Favorite places in Seattle, WA

I lived in Seattle, WA for 13 years. Since I grew up in the desert with sunshine most every day, the climate felt challenging. I also grew up in a small town and so being in a city was different for me, too. I eventually left Seattle, but in conversations since leaving, and even while I lived there, I am still able to recognize delightful places that I enjoy there. I am going to share a few in this post and also post some separate photo albums of  places I love there and trips I took near there.

The places that I loved to take people to were the Fremont Troll, underneath the Aurora Bridge in Fremont; The Lenin statue, also in Fremont, brought over from Russia; the waiting for Interurban statue, also in Fremont, featured in the movie “Say Anything”; the duck tour which takes you past Gasworks park, and old gasworks (featured in the movie “10 things I hate about you”) and the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat, along with driving you by the Space needle and the Experience Music Project; Jimi Hendrick’s grave; the conservatory at Volunteer Park; the arboretum; Kubota gardens; Kerry Park; Lincoln park and the yearly Rhythm festival which hosts teachers from all over the world.

This is the famous Fremont Troll, under the Aurora Bridge.  Fremont is known for it’s Solstice Parade and Nude bicyclists.  It is quite the colorful neighborhood.

This is the Lenin Statue, also in Fremont, purchased by an individual and shipped to Seattle to be placed in Fremont.

The “Waiting for Interurban” scuplture, also in Fremont, seen in the movie “Say Anything”.

This is the view of downtown Seattle at night, taken from Kerry Park, north of downtown. This is a great viewing spot.

The famous Space Needle, built in 1962 for the World’s Fair.

The annual World Rhythm Festival, held at the Seattle Center, consists of 3 days of free dance and drumming performances and classes.  They have events for both adults and children, featuring teachers  and performers from all around the world.  It is my favorite Seattle Festival and is free.

This is a photo of the duck tour which takes people to famous places via land and water. Here it is going by Gasworks park, an old gasworks, turned into a wonderful park. “Ten Things I Hate About You” was filmed at Gas works park.  It is a great place for kite flying, with beautiful views. The duck tour is great fun and I went on it for my birthday in 2011.

This is the Sleepless in Seattle House made famous in the movie of the same name.

This is the Jimi Hendrix Memorial, dedicated in 2003, containing burial plots for 24 members of the Hendrix family. It is in Greenwood cemetery in Renton, WA.

Kubota Garden is a 30 acre Japanese garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. A public park since 1987, it was started in 1927 by Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese emigrant. The city of Seattle purchased it and it is run by the parks and recreation department.

The arboretum near the Madison neighborhood, across the bridge from the University of WA. is a wonderful place to walk and I spent many afternoons there just walking around and a few times walking from one tip to the other. You can also rent canoes near the U of WA stadium and boat the waters of Lake Washington.

The conservatory at Volunteer park is wonderful. It has a few permanent collections as well as collections that vary with the season. Volunteer park hosts plays in the park, and the next door cemetery is the resting place for Bruce and Brandon Lee.

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This is Lincoln Park. From first coming to Seattle and looking for a place to be in nature and a feeling of being away from the city, this was my refuge.  It is located near the south end of the West Seattle neighborhood. You can walk along the southern and western path next to the Puget Sound and the Fauntleroy ferry dock, or you can head up the paths to the park above, with woods, playgrounds, baseball fields and a small wading pool.  There are picnic areas scattered throughout.

This is a view of the Experience Music Project, also at the Seattle Center.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of Seattle. What are your favorite places in this city?