Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA is a major coastal seaport in Washington.  Population 608,660 in the city limits (3.4 million for the Seattle metropolitan area) with a median income of $60,800 and a median age of 46.  Seattle is the largest city in Washington, the Pacific Northwest and North of San Francisco, CA.  It sits on a narrow strip of land between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington.  The Container Port in Seattle is the third largest in the U.S. after Long Beach, CA and New York City/New Jersey. 
Seattle has been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent white settlers, Arthur A Denny and his group of travelers (the Denny Party) arrived at Aiki Point on November 13, 1851.  The settlement moved to what is currently Seattle in 1853.  Seattle was named after Chief Sealth from the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. 
Logging was Seattle's first major industry but by the 19th century had become a commercial and shipbuilding center and gateway to  Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush.  By 1910, Seattle was one of the 25 largest cities in the U.S.  The depression did hurt it's growth and it was not until World War II that the growth began again mostly due to Boeing.  In the 1980s Seattle developed a technology center.  The stream of new software, biotechnology and Internet companies led to an economic revival in the city and had turned the neighborhoods that were once known as the "red light district" into metro urban neighborhoods.  Seattle is currently the hub for "Green" industry and a model of sustainable development.
I enjoyed Seattle so much.  It has some great things to do and see.  It is a beautiful city with it's waterfront, architecture, old and new buildings and sculptures.  We started out at Pike Place Market, a huge farmers market with fresh fish, meats, fruits & veggies, bakery goods and tons of flowers!  It also has some of the best places to eat in Seattle, especially for fresh seafood!  The market was everything I expected plus more.  All the flowers were gorgeous and full of autumn colors.  The bakery goods smelled so good and the fish was plentiful.  We stopped by the Pike Place Fish Company to watch the flying fish.  The employees of the fish company throw the fish around.  Yesterday, it was flying crabs!  Looked like a fun place to work and it sure brings in the business and the crowds. Across the street is the original Starbucks.  We paid homage to it even though Tim and I do not like coffee.  After we left Pike's Market we headed to the waterfront.  All of the piers are nicely decorated and there is a ton of restaurants especially if you like seafood (which we don't).
We ate a Red Robin (a burger place on Pier 55) and sat in a booth overlooking the Puget Sound.  After lunch we boarded the "Red Bus", a double decker tour bus for a tour of Seattle.  What a great way to see the city and at a very reasonable price.  The tour only cost $10.00 each.  It hit all the major tourist areas of the city and we learned a lot about Seattle along the way.  After the tour we went to Pioneer Square which is the original city center of Seattle.  The buildings there were really old but good looking.  At Pioneer Square you can also take an Underground Tour of Seattle.  We were running out of time so we opted not to do that tour.  We then headed to the shopping district where they have every 'Big" store like Nostrum's, Macy's, Tiffany's, etc.  After checking a few stores (strictly window shopping) we headed back to Pike's Market and did some more shopping.  We did see the Space Needle at the Seattle  Center, home of the 1962 World's Fair, but did not go up in it due to time restraints and it was hazy day due to smoke that was moving in from the fires in Eastern Washington.  September is usually the best month to visit Seattle because of its clears skies and sunny weather.  I would highly recommend Seattle as a great place for a vacation or long week end.  You will not be bored!  We will be back to visit soon!