It's probably a good idea to open a travelogue about Seattle with a joke about its weather :
A newcomer to Seattle arrives on a rainy day. He gets up the next day and it's raining. It also rains the day after that, and the day after that. He goes out to lunch and sees a young kid and asks out of despair, "Hey kid, does it ever stop raining around here?" The kid says, "How do I know? I'm only 6"
And that's not an unfair assessment. Our prior attempts to visit my friend in Seattle were met with "It's raining this weekend" or "It is going to be overcast at that time". Still, we persevered and landed up on Memorial Day 2002. As our plane descended into Sea-Tac airport, we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier with a nearly-full moon hanging over it. It was the only time we saw the mountain over the next three days.
Downtown, Seattle is worth several hours. A good place is to start is at Public Market Center where we found, surprisingly un-announced, the first Starbucks store. Unfortunately, it was closed so a Latte for the record wasn't an option. Most of the stores at the market sell fish, flowers, fruit or some curios from different parts of the world. There's live music and folk art and all in all it's a bit like San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf or Chicago's Navy Pier.
The icon of Seattle is definitely the Space Needle which was built as the main attraction of the 1962 World Fair. Take the tour to the top. Get the double ticket that lets one go up twice in a 24 hour period. It's a good idea to view the city in the night and then again in the day. Amusements at the top include games that try to convince tourists that Seattle actually receives less rain than either Chicago or New York. This might be statistically true but this argument makes about as much sense as saying that Chinese water torture is more pleasant than a 5 minute shower.
(Time for another joke about Seattle)
A curious fellow died one day and found himself in limbo waiting in a long, long line for judgment. As he stood there, he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the gates of heaven. Others were led over to Satan, who threw them into a lake of fire. Every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the fire, Satan would toss him or her to one side.
After watching Satan do this several times, the fellow's curiosity got the better of him. He strolled over and tapped Old Nick on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, there, Your Darkness," he said. "I'm waiting in line for judgment, and I couldn't help wondering why you are tossing some people aside instead of flinging them into the fires of hell with the others?"
"Ah," Satan said with a grin. "Those are from Seattle. They are too wet to burn."
Mt. Rainier is about a 2 hr drive from Seattle. Though only the second tallest peak in the lower 48, it stands in splendid isolation and is an impressive sight : if you can see it. On a clear day it can be seen from Seattle which is about 70 miles away. We could not see it from the visitor's center at the base of the mountain from inside the park. In addition to the mountain itself, there are several interesting waterfalls along the motorable road including one called 'Narada' Falls. There was a board that explained why it was so named but I don't recall now and I'd appreciate any reader feedback on that. Cloud cover frustrated our hopes for a close-up view of Mt Rainier and we had to contend ourselves with some stunning posters of Mt Rainier at the gift shop.
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Parenthetical Aside : The information film at the visitor center shows some interviews with a group of Japanese kids who make an annual trek to Mt. Rainier. Some were touched by its spiritual nature and others with its sheer size but one said she liked Mt. Rainier because it looked like Mt. Fuji back in Japan!
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North Cascades National Park is about 2 hours north of Seattle - up I-5 and then west on Hwy 20 - which is yet another road in the US that claims to be the most scenic road in the country. North Cascades NP is also full of waterfall and runoff was quite good at the time of our visit. East on Hwy 20 from I-5 takes you to Whidbey and San Juan Islands. Whidbey Island has a deserted army outpost with cannons to fight off an invasion from, of all the countries, Canada.
Another good sight close to Seattle is the Snoqualmie Falls. Though I had neither read about it myself nor heard anyone recommend or even mention it to me, it was quite a sight.
The toughest job in Seattle is the local TV weatherman's. An excellent start to the day can be had by watching the forecast where the weather guy does all he can to spin it to make it sound good. "Someraininthemorningandtheearlyafternoon and it is JUST GORGEOUS after that until6pmwhereitcouldgetovercastagain. Tomorrowissimilar". One particularly enterprising weatherman even put out a High UV alert and advised beach-goers to wear sunscreen. Evidently, he did not check out Fodor's website : Seattleites don't tan, they rust.
