Like a beautiful child, growing up, free and wild....

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Okay, if you clicked in here you are either a big "Here Come The Brides" Fan or you know I'm talking about Seattle.

My brother, who I adore, and don't get to see very often, has an 11 hour layover in Seattle on my birthday!

He's a soldier so he doesn't have a lot of control over his schedule and that is why we can't make it more than 11 hours.

He is flying into Sea-Tac and we are driving up.

I'm thinking it would be great to find a nice hotel in the Sea-Tac area where we could all visit and lounge for a bit and a great restaurant to take him to dinner to.

I'm a bit familiar with Seattle proper but don't know much about the Sea-Tac area. As I understand it, it is really kind of a commercially "airporty" type area but I think there must be some good places to eat nearby.

Hole in the wall, local type places are more than welcome suggestions.

I know there aren't a lot of PNWers on A2K but I thought that maybe some of you travelers had discovered something dandy.

And.......

We'll probably hang out for an extra day or two. Mr. B and I will be traveling with our 5 year old son so the things we typically do in Seattle won't work this time. We'll probably do Pike's Market - Mo will think thats cool (it is cool) but what else might a small boy enjoy?

The Space Needle?

Thanks!

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I stayed in a place by Sea Tac one of the times I went through Seattle on my way somewhere and visited Piffka, Jeanne, and PeaceandLove. (Stayed with one or the other of them other times). The hotel was nothing special, but not bad either. Alas, I forget the name. There was an Indian restaurant nearby, that's all I remember. I don't think that it had any kind of lounge type lobby anyway.
I'm sure I selected for a combo of economy and closeness to the airport.

Good idea to pick a place near the airport, at least in terms of flight catching. You probably know well that Seattle traffic can be horrid, but I'm not sure exactly how bad it is by the airport, or on which roads. Piffka did the driving most of the time, although I also took an airport bus a couple of times... lots of traffic thickets.

Someone who lives there would be able to tell better about routes from Pike's Market/airport traffic/hotels/motels than moi.

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I guess I clicked here because I'm a Boomer Thread Fan

I wish I could help..... When's the day? (and if you won't tell us, have fun with your Bro and HAPPY BDAY!)

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Hi Osso and thanks!

We'll be driving up but since my brother's layover is so short we want to be sure to stay near the airport so we can relax instead of spending the day driving around.

I'm not that worried about the driving as really, all city transit seems to lead to Pike's Market. We can catch a bus and end up there. Did you ride the Seattle busses? They're cool - they run underground through the major parts of the city.

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OK, your talking to a PNW person! I've lived north of Seattle for 11 years now. When I first moved here we met family at a hotel just across HWY 99 from the airport. I think it was a Red Lion Inn or a Westin, not sure, but it had a big pool lounging area.
As far as dining...would you care to make a short drive to enjoy some awesome scenery? Try Salty's at Alki Beach, this is in West Seattle and has the most spectacular view of downtown and the Space Needle. There is also a Salty's south of the airport in Federal Way on Redondo Beach
http://www.saltys.com/ There's lots of activity on Alki when the weather is nice. I still enjoy going to the Pike Place Market and take visitors there often, stop at the original Starbucks.
I'll think of more in a bit.... Very Happy

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Hey, Boomer! I'm glad you'll get a chance to catch up with your brother for a bit.

I've never been to Seattle, but my cousin has lived there for ages. I'll send him your question and see if he has any ideas.

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Hi martybarker and welcome to A2K!

There aren't many of us PNWers here and I love seeing someone else.

Could we make it to Salty's with the view with time to spare with a weary traveler and a five year old in tow?

We have a Salty's here in Portland, I wonder if they are related.

Should we make a reservation?

A big pool (yeah pools) and lounging area at the hotel or a suites type hotel would be perfect.

Thanks for your suggestions!

