Pacific Northwest Trip 2015 Day 12 Thursday July 23: Seattle, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland

LAST UPDATED: December 20, 2025

This is the 12^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2015 trip to Portland, Seattle, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

Today I walked to Seattle Center and noticed the fencing was being removed from around the International Fountain, so I knew it would be back on today. I walked along Queen Anne and noticed a Thai place called Phuket. "Don't know where to eat? Phuket!" I returned to Seattle Center by way of Key Arena. In one area a theatre group had the same show as "Now Showing" and "Coming Soon". Maybe it's a time travel place?

 

[NOW: Phuket Thai Cuisine, now closed, was, I've since learned, apparently named after Thailand's largest island. Key Arena has been replaced with Climate Pledge Arena.]

Lots of construction in Portland and Seattle by the way. One difference between construction in Seattle and Victoria BC construction is that in Seattle, if you see cones around the construction area they're a path for construction workers and not intended as a temporary pedestrian walkway.

I waked down to Washington State Convention Center before returning to the hostel for breakfast. At the bus stop by Cinerama which is showing Ant-Man, etc. I took a 554 bus (Sound Transit) to Mercer Island (the name of both the island and municipality), specifically Mercer Island Park & Ride. I took photos of the I-90 Art Corridor and wandering the north end of the island a little more before returning to the Park & Ride. I took another 554 to Issaquah Transit Center in Issaquah.  I walked to a little shopping area in the north end, crossing through a park to Barnes & Noble. Crossing back I learned the park was called Pickering Park.  I returned to Issaquah Transit Center, I got there just in time to take another 554 bus east to I-90/142nd Station, where I crossed a bridge over the highway and down the stairs at Eastgate Park & Ride. On the ground a 245 bus (King County Metro Transit) was just arriving. I was going to take a 271 bus to Crossroads but this one was also going there so I took it instead.

[NOW: The hostel I stayed at was City Hostel Seattle. The I-90 Art Corridor is now Greta Hackett Outdoor Sculpture Gallery. That Barnes & Noble has closed. Crossroads is in Bellevue.]

At Crossroads I visited Half Price Books and Barnes & Noble but that Silver Platters had closed down. I took a 271 but to Redmond, getting some DVDs at Half Price Books and visiting Redmond Town Center before taking a 248 bus (Metro Transit) to Kirkland Transit Center in Kirkland.

[NOW: Contrary to what someone told me, Bellevue’s Silver Platters hasn’t closed; it only moved out of Crossroads. That Barnes & Noble however has closed but the downtown Bellevue branch has since moved to a different location in the same mall.]

This was my first real visit to Kirkland, though I had been stuck at a park and ride on the south end if I recall correctly during my second Seattle trip as an adult. So this was intended to give me better memories. Kirkland I actually found a bit dull. I did have lunch at Wendy's I asked for a Coke no ice and he punched it in before giving me ice. I later got a refill to compensate. I visited Parkplace Books and wandered downtown a little. I got some okay art photos but the sculptures were a bit to scattered and my interest too low to do a scavenger hunt for them.

[NOW: The park and ride I mostly likely got stuck at years ago was South Kirkland Park & Ride. That Wendy's and Parkplace Books have closed.]

I decided to skip the last item on my itinerary for today, a revisit to Gas Works Park which I might do later. Instead I took a 255 bus (King County Metro Transit) to Westlake Station in Seattle's Downtown Transit Tunnel. There I switched to a Central Link (Sound Transit) light rail train to Othello Station and a 50 bus (Metro Transit) to Seward Park to commence finishing off my Friday itinerary, already mostly covered on Tuesday. I swam there (Lake Washington) and did a circle around the park, going the opposite direction than I'd done before, getting nice shots of Lake Washington and, in the background, Mercer Island. I took another 50 bus to the SoDo district where I visited the Silver Platters that used to be near Seattle Center. I got some DVDs. I took a 21-becoming-5 bus (King County Metro Transit) to near Seattle Center, grabbing dinner to go at the McDonald’s with the sports balls in the cylinders.

 

[NOW: The sports balls were removed from that McDonald's during a renovation prior to that location closing.]

I relaxed at the International Fountain at Seattle Center. A seagull found boxes with discarded pizza. I got some nice shots and video of the fountain shooting blasts of water straight up with a cannon sound. Some bikers circled around the fountain a few times (read: bicycles not motorcycles). When it started getting cool I returned to the hostel. Other than the trip home the rest of the trip will be in Seattle unless I change my mind.

