We got to Seattle on 2/13/26, following our camping trip to Shi Shi Beach (2 previous posts). We’d spent the night in Sequim, Washington a couple hours away, and were thrilled to be driving in the rain instead of hiking in it. The last time we were here we talked about taking a ferry ride for part of the drive, but it didn’t work out. This time we decided it would be fun to take the ferry from Bainbridge Island . Shannon had done his research(as always) before this trip, and he’d found that Bainbridge Island is home to one of the Northwood Trolls. There are 6 trolls in the Pacific Northwest and the info is in that link, but here’s a list:

• Portland Oregon has “Ole Bolle”
• West Seattle has “Bruin Idun” in Lincoln Park
• Issaquah has “Jakob Two Trees” near Rainer Trail
• Ballard has “Frankie Feetsplinters” at the National Nordic Museum
• Vashon has “Oscar the Bird King” in Point Robinson Park
• Bainbridge Island has “Pia the Peacekeeper” in Sakai Park

We made a stop on the way to the ferry to see “Pia the wood troll” and I’m so glad we did! She is awesome! The artist responsible for all of the Wood Trolls around the US is named Thomas Dambo. There’s a ‘Trollmap” of all of their locations that I’ve linked there.

The ferry station was just a few blocks away from Sakai park, and we headed over for the next one that would take us over to Seattle. It was 11:30am on a Friday, so I was not expecting it to be full but it was. It was very obvious that it’s a routine activity for most of the other people on it.

Most of the other car passengers stayed inside their vehicles. We needed to explore and take pictures and videos. We thought it was super cool to watch the approach of the Seattle skyline, to watch the other boats around us, and of course we were also low-key watching for whales. Shannon read that there’s a law in Washington that requires boaters, which obviously includes ferries, to stay 1000 feet away from the whales. I linked it there for you. Later when we’d be looking out over the water and we noticed ferries slowing down we were looking for whales.

We thought it was a lot of fun to experience! Getting on and off was super easy and organized. Two happy customers right here. We drove strait off the ferry and headed about 10 minutes away to The State Hotel, which we loved. In terms of location it can’t be beat. It’s just around the corner from Pike Place Market, and is situated on 2nd Avenue which is a main road through downtown. Also, there’s a Target right across the street for an added bonus.

The very first thing I noticed in the State Hotel, was the wallpaper. I am completely in love with it and am now obsessed with the artist. I know this sounds strange – and maybe it is – but I want to wallpaper the entire inside of my house now using her designs. The artist is Kate Blairstone and I’ve linked her page there. I love everything on her site which also includes some table wear, fabric, and gift wrap.

After we got settled, we walked over to Pike Place and did a walkthrough. The photos I got were very similar to the ones I got back in 2020, however, this time there were a lot more people and nobody was wearing masks. There is SO much to see in the markets! A visual feast!

One of the best things we bought in Pike Place Market was some smoked Salmon from City Fish Seafood Market. A young woman in an apron was handing out samples, and we both tried a bite and immediately stopped in our tracks. It was outstanding! We bought a chunk of it, some ceviche, bread, and a bottle of wine and took it back to our hotel room for lunch. If it hadn’t been raining we could have sat outside on the waterfront with everything but the wine. City Fish has a website that I linked for you in the first sentence, and they ship anywhere.

A few months before we left for this trip, and we realized we’d be in Seattle on Valentine’s Day, Shannon came home from work one day excited to tell me that he was taking me on a date for Valentine’s to see a Burlesque dinner show! I was genuinely surprised as this is not something I expected him to want to do. BUT I was very excited because as a native Nashvillian I do love a show! Our tickets were for Friday night, so after we walked around downtown for a while, it was time to get ready to go.

The show was a blast! It was at The Triple Door in Seattle, which is a dinner theater on Union Street downtown. Our seats were right on the stage. As it came time to go, Shannon said that he was expecting it to be kind of “corny” and “stupid”. Afterward, we agreed that it was absolutely neither of those things! It was clever, funny, fun, and very well done! Engaging, entertaining, tasteful, and a unique way to spend an evening! There was an acrobat who did a whole number on a giant ring hanging from the ceiling, a man dressed like a robot, a girl who did a dance with a giant pink balloon, and at the very end they introduced “Jezebel! A burlesque award winner who they were honored to have join this year! “ During her number, she was dancing out of a giant skirt and when she flung it off, it hit Shannon right in the face. We thought it was hilarious but our server was horrified and said nothing like that had ever happened before.

The next morning was Valentine’s Day, and we had about 6 hours until we needed to head to the airport. We went and got breakfast at The Crumpet Shop, which was delicious and also very cute. I ordered one crumpet with some kind of melted English cheddar cheese that was outstanding, and one with strawberry jam and cream – also outstanding. The coffee was excellent, and I loved the heart in my latte.

We walked all over Pike Place Market and visited a lot of shops we were interested in like a Chocolate shop, a cheese shop, a truffle shop, and lots of fish stalls. We wanted to see a place at the Waterfront Shopping center called Ye Ole Curiosity Shop as it looked like something to see! Around the perimeter of the shop, there are cases that display things like a museum. Curiosities indeed:

On the flight out here from Atlanta, I’d watched the movie Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I’m sure my fellow GenX ers will appreciate this. There’s a scene where Tom Hanks’ character and Rob Reiner’s character are having a bowl of clam chowder at a counter. Although it wasn’t where we set out to have lunch, it’s where we ended up eating as they had open tables and no line when we were ready to sit down and eat. The restaurant is Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar and it was absolutely delicious, and was the perfect spot for Valentine’s Day lunch overlooking Seattle Harbor. There’s more about it at the link there, but I’ll tell you that the restaurant was started by “3 Greek brothers” in 1909 and was the first restaurant on the waterfront to get a liquor license in the 1930’s. By the time we left there was a line out the door and a long wait.

I can say without a doubt that this was the best Valentines’ Day I’ve ever had! A fun couple of days indeed and a great way to end our trip to Washington.

I’ll end this post with a bunch of photos I took inside of Pike Place Market for your amusement if you’re interested!