Vacations Blog

Victoria Ferry Coming into Port

The first thing of note about Victoria, British Columbia is that when making plans to travel there it’s likely that you’ll be traveling there by a ferry or cruise. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia. The beautiful metropolis is a tourist hotspot in British Columbia, offering a rich history, beautiful architecture, much greenspace and a wide-variety of attractions. Although you can fly into the Vancouver International Airport and take a bus or car into Victoria, traveling by ferry is the primary mode of transportation to and from Victoria. Located just above Washington state, it’s a great day trip for travelers staying in the Seattle area.

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Washington State Ferry from Seattle Waterfront

Seattle is a port city. It exists and thrives today because of its long history of maritime shipping, trade, and proximity to the natural resources of the Great Northwest. Scenically nestled at the edge of Elliot Bay on Washington’s Puget Sound, Seattle  still has a unique and intertwined relationship with the sea. If you are interested in experiencing a taste of that relationship the next time you visit, leave the high-tech, cosmopolitan atmosphere behind for a refreshing and scenic nearby side trip. No car required, just head down the hill from the heart of downtown shopping and dining, until you find yourself at the waterfront along Alaskan Way.

If you are interested in a walking tour of Seattle’s Waterfront, try starting on the southern end at Pier 52, where Washington’s famous ferries depart Seattle for Vashon and Bainbridge Islands, or Bremerton on the Olympic Peninsula. It’s enough fun to watch the big boats come and go, but if you’re feeling especially adventurous, you can walk on for a $7.00 round trip fare. It would be well worth your time, because on a clear day, the views are outstanding and the air refreshing, though cold, so dress warmly.

Walking North on along the waterfront you will shortly come to Pier 54 and another Seattle icon, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, a store loaded with interesting artifacts, novelty items, oddities, and the main attraction a pair of actual mummies on display, as well as rice grain carvings (seriously!) and other curiousties. It’s a bit tacky, but fun, so I recommend you stop in and take a peek, so you can at least say you have been there.

Waterfront Pier

Pier 56 is home to Argosy Cruises, where you can book a sightseeing or dinner cruise, book a sailing expedition on Puget Sound, or board the Elliot Bay Water Taxi ($3.00 one way) for a 20 minute crossing to West Seattle and Alki Beach which offers abundant dining and recreational activities.  A free bus shuttle on the other side will take you to Alki Beach or the West Seattle Junction (more on this neighborhood in a future post).

Walking further north along the waterfront, you will pass several shops and restaurants, including Ivar’s Seafood Bar and Elliot’s Oyster House (where I dined on delicious fresh pacific oysters during a rare night out not long ago). Eventually, you will come to The Seattle Aquarium at Pier 59. The recently remodeled Aquarium is a world class facility with several fascinating permanent exhibits focusing on Pacific marine life, including a 360 degree glass domed room which will be a hit with the small people in attendance. I have been a member, and highly recommend the aquarium.

As you continue north along Alaskan Way, you will be treated to abundant breathtaking views of Elliot Bay, and on a clear day, the Majestic Olympic Mountains beyond. Once you reach Pier 67 you will come to an attractive lodging option for your next Seattle stay, the luxury Edgewater Inn. The Edgewater, situated right on the water and which many will remember as the place where the Beatles famously fished out of the window of their hotel room during a 1964 Seattle concert visit, offers what could very well be the most unique and scenic lodging experience in the city.

Fab 4 Fishing from Edgewater Inn

Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park  (free to the public) is a wonderful outdoor space, just before the scenic and peaceful Myrtle Edwards Park. The Olympic Sculpture Park is a spectacular new waterfront park where visitors can view a variety of sculptures 365 days a year, in an outdoor setting. I have not been there yet, but my better half has, and she was duly impressed with the layout and interesting variety of the thought provoking sculpture.

You can check out nearly all these spots in a single day (with the exception of the ferry rides), but they are so nice you might want to take your time!

Visiting the Seattle area during the holidays and want to treat yourself to a unique Northwest experience?  Check out a Puget Sound Christmas cruise from Argosy Cruises.  These cruises, which have been a Northwest tradition for nearly 60 years, leave from various Seattle area ports of call each evening from late November through December the 23rd. Each beautifully decorated and lit Christmas ship is also accompanied by a number of decorated ships and private boats, creating a floating, parade-like, holiday atmosphere.  This flotilla of festive boats sails the waters of the Puget Sound spreading the cheer to land lubbers gathered at designated beachfront locations.  It is a memorable and wonderful event to experience.

Sail into Christmas on a Seattle Argosy Cruise

Santa Claus, refreshments, and photo-ops are available on board these Christmas Ships.  To add to the festive atmosphere, each lead ship in the flotilla is joined on board by a local choir, which performs a 20 minute long concert of Christmas carols at each designated port of call. (The Northwest Boys Choir put on a wonderful show on last weekend’s south sound cruise).  These holiday themed performances are simultaneously piped over state of the art speaker systems on board the ship to throngs of locals gathered around huge bonfires on shore who take the opportunity to join in.  It is a perfect Northwest kickoff to the Christmas season.

Tickets prices: $35 for adults, $19.00 for kids, Free for kids 4 and under.
Value nights: $25 for adults, $12 for kids , Free for kids 4 and under.

A portion of the proceeds from these cruises are donated to the local charity The Seattle Times Fund for the Needy. So, you can splurge a bit on your family, and still know you are donating to a good cause.  In these tough economic times, every little bit helps.

So, whether you are enjoying the food and activities on one of these festive ships, or snuggling around one to the community bonfires on a cool Northwest evening listening to the sound of the waves mix with the sweet harmonies of the carolers, you will agree that a Puget Sound Christmas Cruise from Argosy Cruises is a very unique and very Northwest way to get into the holiday spirit.

Photo courtesy of Argosycruises.com

I grew up in Tacoma, transplanted from Montana at a young age.  Our mountain raised family was captivated by the parks on Puget Sound.  I think we went to all of them before we settled on our favorites.  If you are looking for a park filled with natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, here are three of my family’s tried and true recommendations:

1.  Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom offers a pebbled beach, a play structure and if you can brave 56 degree water, good swimming. Dogs are allowed too.  Plus, you can amble up the road for a quick snack if you wish in the cute coastal town of Steilacoom.

2.  Kopachuck State Park on Henderson Bay is about 20 minutes from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This is the first beach we ever went clam digging (we used our mother’s purse as a buckets with their blessing, that is how excited we all were).  It offers picnic tables, barbecues, and a typical Puget Sound beach with good clam digging at low tide. By typical, I mean lots of muddy muck to wade through to get to the water.  Plus it has views of the Olympic mountains when the sun deigns to shine.  Be sure to bring old tennis shoes to walk to the water when the tide is out otherwise the little shells in the muck hurt your feet.  It also offers good campgrounds.

3.  Twanoh State Park on Hood Canal–is my favorite park since I was a child.  As the park service says, “the park is situated on one of the warmest saltwater beaches in the state. This is because Hood Canal is one of the warmest saltwater bodies in Puget Sound.” The water is onlywarm by Northwest standards. Twanoh offers a good beach, nice picnic areas, and a dock that can be swum to from the beach in the summer.

All three of these parks are great to visit whether the sun is shining or not.  I really don’t recall the sun shining much on our visits nor did I mind. In this area, if it isn’t raining, go outside before it does.

Photo:  Kopachuck State Park, courtesy of Washington State Parks.