Pacific Northwest Trip 2015 Day 11 Wednesday July 22: Seattle Including Greenwood Parade

LAST UPDATED: December 20, 2025

This is the 11^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2015 trip to Portland, Seattle, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

Forgot to mention: Federal Way-on yesterday was originally part of a later day's itinerary, Tuesday's itinerary completing earlier than expected. The only thing remaining from the second day is Seward Park, which was too overcast to do yesterday.

As I was putting my mini-notebook away last night I noticed a walking tour focussing on the seedier elements of the city was about to begin and it was free so I joined in. It ended at a pub but I didn't feel like spending money on drinks, and the pub apparently requires a passport for out of state people (mine is well hidden in my locker at the hostel) so I decided to bail at that point, as did a number of others.

This morning I did a walk to the waterfront, which is heavily under construction. At Seattle Ferry Terminal, Subway is where the McDonald's used to be (temporarily a separate entrance area due to the construction) but it doesn't open early morning so it's not a viable alternative on my way back.  I walked down to CenturyLink Field. Fencing prevented me from climbing the steps there to get shots of the Pioneer Square Distract. I considered walking to nearly Safeco Field but I was getting tired so I wandered back to the hostel instead.

[NOW: The hostel I stayed at was City Hostel Seattle, which appears to now be closed. The above was written in the morning. The rest was written in the evening. Locals called CenturyLink Field CLink before it got renamed Lumen Field. Safeco Field is now T-Mobile Park.]

I did a short walk around the block before breakfast and then walked downtown to Westlake Station in the Downtown Transit Center. I dashed to the 41 bus (all buses this day King County Metro Transit) and took it to Northgate Transit Center. I walked along Northgate Mall (one of the few remaining malls that calls itself a mall and not a Centre/Town Centre/Shopping Centre/Place, etc.) and visited Barnes & Noble. Heading east and then south I got a drink at 7-11 and then some DVDs at Reckless Video. As I returned to Northgate Transit Center I saw some of the construction on the upcoming light rail stop. I took a 75 bus to the University of Washington. In the U District I visited the Wall of Death (sign held up by spikes), Half Price Books (got DVDs), and Scarecrow Video (ditto; it's now a non-profit and that's what's keeping it alive). I took photos of the former location of Cinema Books but the only sign of what it once was, was a giant movie photo among the packed boxes. I ate lunch at Jack in the Box; it was my first meal there so I didn't realize until it was too late that a medium meal is an upsize. I visited the Dreaming comic shop, Al's Music Video Games, the former location of Comic Stop, Neptune Music, University Bookstore, Bulldog News, and Magus Bookstore.

[NOW: Reckless Video, that Half Price Books, that Jack in the Box, and The Dreaming are now closed.]

I took a 71 bus to near Warren Magnuson Park; the 75 takes you closer but I was glad I took the 71 because the stop is at the top of a hill, so you get a nice view of the park and Lake Washington. I took a while to cross from the street side to the Lake Washington side of the park but managed to get in a lake swim when I did. I wandered there a while and returned via the north side so I could see A Sound Garden through the fence (it was the inspiration for the Sound Garden band name). No wind so no sound this time. I crossed through a garden called the P-Patch to the street; this is near the lengthy off leash area; the view of Sound Garden is in the off leash area. I took a 75 bus back to Northgate Mall, then a walk to Greenwood that was longer than expected. I walked along the parade route for the Greenwood Parade about to start, grabbing dinner at Subway at one point. I sat near the start of the parade.

The parade was more subdued than usual. The motorcycle cops and Keystone Kops seemed to be going through the motions, the Seafair Clowns and Pirates were okay (the pirates shot their cannon as usual). Ronald McDonald made a valiant effort to drum up some excitement but being a corporate mascot, people weren't responding as well as the actor would likely have liked. The Western Vigilantes bouncing trunk was cute as usual. No horses, dogs, or Lincoln’s Toe Truck this year.

 

After seeing the end of the parade, I headed south towards a nearby bus stop after the rerouting. As with 2013, no sign of clowns outside Bleachers Pub sadly. This time I tried something different: one year a 5 bus arrived promptly, but it's usually a long wait after the Greenwood Parade. So this time I dashed to Aurora Street, and an E Rapidride bus arrived soon after. I took it to near Seattle Center. The International Fountain was still closed. Physically tired. Luckily only really long day (tomorrow) then three quieter days before the trip home.

Pacific Northwest Trip 2015 Day 10 Tuesday July 21: Seattle, Sumner, Tacoma, Puyallup, Auburn, Federal Way, Tukwila, Burien

LAST UPDATED: December 20, 2025

 

  This is the 10^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2015 trip to Portland, Seattle, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

First off a few oversights: In both downtown Portland and yesterday morning downtown Seattle I visited Target. At one area on Burnside Rd Portland where the transient population is particularly high there's a sign asking people to leave room for pedestrians to pass.

