10 Things to do in Seattle, WA

10 Things to do in Seattle, WA

1. The Starbucks Reserve– This is a great place to try different techniques of coffee brewing and span your knowledge on the famous Starbucks Coffee.
2. The Ballard Salmon Locks– Go and experience nature and observe salmon as they climb the famous Ballard Locks. There are viewing windows that allow you to observe under water.
3. Free sailing (The Center for Wooden Boats)– Take a ride on a sailboat at the beautiful Cama Beach State Park. The ride is free for the first 200 people (depending on number of boats). Nathan and I tried to go at 9:30 last year, but the boats were all reserved. For our next attempt, we arrived at 8:45 and were the first ones there. This was one of our favorite buck list items!
4. Rainier Glass Studio: We used a Groupon to do this bucket list item and were able to make two glass pumpkins for $35 each. This was a fun experience, but I’m not sure if we would spend the money to do this again. However, my co-worker and her family love to do this every year as a family tradition.
5. The Pacific Science Center: Nathan and I were excited to see the Pompeii exhibit at the science center. In my opinion the rotating exhibitions are by far the best to see and make the trip to Seattle worth it. When I was younger, I was also blessed to see the Titanic exhibit.
6. Woodland Park Zoo: For my 26th birthday, Nathan and I went cage diving with sharks! This was one of the most exciting experiences we have shared together. I will admit that the breathing under water thing was much more terrifying than swimming with sharks.
7. Stand Up Paddle Boarding: We went to Green Lake and tried SUP for the first time! It was a lot of fun and I would love to go back. We rented one board for an hour ($18) and took turns using it. The paddle board, oar and life jacket were included in this price. The beach was very populated and we had a hard time finding parking, but it was worth the wait. You could rent other items as well such as row boats and canoes, but we went specifically for the stand up paddle boarding.
8. Theo’s Chocolate Factory: If you love chocolate, this is a must see! You start out your tour with a history lesson on the cocoa bean and how it is turned into chocolate. You are given samples of about 7 different flavors of chocolate. After that you are shown a tour of the factory and the tour guide explains the process from cocoa bean to chocolate bar. You finish off the tour in the gift shop where there are even more free samples to try and the option to purchase their products. Theo’s Chocolate Factory was an absolutely delicious experience!
9. The Polar Bear Plunge: On January 1st, start your New Year with an adventure and take a plunge into the very cold water! I jumped off the dock into the water as Nathan took very funny pictures of me! There were over 500 people at this event and it was an exuberating experience. Afterwards, I was treated to Pho to warm up (A must do if you like to push yourself beyond usual limits).
10. A Seahawks Football Game: We joined the other 12th men and women and went to a Seahawk’s football game. If you are into sports or just want to experience one of the loudest places on Earth, this is for you! I will warn you that the games have gone up in price ever since the Seahawks have won the 2014 Superbowl.