Posted on by Dr. J

A visit to Seattle

I was debating whether or not to take the family to Seattle during our visit here… We visited Seattle the last time we came to WA as a family (2009). So should we search up more of our old friends? Should we spend more time with family? Should we just hang out and relax? It was a hard decision but I finally opted to take the family to Seattle. I thought the kids would really enjoy the site-seeing and I figured it would make for a great family day.

We took the 6:20 ferry from Bremerton across to Seattle, which put us in Seattle at 7:20.

I love this picture! It’s a great shot of the ferry with downtown Seattle and the Space Needle in the background.

Our first stop was the Seattle Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room. As most of you know, I’m a real fan of Starbucks coffee. I cut my teeth on Starbucks coffee–living in WA from 1988 to 2002–and haven’t ever developed much of a palate for any other brand. So when the one-of-a-kind Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened in 2014 I wanted to visit it. And when we planned this family trip to WA I was hoping we could fit in a visit.

We left the Sub in a parking garage in Bremerton and decided to walk on the ferry–which meant we’d have to walk everywhere in Seattle, the city built on hills. The Starbucks Roastery is located at 1124 Pike St, over 11 blocks away from the ferry (about a mile). We walked those blocks with determination knowing that we’d get a good rest and a great cup ‘o joe at the end.

We made it!!
This is the only Starbucks roastery of this kind in the world. The coffees special “reserve” they roast here are only roasted here and sold around the world.
This roaster roasts almost 150 lbs of coffee at a time, which is poured out into this cooling tray until it starts cycling through the glass tubes towards being bagged and shipped worldwide.

This is a small roaster used on the main floor. The beans roasted here are used for the unique drinks made and sold only here.
I thought this Starbucks Reserve bike was pretty cool. Love the growler of coffee caged under the top tube 🙂
Here’s a view of the freshly roasted beans behind the counter ready for grinding to make drinks.

This picture is a shout-out to Victoria, the young lady at the register. She was very nice to us and helped us with our order since the menu boasted all sorts of drinks with which we were unfamiliar. Thanks Victoria! I hope you got a chance to check out the blog.

After leaving Starbucks we walked another mile to Pioneer Square for the Seattle Underground Tour. We’d taken this tour years ago, but now that the children are older we thought they’d appreciate it more. It turned out to be a really great tour.

A picture of the family in Pioneer Square with the tour group.
Chantry’s pointing to the glass tiles in the sidewalk in Pioneer Square which still let light into the underground (original) Seattle which was buried after the great fire in 1889. Apparently they moved more dirt in the burying of the original Seattle than they moved in the excavation of the Panama Canal.

 

While walking downtown Chantry had the fortunate opportunity to meet a real Seattle Mariners! Yay Chantry! Apparently he’s originally from Scotland. She was hoping for an autograph but he was stiffly opposed to it–we didn’t even get his name–so we walked on.

 

After the tour we walked a few more blocks to Pike Place Public Market! We got to see them throw and catch king salmon at the Fish Market and we enjoyed a street musician who was enjoying himself on the piano.

 

A must see at the Pike Place Market is the famous gum wall. I heard the police tried to stop people from putting their gum on the wall so they could clean it up… but to no avail. The wall continues to be the resting ground for used gum. Regretfully we didn’t have any gum to lay to rest–but we got some cool pictures!

 

Another place to visit at the Public Market is the original 1971 Starbucks. Technically it wasn’t located at this address, but somewhere nearby. But I think it’s still the original store which opened on Pike Street in 1971.

 

We thought these light bulb fixtures were really cool…

 

A pictorial journey of Seattle wouldn’t be authentic without a little graffiti 🙂

We ended our Seattle outing with a hot dog on the waterfront before getting back on the ferry and heading home.

We leave this morning heading to Astoria–where the real journey begins. Not sure when I’ll get to blog next, but I look forward to catching up with you again.

Until next time… 🙂

3 Replies to “A visit to Seattle”

  3. Ok now I’m really envious!! The only Starbucks in the world!! Pics look great Much love!!!

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