I was going to take a bus to Tacoma but woke up at 5:30 and decided to take the Sounder (Sound Transit). My understanding was that using an ORCA card due to transfers, if you got off in Sumner and then back on to Tacoma, you only paid the  difference but no, full fare, plus no transfers to buses with Sounder unlike link trains. Not realizing this, because I was on an earlier Sounder train I did get off in Sumner (Sumner Sounder Station) and wandered around, something I'd been meaning to do for years, not having explored it enough previously. At Day & Night Grocery I got directions to the nearest fast food place for breakfast with proved to be McDonald's. I ordered to go and dashed back to Sumner Sounder Station, taking another train to Tacoma Dome Station in Tacoma. There I took the free Tacoma Link train (Sound Transit) to Union Station.

[NOW: The hostel I left from is City Hostel Seattle, which appears to now be closed. Tacoma Link is now Line T. ORCA now allows daypasses which are good on Sounder trains as well as buses Link trains, so you can now offset the above issue that way.]

There I visited the Bridge of Glass (not actually made of glass but with glass displays courtesy the nearby Museum of Glass. Arriving at the bus stop near Union, I noticed that by next bus was half an hour or so, but a local suggested a two-bus alternative that saved me a lot of time. So, after first walking up and down University of Washington's steps which were right there. I took the 1 bus (Pierce Transit) to 38th Ave S, where the bus got delayed but that was okay because I was getting off there anyway. I took a 54 bus (Pierce Transit) to Tacoma Mall, which I crossed over to OfficeMax.

[NOW: This OfficeMax has now closed.]

Realizing that my new camera was using up my memory cards, I got four 64 GB cards for $40 each. Not as cheap as online but probably as good an in-store price as i was likely to get, though it did put me over my declaration limit. I also bought some DVDs at Half Price Books before returning to the Mall and cutting through it to Tacoma Mall Transit Center across the street.

I took the 3 bus (Pierce Transit) downtown and walked to King's Books; Destiny Comics, new was right beside. Neither was open. Once before I saw a cat at King's Books sleeping in the window before hours but not this time. I walked back downtown then to Union Station and caught another Tacoma Link train back to Tacoma Dome Station. I bought a couple DVDs from Tacoma Book Center and walked up to the actual Tacoma Dome before taking the TacomaLink one last time to Union Station and there transferring to a 400 bus (Pierce Transit).

 

[NOW: Destiny City Comics is now closed.]

The bus was stuck in traffic due to an accident. A pink haired woman was coughing and held on to a number of bars after coughing into her hands, so I tried to avoid touching any bars when I got off the bus at Puyallup Sounder Station in Puyallup. I was going to have lunch there but most of the sculptures in Puyallup were gone, as confirmed by a pawnbroker, and the rest didn't grab me, so I lost interest and soon took a 578 bus (Sound Transit) to Auburn Station in Auburn, noticed that the store cat at Comstock Books and Bindery didn't seem to be in the customer area, and returned to Auburn Station to Take another 578 bus to Federal Way Transit Center, Federal Way.

[NOW: The Puyallup pawn shop was Ace Pawn $ Loan, now closed. Comstock is also now closed. I later foundn the new location for most of the scuptures]

I ate lunch at McDonald's and visited Action City Comics & Toys and Al's Music Games Video before returning to Federal Way Transit Center. I took the A Rapidride bus (King County Metro Transit) to Tukwila International Blvd Station and there switched to an F Rapidride bus (King County Metro Transit) to Westfield Southcenter. I visited f.y.e. in that mall then crossed the street to Tukwila Pond Park. I visited Half Price Books, revisited the park (the restroom smelled horrible) and grabbed another F bus to Burien Transit Center.

 

[NOW: That Al's closed when the building burned down. Action City moved slightly due to construction of the new Federal Way light rail station. That f.y.e. has closed.]

There I lucked out: a King County Metro Transit bus had to go to downtown Seattle to relieve a broken bus so the driver allowed on anyone who didn't want to get off along the way.  He did pick up a few more passengers in Seattle before letting people off downtown. It was wild, riding a bus that wasn't on a route; just letting passengers who were heading downtown anyway have a quicker way to get there.

I walked to Pike Place Market and visited First & Pike News and Last Word Books. There were lots of people congregated around the fishmongers but still managed to get in a shot of Rachel the Pig (metal hoofprints crate a path to her). I also visited Golden Age Collectables and BLMF Books and bought DVDs from Holy Cow Records (which seems to be phasing out DVDs) before leaving the market.

