Ready, Set, Seattle!

Approximately two weeks ago there was a huge commotion in the office over $15 one way flight deals courtesy of Frontier airlines. It went something like:

'$15?! We have to go!'
'Where can we go?'
'It depends on the dates.'
'Albuquerque? Milwaukee? Orlando?'
'Seattle... leaving the 27th... coming back the next night.'
'I'm in!' That was echoed 5 times and within a matter of minutes we all had our flight confirmations sitting patiently in our respective inboxes for the next week's trip.

Oh and the grand total was $28 something - not even $15 each way.

Here's a picture of our whirlwind of a late night and jam packed day in Seattle!

Upon arrival we took an Uber downtown to our residence for the night - The Green Turtis. Perhaps you think that is a typo. It's not. That's our name for it and it's stuck and just trying to actually say The Green Toorrrtooiisse requires a lot of concentration. Anyways from previous reviews and talking to people, it seemed the place to be and all in all it didn't disappoint! The night kicked off with a quick karaoke/open mic session while waiting to check in, the beds were surprisingly comfy, and the bathrooms are separate from the dorms, each with it's own shower, toilet, and sink (no stalls - just complete bathrooms). They also appeared to offer a variety of tours and had a full communal kitchen. Check it out for your stay in Seattle - The Green Tortoise Hostel.

While the Turtis was centrally located for exploring Seattle by day, there didn't appear to be a ton of nightlife and late night food options within walking distance. We know because we walked. Our walk led us to Lecosho on the Harbor Steps which is apparently the only place where the kitchen stays open til 1am. In case we aren't the only ones eating dinner at 12:30 am. I can't comment on the food as I decided to just wait until breakfast but the menu offered a variety - from clams, to ribs, to bolognese.

The next morning (or really later that same morning) began with a stroll through Pike Place Market. While most were after coffee, I had a giant maple donut, took pictures of tulips, tulips, and more tulips, and bought some postcards that I have yet to send. In fact, I'll  probably just end up hand delivering them at this point..

Next, we met Joe for our Seattle 101 walking tour. While I can't remember enough of the details to retell all the stories as interestingly as Joe did, I can highly recommend Seattle Free Walking Tours! Some bits and pieces that I remember: Taco the Octopus escaping in the Seattle Aquarium; Seattle used to have 7 hills and now it has 5 due to 2 being leveled and pushing the shore line out; the Smith Tower and the pyramid in the sky; a really old totem pole from Alaska; the ratio of men to women used to be 70:1 (it's currently 60:40 mostly due to "immigrant men coming to working for Microsoft and Amazon"), and an Irish pub in an alleyway with $5 fish and chips. If none of that makes complete sense, you'll just have to go meet Joe in person and take the tour for yourself.

The absolute BEST part of the day was lunch at Ivar's on Pier 54. Yes, the fish and chips and clam chowder were good and I do recommend. But, that's not what made it the BEST. The BEST part was sharing my leftover french fried with my seagull friends! My human friends didn't find it as entertaining as I did but shout out to Sophie for finally venturing outside with me on my third trip to capture this video!

From Pier 54 we made our way to the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal for a scenic and relaxing ferry ride across Puget Sound.

Our most posed picture above and a couple that are a little less so below but all representative of how fun we are!

After our hour spent on the ferry to Bainbridge and back, we made our way to Pike Brewing Company to try out some local brews. A few of us had the flight to sample a variety, some opted for a full beer, most of us ordered a pretzel, and one of us had mostly just hot mustard. The mustard that comes with the pretzel - delicious! But, it also has the same power as a bite with too much wasabi so just keep that in mind. One beer led to two, and 4:00 led to 5:00 and before we knew it we were drunk and lively with just a few sweet hours left in Seattle. Our first brewery led to the next (Old Stove Brewing) and then to us sprinting through the streets of Seattle for a ride on the Ferris Wheel to round out our 24 hours. Note: I recommend not drinking before the Ferris wheel so that your better able to appreciate the views and ride that you're paying for... nonetheless I managed to snap a couple of photos to kind of sort of remember the moment.

And so it began...

Captured with my tipsy, artistic eye.

The ferris wheel guys let us go an extra round but when they wouldn't let us go a 5th, we sadly headed back to the Turtis to collect our things and go back to the airport. Funny thing - we had all been discussing how we were going to deboard the plane back in Austin at 5:40 Sunday morning and head straight to Snooze for brunch and then Sunday Funday. You can probably guess that after our 24 hour trip with the last four being in a brewery and then a 4 hour plane ride back to Austin that the only thing we really wanted when we got home was our beds. Snooze will have to wait for another day.

Go to Seattle if you get the chance. We did it in 24 hours, you can too!