My fellow bloggers have recently written about their Ballard and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. So in the spirit of a little friendly throw down, I’m here to talk about the virtues of mine — West Seattle. Autumn at Lincoln Park. Photo by T Wickersham. The oldest and largest of Seattle’s neighborhoods, West Seattle is, according to History Link, “both a peninsula and a state of mind.”  It’s true, we West Seattleites are a pretty proud bunch, and think we live in the best part of Seattle. If you’

Win a Bumbershoot VIP Getaway! Bumbershoot, Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival Bumbershoot, Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival, has been bringing great music, art, and a happy close to summer for millions of festival-goers every Labor Day weekend since 1971.  In fact, this year, the 7 millionth patron will walk through the festival gates — might it be you? Held in the heart of Seattle at the 74-acre Seattle Center grounds, Bumbershoot is North America’s largest urban arts festival. I

Photo by Hayden Campbell. I’ve been blessed to call Vashon Island home since I was in first grade. This means that I have had nearly twelve summers to explore the beaches, woodlands, and lagoons of this picturesque island. Lucky for you, this is the inside scoop on how to spend a day you’ll never forget in one of the most unique locations in Washington. No matter where you are coming from, whether it’s from Port Orchard, Tacoma, or Seattle, you’ll need to catch a ferry to get onto the island

Mount Rainier from Crystal Mountain Resort. Photo by Danielle Decker. It was not quite a year ago that I conquered a major personal goal and stood on the summit of Mount Rainier.  Just recently, I returned back to take an ever more leisurely trip to enjoy the mountain in an entirely different way. Evergreen Escapes. Photo by Danielle Decker. The most excellent day started as I hopped into the shiny sprinter van at my downtown Seattle pick-up location and before I even had a chance to buckle

Looking toward the Ship Canal from Lake Union. Photo by David Newman Undoubtedly, one of my absolute favorite things to do in Seattle is to hop in a kayak and paddle around Lake Union and beyond. With local facilities that make renting a kayak easy and relatively inexpensive, you’ll be off in no time. If you’ve got a hankering to try it out, or if you’re looking for tips to make your paddling experience about as great as it can be, take a look at my Seattle kayaking tips and paddle your way

Justin learned quickly. Friday afternoon, 80 degrees and sunny. Nice! Time to try stand up paddling (SUP) at Greenlake. I pulled my crew together: Justin, who enjoys scuba, mountain climbing, traveling and has taken a surfing lesson.  And Bobbi, who travels extensively in South America and does yoga. We found no hassle parking on the neighborhood streets and took in the lively beach scene. Seattle definitely knows how to enjoy summer. Bobbi changed into her swimming suit at the Community Cen

Port Ludlow. Photo by Kim Edwards. As a representative of Seattle’s tourism industry, I’m constantly challenged to find great group experiences to offer our clients. Seattle is home to many, but I recently discovered one that is quintessentially Pacific Northwest and ideal for a small sales or incentive meeting. Photo: Kim Edwards The Resort at Port Ludlow is a two-and-a-half to three hour drive from downtown Seattle, and not accessible via a major freeway, so  it’s easy to see how it can of

Whenever I fly over a city I like to look down and spot all the beautiful blue swimming pools of different shapes and sizes.  When making my approach over Seattle, I don’t see any.  They’re primarily hidden indoors, but they do exist.  Take Downtown Seattle for example.   Within just steps from the Washington State Convention Center, there lays three absolute gems. The Sheraton Seattle pool is located across the street from the WSCC at 1400 Sixth Ave.  It’s on the 35th floor (the highest in

Nico, Jaspar, Sam, me and Cole. Photo by Lori Magaro. Chances are, if you have a teenage son you worry that whatever destination you choose for vacation you will find him trudging begrudgingly behind you, head down, hoodie up and hands in his pockets. Possibly muttering about how “lame” this place is and wishing he was home hanging out with his friends. Fear not. Come to Seattle and your son (and a couple of his buddies if you can swing it) will be Facebooking and Snapchatting about how you

Photo by Hayden Campbell. It’s game day in the city and you simply can’t decide which bar best suits your pre-function needs. TVs and beer are easy enough to find, but getting the right atmosphere in a venue is a more difficult task. Game day brings with it the exuberance of a street fair and Pioneer Square comes alive. All the way down Occidental Avenue the street gets flooded with food and sports memorabilia vendors. Regardless of the contest, Three-fingered Jack, who is technically