[NOW: First & Pike News has closed. The main fishmongers is Pike Place Fish. Rachel is a giant piggybank.]

I visited Zanadu Comics before heading to Seattle Center; along the way I saw the giant popsicle statue, Cinerama (which is playing Ant-Man which I hope to see upon my return), and the Chief Sealth (Seattle founder) statue which I also saw yesterday. The International Fountain was still closed. It usually reopens the Wed before the torchlight Parade though. I ate dinner at Quincy’s at the Seattle Center armory before dropping stuff off at the hostel. Some trouble with the keycard reader. I walked to Pacific Place where I got photos of the scrap metal penguin and visited Barnes & Noble. I returned to the hostel by way of the popsicle sculpture, Cinerama, and Regrade Park.

[NOW: Zanadu Comics, that Barnes & Noble, and Cinerama are closed. That penguin is now at University Village. Regrade is an off-leash dog park.]

Pacific Northwest Trip 2015 Day 9 Monday July 20: Seattle, Lynnwood, Everett, Marysville

LAST UPDATED: December 20, 2025

This is the 9^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2015 trip to Portland, Seattle, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

I "slept in" until after 6 am this morning. I walked to Pike Place Market with Rachel the Pig (giant piggy bank). Around this time I realized I had overlooked one store in Ballard but that's okay: I want to do the Fish Ladder again one more time so I'll fit it in somehow. I walked to Washington State Convention Center. One escalator set that used to be for everyone is now only for event people but the other is still available to the public. I crossed over from the center to Freeway Park, which is, yes, a park built over a freeway. The fountain that's usually off was actually working this time.

[NOW: The hostel I stayed at was City Hostel Seattle, which appears to now be closed. The convention centre is now Seattle Convention Center.]

I wanted to see if money I put into my ORCA card before the trip had successfully transferred so I went to a machine at Westlake Station, Downtown Transit tunnel, but it didn't give a balance. After a quick second visit to Pike Place Market, I returned to the hostel for breakfast.

I took an E Rapidride bus (Metro Transit) to Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline. It arrived late at the Center partly due to construction and a connecting bus left slightly early, but soon after I was able to get a Swift bus (Community transit) to Heron Station in Lynnwood. I got some DVDs from Half Price Books in James Village and then took a 196 bus (Community Transit) east to the new location of Silver Platters (this branch used to be in the north end of Seattle). I walked to Alderwood Mall and took photos of fountains and the horse statue outside before getting DVDs at f.y.e. I took another 196 bus back to near Heron Village and then took another Swift bus to 4th Station in Everett. I hiked to the Half Price Books across from Everett Mall, not seeing any bus along the way. After visiting that I hiked some more before catching a 7 bus (Everett Transit) to downtown Everett.

[NOW: Alderwood Mall’s f.y.e. is now closed.]

Everett Comics was gone and a bridge on Broadway was being heavily renovated. I ate lunch at KFC. I walked to Bargain CDs, which has been having a half off sale as long as I've been going there.  I didn't get those DVDs but did get some 99c ones. I also got DVDs at Buy & Sell Video. After getting a Slurpee from a 7-11, I took a 202 bus (Community transit) to Big Kmart in Marysville. I bought some DVD sets; some sets were packaged together. In fact I changed my mind about one when I realized I could get it in a package with two others for the same price. I took a 201 bus (Community Transit) to Everett Station in, yes, Everett, and then took a 512 bus (Sound Transit) to Denny Way in Seattle.  I hiked to Seattle Center.

[NOW: Everett Comics proved to just be moved, not closed. However, Buy & Sell Video and the Big Kmart in Marysville are now closed.]

At the Seattle Center Armory I learned that the police were just because there were two separate events re: Take a Bite Out of Seattle (day and night) and at the transition the International Fountain closed for cleaning which continued today. I had dinner at the McDonald’s across from Seattle Center (it has four poles with balls: baseballs, basketballs, footballs, soccer balls). I returned to the hostel to store my purchase (at least what I could still fit in my locker) and started laundry. I  went to the looked out at Bell Street Pier, briefly returned to the hostel, visited the off-leash Regrade Park and Dan's Belltown Grocery, returned to the hostel to switch clothes into the dryer, and walked to Olympic Sculpture Park.

At the entrance is a fountain with statues that is called Father and Son but since the man and boy are facing each other nude, I tend to think of the statues as NAMBLA fodder; I don't think anyone’s being fooled. Also there is a new giant head called Echo and a giant ampersand on a pole called Love and Loss, among other art pieces. Part of it was closed for construction but you could still see all the art pieces. I then returned to the hostel to retrieve my laundry.