So I moved to Seattle

There's a lot more lakes than that around here. What kind of fish were you trying to bother, DevilStick?

DevilStick wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
DevilStick wrote:

Not to derail the thread, but does Seattle have any freshwater lakes nearby? How far in terms of a drive from the burbs?

I will be flying out to Seattle in the next couple of weeks for job interviews, and have been following this thread with interest.

Lake Washington is right next to it.

Excellent, thanks. I also see Lake Sammamish a little to the East of Lake Washington as well.

Muahahaha, our next assimilatee!

There are also mountain lakes that can drive out to- there's a decent number less than an hour away, depending on which burb you're counting from.

Methinks a group field trip to REI will be in order while you're here.

Oh, and I'll just leave this here for you.

IMAGE(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/alternative_energy_revolution.jpg)

Garden Ninja wrote:

Since tomorrow is a shorter day, driving-wise, I probably will stop off a bit more often to really enjoy that "opening cutscene" as clover put it.

It's boring, so the only thing I can offer for the first half of the drive is context. You're now in the most fertile farmland in the country; all that volcanic action and glaciation (and no Dust Bowl here) gave us amazing topsoil. You'll also see a lot of irrigation- there's almost no dry farming here, unlike the plains and the midwest.

There's also lots of record-setting stuff: largest US water reclamation project, one of the world's largest hydro plants, the world's first plutonium-breeding reactor, and (consequently) the biggest Superfund site. Your mid-20th-century federal tax dollars at work!

Once you're into the reclamation area (there will be a sign) you just keep dropping down until you're at the river. There are signs for the Gorge if you want to check it out, otherwise there are a couple scenic turnouts before you get to the bridge (look left for the wild horse sculptures). Mind the winds once you get close to the river; the gusts can be really strong, especially while you're crossing.

The climb up from the river is the notorious Vantage Hill. It's not hot enough to worry about your radiator, so just do like you did in the Montana foothills. Ellensburg, right after that, is a good place to eat and get gas.

Other than that, just enjoy the wild geographic extremes you get to cover in five hours. And don't forget to look up after Mercer Island, before you go into the I-90 tunnel.

Wave as you drive through the east side of the state this morning.

Also, if you decide Seattle isn't the place for you, here's a nice real estate option away from the bustle of the city. Perfect place for an International Goodjer Day gathering next year.

momgamer wrote:

There's a lot more lakes than that around here. What kind of fish were you trying to bother, DevilStick?

All of them. But with noise/waves rather than hooks. I have a wakeboarding boat I'd prefer to use in freshwater.

My wife and youngest daughter are avid tennis players - we've learned that Bellevue has an indoor/outdoor tennis facility so between that and the two big Lakes I think we're gravitating towards the East side of Seattle.

I'm still early in the process, but it at least helps to have an area to go scout out when I fly over for interviews.

clover wrote:

There are also mountain lakes that can drive out to - there's a decent number less than an hour away, depending on which burb you're counting from.

Methinks a group field trip to REI will be in order while you're here.

Heh heh. I think we'd definitely go visit those lakes, but probably without hauling the boat up there.

It would be nice to have easier access to the mountains for hiking/camping, etc. It's a four hour drive to the mountains where I am today, though I at least have easy access to a couple of Lakes.

DevilStick wrote:

All of them. But with noise/waves rather than hooks. I have a wakeboarding boat I'd prefer to use in freshwater. :)

Lots of great wakeboarding water on the east side of the state if you like to get away for the weekends. My wife works here so during the summer I'll drive up and fish all day on sundays, then pick her up after work for evening wakeboarding. Really nice on the lake when it's 90+ degrees and sunny all summer.

DevilStick wrote:
momgamer wrote:

There's a lot more lakes than that around here. What kind of fish were you trying to bother, DevilStick?

All of them. But with noise/waves rather than hooks. I have a wakeboarding boat I'd prefer to use in freshwater.

My wife and youngest daughter are avid tennis players - we've learned that Bellevue has an indoor/outdoor tennis facility so between that and the two big Lakes I think we're gravitating towards the East side of Seattle.

I'm still early in the process, but it at least helps to have an area to go scout out when I fly over for interviews.