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You can dine at the top of the Space Needle, it revolves and below the Base of the needle is Seattle Center. Big arcade and amusement rides, and the Pacific Science Center. If you're a music fan you can stop by the EMPhttp://www.emplive.org/

http://www.pacsci.org/

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http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/seawa

It was the Marriot where we stayed. The Salty's in Federal Way would be closer to the airport with lovely sunset views but I like the view of the city from Alki Beach. I'd recommend reservations with a window table request.

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I forgot to say Happy Birthday, Boomer!

On the buses, I've only taken the trolley..

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The Space Needle is way cool. I recommend it. Here's the view from up there

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e383/swimpy12/Downtown.jpg

My sister lives north of Seattle. I'll email her and ask about hotels. She's bad about answering emails, though. So no promises.

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We went to Seattle when sozlet was something like 9 months old, stayed for a couple of weeks. I remember the aquarium being a big hit. I liked it a lot, too.

http://www.seattleaquarium.org/

(Is this the first time I've seen you write "our son"? Makes me smile, anyway...)

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Oh yea, take the monorail to the space needle. You can also visit the Experience Music Project
at the same time. They are located near each other.

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Wow! Thank you all so much!

The Space Needle sounds like a must. It's funny that I've never been there despite visiting Seattle quite a few times. The arcade and rides certainly sound kid friendly - is the restaurant?

And what about the EMP for kids? Mo digs rock but he gets a bit bored with museums.

Mo doesn't have school on the 13th so we will probably drive up then. My brother gets in on the 14th (my birthday!), a Saturday and we will probably come home on the 15th so Mo can be ready for school the next day.

That gives us about 48 hours to fill up, leaving time for Mo to decompress between events. I'd like him to be jolly for my brother's visit so I don't want to pack too much in before that.

Thank you for the happy birthday wishes too! I can't even begin to imagine a nicer gift than to spend even part of the day with my brother.

I sent him an email trying to figure out just how much ground time he will have to spend with us and trying to calculate what his disposition might be after such a long flight (from Korea) while anticipating catching a plane to..... wherever the meeting he's going to is. DC maybe.

I don't want to be the disaster overplanner sister while he's here but plan a nice, relaxing, chatty afternoon.

Yipee!

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We really enjoyed visiting with family while my kids then about 3 and 5 enjoyed the pool. Then maybe a relaxing dinner? The Space Needle is a nice dining experience, either before or after dinner you can go to the viewing deck. But at dinner time and this time of year it might be a little windy and chilly for little guy. He would really enjoy the Pacific Center or the Aquarium which both have hands on areas and near the Aquarium I believe one of the Peir shops still has an old fashioned carrousel. The EMP might be a little overwhelming for a 5 year old.
Have a fantastic visit and I hope to hear how you enjoyed Seattle. Very Happy

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TripAdvisor - SeaTac

I like the TripAdvisor website. I use it, along with the AAA/CAA tour books as a resource to check out hotels for our road trips. There's photos, details, etc. I find the reviews helpful. I don't book through TripAdvisor (part of Expedia.com) because better rates are available by contacting the hotel directly or the chain's toll-free number.

When we travelled with the kids, we always looked for hotels with a fridge and a microwave.

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Doesn't Seattle have a really good zoo? That would have been the first place my two would have wanted to visit.

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Two votes for the zoo. This is from my aunt who is going to forward my email to her son.

Quote:

I have been to the Zoo in Seattle a couple of times and I think a 5 year old would enjoy that. Maybe a ride on one of the ferries??

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I admit that I haven't been the the EMP, but not because I didn't want to. Just not enough time. So I don't know how kids would react to it. I thought it was supposed to be a family thing, but maybe not.

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The zoo and aquarium sound like fun but I think I'd rather do things that are unique to Seattle: the fish market, the space needle. In that vein a ferry ride might just be perfect!

I've also heard that the Seattle underground tour is pretty cool. I noticed they list prices for children so it must be pretty kid-friendly. Has anyone done that?

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Like a beautiful child, growing up, free and wild....

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