View of Victoria, BC from the Executive House Hotel. Features the Inner Harbor, Parliament Building, Royal BC Museum and historic Empress Hotel. Photo by Kristin Kruger Sometimes, even we Seattlites feel the need to stretch our boundaries and get away for a weekend. Luckily, we don’t have to go far. Seattle is the perfect stage for the 2-Nation Vacation: start out in Seattle then jump the border for a rendezvous with our neighbors to the north. This summer, my boyfriend and I had a dat

View from Schmitz overlook Living in Seattle, you learn one thing pretty quickly: Carpe Sunshine. We’ve been spoiled with a gorgeous summer this year, full of long days of near-perfect weather. Thus resulting in one of my busiest summers ever—with trips around the Northwest and all sort of fun outdoor pursuits. So let’s just say, some things slid a little. Like housework. This past Sunday, as I surveyed my embarrassingly messy home, I decided the day of reckoning had come. The th

Sunset over the Olympic Mountains. Photo by Shari Van Cise Want to know a weather secret?  September is Seattle’s best summer month.  A common observation around here is that summer never really starts in Seattle until after the Fourth of July.  June will tease us with a few nice days but as soon as school lets out the sun plays hooky and the clouds and cool temperatures perform an encore for a few weeks.  By the same token our summer weather, once it does arrive, is slow to go away, lasting

Jonathan Borofsky’s “Hammering Man,” 1991, at the Seattle Art Museum. Photo credit: Spike Mafford Photography. 23 years ago when I moved to Seattle with my husband, who grew up on nearby Vashon Island, I had some inkling of Seattle’s 1% for Art program, since the architectural office where we worked up until our move had  received a commission to reimagine Piers 62/63 on the  Seattle waterfront. Even in those days when the City of Seattle’s Public Art Program was not quite

Photo by Joe Decker Let me tell you about a place so awe inspiring and dramatic you could be convinced that you’ve stepped out of this world and into the Promised Land. It was a hot summer day when I made my way from the dusty parking lot just outside of Leavenworth, Washington and into The Enchantments of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Getting here required a trek up a long and unforgiving trail which seemed endlessly vertical and beckoned for me to retreat.   As the weight of my pack had me

After 18 years, and hundreds of NCAA Championships, the pinnacle of college sport is returning to the Emerald City; this December, KeyArena is set to host the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.  Four teams will arrive the week of December 16th, and through all of the pomp-and-circumstance, they will aim to leave KeyArena on December 21st with an NCAA Championship trophy in their possession. Being the sport-enthused town that Seattle is, there is no surprise that all 15,500

Seattle Street Art – photo by: Megan Hooks Chances are if you have visited Seattle in the last 50 years, you have in your possession a photo of the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, a ferry boat, and more recently, a snap of you or a family member in front of, or likely pointing at, the original Starbucks. While all these postcard-worthy shots play a role in why so many love Seattle, they capture just a fraction of what makes this city so special. Seattle Great Wheel – photo by: M

Editor’s note: This post is the first in a series themed to The Travel Effect, a national advocacy campaign created by the U.S. Travel Association.  Visit Seattle is committed to promoting the importance of travel and we remind our hard-working team members with a “Spontaneous Getaways” program. Each quarter, we award one employee a trip of their choosing. We provide the transportation and allocate extra paid time off, they return rejuvenated and sometimes even write about their travel exper

People always ask, “If you had one superpower what would it be?” And if you are anything like me, you answer, “I would fly.” When you are about to partake in an experience like indoor skydiving you aren’t quite sure what to expect. A thousand questions rolled through my head about the logistics of it. Will we be falling off of a sheer cliff? Will there be parachutes involved? Of course, the answer is no, but I had to step inside to find out. Kim Edwards soars at iFLY Seattle. Photo courtesy

Moonlight Ride, by Kevan Atteberry Since my office tower is connected to the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle, I have the luck to regularly experience the great art housed within its walls.  The Center has an impressive permanent collection of renowned artists, with more than 100 works on display. But the Center also hosts a series of rotating art exhibits, so there’s always something new to discover.  The show on view right now is one of my favorites of all time. Why?