways/fresh). Nice restaurants anywhere along the waterfront in Ballard and Seattle. In Tacoma there is the new LeMay car museum next to the Tacoma Dome, and the Museum of Flight at BFI just south of Seattle. Tons of stuff, hit the internet, or contact the NW HAMBers on here.
My recommendations: 1) Go directly to the closest Dick's hamburger stand. Google it for directions. Trust me on this. Order a Dick's Deluxe with cheese and an order of fries. Don't. And I mean DON'T forget to get some tartar for your fries. This is a Seattle must. Period. No questions asked. 2) Make another stop in nearby Fremont (close to Ballard)at the Red Door Pub and order some food and a cold adult beverage.(Maybe two or three) I highly recommend this joint. Make sure your hungry and not after you just ate at Dick's. 3) Go to the Space Needle and yell at the top of your lungs, "I'm the King of the World". Very invigorating. Hope this helps. Just a tip. Grunge never went out of style in Seattle. Fair warning.
HA! Theres the LeMay car museum and.........Tons of coffe drinkin, pot smokin, free lovin, government hatin no good HIPSTERS!!!!!! and that is all
He is right about the Tartar. When are you going to be here? We have a handful of Hambers here in the city.
Dick's is a good choice. I avoid the Seattle area at all costs unless I am driving to my parent's house. Then I drive through at about midnight. Too many people, too much traffic, cramped streets and a bunch of one way streets. If you like tight spaces enjoy! If you want a cool place to go, check out the waterfront on Alaska Blvd or something like that. Lot of cool antique shops near that area. One really big one under the bridge near the aquarium. It might still be there, I have only been to Seattle once in the last two years, so no guarantees.
Pike's Place Market is a must stop. Take a ferry ride to Bremerton and back via Vashon Island. Another vote for LeMay's in Tacoma. And if you go to the waterfront Ivar's Acres of clams is a local tradition.
Some really good bars. Hales ales Brewery pub, The little red hen, The tractor, The 2 bit saloon, Slims last chance chili shack, Shanty Tavern. Lotsa hambers in the area too. Dicks deluxe is a must. Archy Mcphee's is an awesome weirdo shop. Also, tune into 99.9 from 2 to 6 to hear the Mens Room.
A ferry ride is fun and cheep but if you do the vashon run you have to go all the way out to the edge of West Seattle to catch it. Also it actually goes to southworth not Bremerton but a beautiful ride none the less. The Bremerton ferry is one hour in each direction and there are some things to do just off the ferry(food, drink, tour a battleship). The Bainbridge ferry is 1/2 hour each way pretty ride but not much just off the ferry. both of these ferrys pick up and drop at the Seattle downtown ferry dock right on the waterfront(duh). The seattle waterfront has many great specticals Ivar's for fish and chips is a must (watch out for seagulls) as is ye old curiosity shop among other things. The Seattle aquarium is top notch and also on the waterfront. As for the Lemay museum make sure you go to the Marymount location NOT the new location near downtown Tacoma. The new location is just a fraction of the collection.
2nd the LeMay Family at Marymount. All the volunteers are old timers, the one I had even had a couple vehicles there that had been bought from him. The new one is nice, but not nearly as interesting for a gearhead, IMHO.
Great stuff Dynaflash, You will love the mens room if your a duche like Marty also Rockabilly KEXP 90.3fm Friday night from 6-9 shake the shack with the Proctologist of Rock n Roll,: Doctor Leon Berman, In the Ballard area specificly... The lock and keel, Kings hardware, the smoke shop, the other coast cafe (get the cajun chix), Mikes chili, la isla for puertorican food, the matador for a kick ass happy hour that starts at 10p.m., Hatties Hat, The Viking, the sloop is great but beer and wine only. Other than claped out old cars what are you into? What is your age demographic? Do you drink/smoke? Outdoors? Art? Fashon? Shopping?
Don't know why everyone thinks it's so great - tried it a couple weeks ago, thought Dick's burger & fries sucked - not impressed. Try Fat Burger in Bellevue. LeMay Museum in Tacoma is great, Pikes is must visit, lots of others already mentioned. Enjoy your visit!!
The Seattle pinball museum is really a fun place to check out it's full of vintage 60s-70s pinball machines and older coin operated games. I live here and other than the Lemay car museum and a Seahawks football game there is not alot of things in this town for "Men" It's full of bearded beta male 98lb starving artist hipsters who flunked out of liberal arts college now serving coffee every 100 feet.
Ah............burger wars.......Dick's is an old tradition, but they're mediocre in truth. If you want a GOOD burger and you're between downtown and Ballard, take a turn on W. Dravus and go to the Red Mill................do the bacon burger, you'll never regret it! Marty's suggestion of Hales is right on too. Great Pub Food and good brew. It's in an area known as "Frelard" (pronounced free lard), a stretch of the world between Fremont and Ballard. Fremont has a statue of Lenin, does a naked bicycle ride parade each year, and oh so many more "artsy" things. As for other cultural references noted above, think San Francisco light..........
Best coffee in Seattle is Lighthouse Roasters. 400 North 43rd Street Seattle, WA 98103 <table class="ts intrlu" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="width:28px;paddding-top:1px" valign="top"> </td><td style="color:#222;line-height:1.24" valign="top"><nobr>(206) 633-4775</nobr></td></tr></tbody></table>If you get there early enough, you might rub elbows with Dave Matthews. But I didn't tell you that...
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