Going to Seattle.. tomorrow

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Don't bother with the Premium Outlets. it was total crap.

and people were complaining about Calgary parking prices. The last time i parked downtown i paid $14/hour.

Premium Outlets are far from crap IMHO. I guess it would depend on what type of stuff you are into but I easily spend $500-1000 every time I hit up that mall. You can buy 2-3 pairs of shoes for the price of one up here, brand name shirts are dirt cheap and the crowds walking around there (girls) are worth the trip for sure.

[Kavvy]

Thanks to all, I am officially out of "thanks" but still thank you!

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Hilch

Premium Outlets are far from crap IMHO. I guess it would depend on what type of stuff you are into but I easily spend $500-1000 every time I hit up that mall. You can buy 2-3 pairs of shoes for the price of one up here, brand name shirts are dirt cheap and the crowds walking around there (girls) are worth the trip for sure.

are we all talking about the same place here?

The one next to the big tulalip casino right? We stayed there a nite in their new hotel. that was pretty nice.

I'm not a real big fan of seattle though. It's just like Vancouver only without the good chinese food(and riots).

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Kavy

Thanks for all the tips, keep them comming! Were planning on staying at a hotel downtown (because were either dumb, or just gamblers, going to do the hotwire/prcieline thing tonight).

I assume parking won't be cheap, but its gotta be safe to assume there would be some sort of discount for hotels???

I don't know about a discount for hotels, the last few places I've stayed (this isn't Seattle) the options were either park it yourself and pay the regular rate or have it valeted and pay the regular rate plus $15. It might be worth checking into in advance to avoid a deal becoming a bit of a rip off.

[seattleflamer]

Originally Posted by Kavy

So a buddy and I are driving to Seattle on Friday.

We have tickets to the Seahawks home opener on Sunday (my first NFL game) and plan on buying tickets for the MLB game Monday (team not in playoffs, shouldn't be difficult).

Does anyone have any suggestions on what else to see, or any good pit stops on the way down (the highway to the sun closed on Tuesday, darn)? Or any tips on places to pre-NFL game drink?

Also, any reccomandations, or warnings againts the following attractions?

• Space Needle
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Boeing Musem
• Cowgirls Bar

Also, someone told me if you show your Albertan licence, you can save tax when purchasing items. I don't know if thats true, and google didn't help, does anyone know anything about this? Is it specific items or.....?

Thanks for any tips, suggestions or comments!

Most places will allow tax exempt status with a valid Alberta DL. Some places make you go thru the ringer like filling out forms or just don't accept it anymore. Just say you're tax exempt before you ring your purchase. It is the Oregon people who do this the most since they are state sales tax free like Alberta.

Otherwise, Boeing Museum in South Everett is pretty cool. They have a mock up of the new Dreamliner.

Frankly I don't know much about the touristy stuff but the Duck (or DUKW) tour on the amphibious wwII vehicle would probably be worth your while to get a history and fun look at seattle.

Red Mill has really good Burgers up in Phinny Ridge in the 60's near the zoo and Greenlake. If that is too far, you should try Dicks on Capitol Hill or Wallingford which is like a Peter's in Calgary for an authentic Seattle experience.

Pike Place is touristy but you'll have to go and see the fishmonger throwing fish. They also have the original Starbucks with the naked lady logo.

Enjoy the game. The Seahawks look really bad this year, really bad.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by seattleflamer

Enjoy the game. The Seahawks look really bad this year, really bad.

Thanks for the tips, and I know, there going to get crushed . In anycase, it should be fun!

[Bertuzzied]

Also i'm not sure why but when returning to Canada i was stuck in a 4 hour traffic jam where they made 4 lanes go into 1, without any accidents on a Thursday afternoon which turned into Thursday nite.

i was soooo pissed. We lost our reservations for one of the best sushi places in Vancouver and my friends who i was suppose to meet for dinner at 8pm weren't too happy. hehe

[seattleflamer]

^^^Get a Nexus. It is so worth the $50 or whatever it costs now.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Also i'm not sure why but when returning to Canada i was stuck in a 4 hour traffic jam where they made 4 lanes go into 1, without any accidents on a Thursday afternoon which turned into Thursday nite.

i was soooo pissed. We lost our reservations for one of the best sushi places in Vancouver and my friends who i was suppose to meet for dinner at 8pm weren't too happy. hehe

Its funny you say this, we were going to come back through Canada via that crossing, but for this very reason were not

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Kavy

Its funny you say this, we were going to come back through Canada via that crossing, but for this very reason were not

It wasn't even bad getting through the border. it was after the border. it was bumper to bumper traffic from 10kms after the border crossing to the BC Ferry terminal. Soooooo annoying!

[seattleflamer]

Yeah, I've had that happen too. That is the Massey Tunnel. My tip is to take take Hwy 91 which is a few km before the tunnel. It bypasses the tunnel and you go over the Fraser bridge back into Richmond or Vancouver.

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

are we all talking about the same place here?

The one next to the big tulalip casino right? We stayed there a nite in their new hotel. that was pretty nice.

