Day 10: U.S. and Canada West Coast Drive

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Seattle, WA

From our motel we drove to the 5th Avenue N. Garage. Seattle Center has three parking garages. Each of their parking garages are open 24/7 and you can self-park in them for up to twelve hours for $15. They have other rates too – click here for their rates and addresses.

This was a convenient and affordable place to park. We knew we would be ending our day at the Space Needle, and it was less than a half hour walk from the parking garage to Pike Place Market where we were starting our super touristy day.

On the way to Pike Place Market we passed Dahlia Bakery where I had plans for us to go to later that day for their famous triple coconut cream pie. They have a small version of the pie for $5 (as of this writing in April ‘24) called a coco bite.

We should have gone to Dahlia Bakery in the morning when we walked by it because when we went later in the day they were out of the coco bites. They said those sell out early in the day. The unfriendly lady who seemed annoyed at our presence said we had to buy a whole pie, which was too much pie for us. (I see on their online menu that they have a slice of the coco pie for $13, but we asked if we could buy just a slice and she said we could not buy just a slice.) Oh well. Lesson of the story: if you want to try the coco bites when in Seattle, go early to get them.

I made a triple coconut cream pie using this recipe that is supposedly the recipe for the one at Dahlia Bakery. When asked what he thinks of the pie I made using that recipe, my husband (who loves coconut cream pie) said, “it’s really good. It’s a good pie.” He was tempted to have a second slice the day I made it, but he exercised self-control. (The only changes I made to the recipe was to use 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste instead of a vanilla bean pod and to omit the white chocolate curls.) If you like making pies, and if you also like coconut cream pies, you might enjoy making a pie using Dahlia Bakery’s (supposedly) recipe in this link.

When we got to Pike Place Market we were lost. We didn’t know we were already at the market, nor did we know where the famous fish throwing place is. We were being typical tourists, and we really wanted to see that in person.

We asked a woman whose clothing revealed that she worked in the area, “Where is Pike Place Market?” She replied, “You’re at Pike Place Market. Are you looking for where they throw the fish?” Yep! We sure were! She kindly pointed out how to get there. Just across the street and to the left.

Click here for an interactive map of Pike Place Market that I wish we had before we got there so we would not have been so confused. Click here for information on the interactive map. They do have a paper map that we saw at one place in the market. We saw a lot of people walking around not sure where to go next. A few people asked us where we got the map because they were so confused as to where to go in the market or what the layout is. I think the interactive map solves the problem.

Some of the businesses at the market don’t show up on the interactive map unless you zoom in a lot, so make sure you zoom in enough to see every place if you’re interested in that. And because there are multiple levels to the market, make sure you click on the tab near the upper right that lets you select the different levels for you to see them if you want to see what’s on each level. (There are ten different layers to the interactive map that can be viewed from using that tab near the upper right of the page.) You can also search a specific business name that’s at Pike Place Market and it will show you where it is on the map.

We watched the fish throwing at Pike Place Fish Market for a short while, then explored the market. The fish throwing was totally touristy and fun to watch. We found a couple of places we decided to go back to after eating the food we had planned on eating for lunch, so more on those two places a little later.

The following photos were taken while we explored the market. We found while walking around that this is a really fun and lively market. The photos don’t capture the energy nor the amount of people who were there that Thursday morning in late September. There are tons of tourists, but lots of locals too.

Once outside, we crossed the street to try Curry Beef Hom Bow from Mee Sum Pastry. This was highly recommended as a must try when at Pike Place Market. It was a huge disappointment. I thought it was terrible and couldn’t even eat it. My husband thought it was not good, but he ate it anyway. He said, “It’s not good, but it’s OK. I can eat it.” That was a waste of money, and I don’t like to waste money.

Next on our list of foods to try at Pike Place Market was at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. The only thing we tried was Beecher’s “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese. I ordered the 8 oz one and it was gone in no time. I should have ordered the 16 oz one. It was not the world’s best, IMO, but very good. My husband liked it too. (You can sometimes find this sold in the frozen section of places like Costco and BJ’s. I’ve tried it since from BJ’s and it tasted exactly as I remembered it tasting.)

Next on our list was clam chowder from Pike Place Chowder. We were confused at first because we didn’t understand where we were supposed to go to get the chowder to go. There is a long, slow line (shown in the photo below) that, after waiting in it for a few minutes, we found out is for the dine-in option.

What we wanted was the walk-up window/counter for chowder to take with you. A man handing out menus for the people in the line for dine-in told us we could order and pay on our phone and then pick up the order from the window, which is on the opposite side of where the line is in the photo below. Click here for a link to order online.

There are a few tables dispersed in the hallways of this part of the market that you can eat at, but it can be hard to find an available table. We were fortunate to find an available table quickly.

My husband ordered only the clam chowder. When I asked what he thought of it, he said, “I liked it, but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had and it wasn’t that big of a deal.” I tried it and I agree with my husband’s assessment.

They have a chowder sampler that gives you 4 different chowders to try, each in a 6 oz container. I wish we tried the sampler because I’m curious how the Lime & Coconut Chowder and the Smoked Salmon Chowder are.

Now that we had eaten lunch we were ready for beer and dessert. We walked back across the street to try a couple of places we had seen earlier. In the photo directly below is the famous sign for the market. The entrance under that sign leads to Pike Place Fish Market on the left, the place that’s famous for throwing fish.

After entering the building, we made a left and headed to a quirky brewery called Pike Brewing Company that you won’t find on the Pike Place Market interactive map because it’s next to the market.

This article says that while the brewery has since moved, ”The popular and cherished Pike Pub and Pike Fish Bar locations will remain at their current spot on 1st Avenue,” which is in the Pike Place Public Market neighborhood.

