It had been quite some time since my family partook in a long road trip that required multiple stops, including one where we had to stay at a hotel. However, we were once again bitten by the travel bug and hit the road again.
This time we packed our bags and headed as far north on the map as possible to the Pacific Northwest.
The plan was to stop in Portland to visit family before making our way up to Seattle for a trek that lasted less than 24 hours. It doesn’t sound like enough time to explore a big city. Believe it or not, it really was.
We arrived in The Emerald City on a Tuesday evening with the mindset of going up the Space Needle just before sunset. There are so many words to describe the view from 520 feet above the ground, and breathtaking is without a doubt one of them.
One end of the observation deck is the brightly lit city skyline that looks like a miniature train model set, while the other side overlooks the vastness of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges.
Below the observation deck is the Loupe rotating glass floor that has guests looking straight down to the main entrance. It could’ve been my mind playing tricks on me, but I just didn’t trust standing on the thick glass despite watching others do it so freely. Be that as it may, it’s still a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The trip continued with a two-mile walk down to Pier 57, a bayside wharf with tons of seafood restaurants and the Seattle Great Wheel. However, we were only met with disappointment as the vivid lights on the 53-meter Ferris wheel on the Elliott Bay were turning off. That also meant the Miner’s Landing building was closed for the night.
After getting a good night’s rest, we headed straight to the Museum of Pop Culture where we came across a variety of exhibitions with highly recognizable popular modern artifacts.
Walking in, we were immediately greeted by a jumbo screen with Stevie Ray Vaughn jamming out to his hit song “Cold Shot” during a live concert. Past that was a giant sculpture in the shape of a tornado entirely made of different types of guitars.
That led us into Guitar Gallery featuring a collection of guitars that were once owned by iconic artists, such as Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters and Kurt Cobain.
Next to that was an exhibit dedicated to Seattle’s own Jimi Hendrix called “Wild Blue Angel: Hendrix Abroad, 1966-70.” It was definitely a unique collection that takes music fans on a delightful trip (minus the acid dose).
Underneath the museum was another escapade we had to check out for ourselves.
It began with the “Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film” exhibition, which had 50 props and costumes from legendary horror movies.
My wife, Luisa, is a huge fan of the genre, so she was excited to see other props, such as machete-wielding Jason Voorhees from the “Friday the 13th” film series.
Next door was something a little more up my alley called the “Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction” — an out-of-this-world escapade into science fiction.
One of the props that stood out to me was a model of the Death Star from the film “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.” The massive spherical-shaped spaceship was fully detailed with lights, and stood on a customized mechanical base that featured some type of gear system for rotation.
Not too far from the museum is the bustling Pike Place Market famously known for its endless abundance of fresh produce, flowers and seafood, including the flying fish at Pike Place Fish Co.
Deep inside the market is Pike Place Chowder with their delicious award-winning New England clam chowder served with sourdough bread and butter. The chunks of clams and potato combined with the creamy soup was worth the trip itself.
The rest of the market is also full of random gift shops, clothing stores and another one of favorites called Don and Joe’s Meats — a butcher shop with high-end meat sticks and jerky. We had our butcher toss a variety of meat sticks from jalapeño and cheese to teriyaki into a bag, turning it into a mysterious game of flavor roulette.
With time ticking away, we returned to the wharf to visit the Seattle Aquarium before closing its doors for the day. We only had the chance to tour two of the three buildings, including the Ocean Pavillion that features a beautiful massive tank holding the central habitat known as The Reef.
Before heading back to Portland, we decided to give Pier 57 another opportunity for redemption. This time it was open, bringing a smile to our faces.
Our choice of restaurant was The Crab Pot — a casual seafood restaurant that specializes in something called the Seafests for Two. We ordered a dish that was a perfect blend of snow crab, red jacketed potatoes, yellow corn, Andouille sausage and head-on shrimp.
It was the perfect dinner to cap off what some of the locals would consider a day when the “mountain was out.”
Juan Reyes is a Watsonville native who primarily covers high school athletics as the Sports Editor for Weeklys. He is also a video game enthusiast, part-time chef (at home), explorer and a sports junkie. Contact him with business and travel ideas at jr****@*****ys.com.