I'm not a real big fan of seattle though. It's just like Vancouver only without the good chinese food(and riots).

Ya same place, about 35-45 minutes outside of Seattle in Tulalip. I've never had a bad shopping expereince there and always seem to spend more money than I want (or should due to the $400 limit for no duty).

Maybe it just depends on the person. Personally I would make the stop and spend an hour walking around if its the OPs first time because they may find some stuff they are into.

I wouldn't spend any time shopping downtown Seattle as you are just going to be paying top dollar at most of their malls.

[tvp2003]

To save some $, we usually stay in Bellevue -- there are lots of hotels with free parking, and there are buses that will take you over to the stadium on gameday (better than trying to drive and park).

Went to Red Mill because it was on Diners Drive-In's and Dives. Good food but the huge lineup wasn't worth it IMO.

Originally Posted by Hilch

Ya same place, about 35-45 minutes outside of Seattle in Tulalip. I've never had a bad shopping expereince there and always seem to spend more money than I want (or should due to the $400 limit for no duty).

Maybe it just depends on the person. Personally I would make the stop and spend an hour walking around if its the OPs first time because they may find some stuff they are into.

I wouldn't spend any time shopping downtown Seattle as you are just going to be paying top dollar at most of their malls.

Agreed. If you're looking for "higher end" stuff, one option is to hit up a Nordstrom Rack. Otherwise, there is lots of shopping downtown if you're willing to pay full price

[Arsenal14]

I wouldn't count on discounted parking at your hotel. I stayed downtown and paid $36/night for parking in the hotel's parkade. Maybe if you stay out in Bellevue or somewhere else outside of downtown it might be cheap/included.

[bc-chris]

when we went down we stayed in kent and bussed in

we were about 3 minutes from a transit transfer station.

i think it was $2.50 or $3 to get bussed into downtown - and that included a free transfer if you wanted (which we used when we went to the zoo)

parking at the hotel was free, parking at the transit station was free

our hotel was around $40/night..... dirt cheap... and that included a continental breakfast every morning too.

it wasn't a five star by any means - we just wanted somewhere clean and affordable and got both!

[Kavvy]

Thank you all for the non-stop tips, and all the parking comments!

[afc wimbledon]

very good record shops in Seattle, I rarely get out of there without spending several hundred on Vinyl

[seattleflamer]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

when we went down we stayed in kent and bussed in

we were about 3 minutes from a transit transfer station.

i think it was $2.50 or $3 to get bussed into downtown - and that included a free transfer if you wanted (which we used when we went to the zoo)

parking at the hotel was free, parking at the transit station was free

our hotel was around $40/night..... dirt cheap... and that included a continental breakfast every morning too.

it wasn't a five star by any means - we just wanted somewhere clean and affordable and got both!

Just north of Kent is Seatac and the airport. The LRT runs from Airport to the Stadium. There are a ton of hotels in SeaTac so you could find a cheap airport hotel and take the train to the game. You're also really close to South Center Mall which is one the biggest in the area....Target is in the vicinity of the mall as well since that is still frequented by Canadians for now.

[Free Ben Hur!]

The atmosphere at Century Link (Qwest) is unbelievable, particularly when they're hoisting the 12th man flag and when the opponent is trying to convert a third down. Unlike McMahon, Commonwealth, et al you will find that you spend little time in line ups for anything, beer, washrooms, merch. Newer, bigger, better designed facilities make a huge difference. Both stadiums are pretty much within walking distance of most of downtown. The space needle is cool, especially at night as already mentioned. R & R hall of fame - meh, Hendrix junkie's will like it. The original Starbucks is at Pike's Place market and, for as busy as it always is, they move people through there fairly quickly. It's worth carving out some time for Pike's Place alone. Boeing is an interesting tour but it's fairly pricey. If you're a Led Zeppelin fan you can visit the Edgewater Inn (not far from the Market) which was a frequent haunt of theirs. Maybe catch some red snapper ; ) and get schmammed up where Jimmy and Bonzo did.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Free Ben Hur!

The atmosphere at Century Link (Qwest) is unbelievable, particularly when they're hoisting the 12th man flag and when the opponent is trying to convert a third down. Unlike McMahon, Commonwealth, et al you will find that you spend little time in line ups for anything, beer, washrooms, merch. Newer, bigger, better designed facilities make a huge difference. Both stadiums are pretty much within walking distance of most of downtown. The space needle is cool, especially at night as already mentioned. R & R hall of fame - meh, Hendrix junkie's will like it. The original Starbucks is at Pike's Place market and, for as busy as it always is, they move people through there fairly quickly. It's worth carving out some time for Pike's Place alone. Boeing is an interesting tour but it's fairly pricey. If you're a Led Zeppelin fan you can visit the Edgewater Inn (not far from the Market) which was a frequent haunt of theirs. Maybe catch some red snapper ; ) and get schmammed up where Jimmy and Bonzo did.

Ya.. Commenwealth is terrible for Beer!

Thanks for tips!