You can get to Pike Pub and Pike Fish Bar from inside Pike Place Market or from the an entrance on 1st Avenue. We got to it from walking through Pike Place Market.

From this link, “MICROBREWERY MUSEUM: Curated by Pike Brewing Company Founder & Owner, Charles Finkel, the Microbrewery Museum illustrates thousands of years of brewing history. Grab a pint and peruse thousands of authentic pieces of Breweriana, from Sumer to Seattle. The Microbrewery Museum is located within The Pike Pub and is open 11AM to 9PM every day.” 

After enjoying the beer sampler we walked back the way we came and bought doughnuts from Daily Dozen Doughnut Company. This was my husband’s idea. I’m glad he wanted to try this place because the doughnuts were much better than I thought they would be.

You can see them making their doughnuts fresh. You can taste the freshness when you eat them. They are small doughnuts. We ordered a dozen and they were gone in no time. You can choose assorted and get whatever assortment you want, which we did, and our favorite was the cinnamon; it’s cinnamon and granulated sugar and the cinnamon and sugar just sticks to those freshly fried doughnuts and they melt in your mouth.

We both love the hot, fresh glazed doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, but you can’t really compare these to Krispy Kreme doughnuts because these have their own thing going for them.

After scarfing down our delicious, fresh doughnuts we explored Pike Place Market some more. There is a lot to see. The interactive map would have been very helpful because the paper map we had wasn’t as useful. Due to the various levels, we, and other people, were unsure of where to go – it can be confusing and overwhelming without a helpful map. We think we saw everything, but we’re not sure we did.

The photos below show a glimpse of the final part of our Pike Place Market exploration.

From Pike Place Market we walked to Seattle Center, which is where the Space Needle is located. Click here for a map of Seattle Center. We got caught in a really heavy downpour on the way and had to find shelter for a few minutes.

The first thing we did when we got to Seattle Center was to try a Seattle Dog from Dog in the Park. This place claims to be “Home of the ‘Original Seattle Dog.’ “

When doing research for what foods to try in Seattle, I learned about the Seattle Dog. Cream cheese and caramelized onions? Yum! On a hot dog? Yes, please! Why didn’t I think of this long ago?? It’s such a simple concept and it’s such a great combination!

I could have made Seattle Dogs at home as soon as I read about them, but we decided to try them for the first time in Seattle. And we liked the one we got in Seattle. In addition to cream cheese and caramelized onions it had other grilled vegetables on it. It was on a decent bun that had been toasted. We now occasionally make Seattle Dogs at home with cream cheese, lots of caramelized onions and well grilled jalapeño peppers on grilled brioche buns. We enjoy them a lot.

Next we went to nearby Chihuly Garden and Glass, located next to the Space Needle. I wasn’t sure if we’d like this place, but it has many good reviews and a few were from people who went only because their spouse went and they were surprised at how much they enjoyed their time there. So we decided to see for ourselves.

We bought the combo ticket for Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle. (Click here for the Space Needle tickets.)

While we did find it interesting and the the glass artwork is striking, we felt the experience is overpriced for what it offers. I’m glad we went though because looking back, we did get a lot of neat photos out of it that we enjoy looking at.

Click here for a map of Chihuly Garden and Glass.

As always, in the gallery below you can click on any photo to enlarge it and read the captions and then either close it or click to the right or left to see the next or previous photo in the gallery.

In all we spent a little over an hour at Chihuly Garden and Glass. From there we trekked up the hill to Kerry Park where our somewhat steep uphill trek was rewarded with great views overlooking downtown Seattle and Elliot Bay. Though steep, the trek was pleasant. The neighborhood is lovely with attractive homes in several styles of architecture from different time periods.

The views from Kerry Park give you a different perspective than the views from the Space Needle. And of course you get a view of the Space needle from Kerry Park, which you can’t get from the Space Needle. (Many people go to Kerry Park for sunset and night time views of the city all lit up and the boats moving through Elliot Bay.)

We stopped at the Queen Anne Metropolitan Market on the way to the park. Metropolitan Market is a chain of gourmet markets in the area. This one is nice, but I don’t understand the reviews telling tourists they must visit this market. There are a lot of nice gourmet markets all over and this one didn’t seem better than others or special in anyway. Maybe we missed something(s) about it.

It took us nearly half an hour to get from Seattle Center to Kerry Park, but we did briefly stop at the market and quickly checked out a couple of other things along the way.

We spent about five minutes at Kerry Park before we headed back down to downtown Seattle. Bordering Kerry Park is 2nd Ave W. Just as we started down 2nd Ave W it started to rain again. Fortunately, as you can see in the photo below, there is a little cul-de-sac that is covered with tree branches. Those tree branches sheltered us from the rain. We waited there until the rain stopped. Nature is not only beautiful, it’s so helpful too!

Once we got back to downtown Seattle, we walked to Marination at 2000 6th Ave for Hawaiian-Korean cuisine for dinner. This place offers good tasting fusion cuisine for reasonable prices with decent sized portions. It wasn’t fabulous, but it was enjoyable. It’s not a place I would crave if it was near me. Click here for that location’s menu.

From Marination we walked to the Space Needle. We arrived a little before sunset so that we would be at the top for pre-sunset, sunset, and night time views.

As always, in the gallery below you can click on any photo to enlarge it and then either close it or click to the right or left to see the next or previous photo in the gallery.

After getting to our car we called Yoshino Teriyaki to order pork teriyaki because it’s so good, but they said they had run out of teriyaki. It was just after 7:30 and they closed at 8:00, so we didn’t expect that response. So if you want to go there, know ahead of time that they might stop taking orders earlier than their closing time.

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