There is a huge watersports community on both those big lakes. For a smaller one, you can also look at Cottage Lake out by Woodinville, but I don't know if there are a bunch of rules and restrictions there about speed/engine size - it's more fishing.

There are a lot more tennis facilities around here, too. I know both Redmond Jr. High and Redmond High School have large courts, as well as Grasslawn Park in Overlake/Bellevue. There's one somewhere in Lake Hills, and one at Downtown Park in Kirkland, but I've never been to them.

What are your elder children into? I can see what we've got around here for them, too.

If you have any specific questions, or want to meet up while you're over here let me know. This is my stomping grounds so I'm far less likely to get lost.

Jonman was right, Skillet is mega good. Get thee to their fries.

momgamer wrote:

What are your elder children into? I can see what we've got around here for them, too.

If you have any specific questions, or want to meet up while you're over here let me know. This is my stomping grounds so I'm far less likely to get lost.

Thanks. Do you work for the Seattle chamber of Commerce?

My oldest is mainly into art and swimming. My assumption is that art studios will be reasonably easy to find all over the Seattle area. For swimming, we'll probably try to find a neighborhood with a pool and/or swim team.

If I come up with any more questions I'll post or PM. At this point I just need to hear back on the dates I proposed.

And... I'm in town with 45the minutes to spare before my meeting with Harbor Steps. Note to self don't go looking for parking in pikes place.

Anyone want to grab dinner and / or a beer later?

Time to change your forum location.

DevilStick wrote:

Time to change your forum location. :)

And done!

Blah, too late for dinner now. How was the waterfront?

Yeah, I realized when I posted that it would be kind of short notice for people for dinner. We could shoot for tonight if people are up for it. I don't really have a preference for where. Downtown would be most convenient I suppose, but I do have my car, so anywhere should be fine if there is parking.

Might be easier to organize by phone / text. My number is 610-368-3993.

I did not get a chance to walk along the waterfront yet. I was a bit wiped / frazzled from 5 days of driving, so I just found a hotel, got some dinner (some excellent Pad Thai from Pho's Express on Yessler) and crashed for the night. I'm going to check it out this weekend though.

Congrats and welcome!

Get a chicken sandwich at Lowell's.


gregrampage wrote:

Congrats and welcome!

Thanks!


I'm in my apartment. My stuff should be arriving next week.

I realize this may be a long shot, since I don't know any of you that well, but is there anyone who would be available to help me move in? A lot of the boxes I could do myself, but the furniture would be way easier with at least one person. I can provide pizza and beer.

I need to schedule with the complex and with ABF. I was hoping to do it Tuesday evening.

Checking back in on this thread since I'm visiting Seattle with my girlfriend next Tuesday and Wednesday on my post-bar holiday. Does the collective have any recommendations on pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods worth checking out? I saw numerous restaurant recommendations, but what's good to see in 36-48 hours there? I'm even happy to accept that touristy thing you recommend to friends when they come visit.

Thanks

Scaphism wrote:

Checking back in on this thread since I'm visiting Seattle with my girlfriend next Tuesday and Wednesday on my post-bar holiday. Does the collective have any recommendations on pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods worth checking out? I saw numerous restaurant recommendations, but what's good to see in 36-48 hours there? I'm even happy to accept that touristy thing you recommend to friends when they come visit.

Thanks

Seattle in general is really pedestrian friendly, but for a short trip with only enough time to check out one neighborhood, I'd check out Ballard. There is tons of stuff to do downtown as well.

Teriyaki is a huge thing in Seattle (seriously, there is a restaurant a few blocks from where I live with a sign for "Burgers, Fries, Shakes & Teriyaki") so you should get some when your in town. I think that's a city ordinance actually

Thai food and seafood are also big in Seattle. I've seen a bunch of Teriyaki + Burger places. I don't get it.

Second vote for Ballard.

Touristy stuff: Pike's Place. EMP/SciFi Museum. If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

SixteenBlue wrote:

If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

*looks out window*

You joker, you.

Jonman wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

*looks out window*

You joker, you.

Haha, it could happen.

SixteenBlue wrote:
Jonman wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

*looks out window*

You joker, you.

Haha, it could happen.

Stranger things have. Chicago looks to be 72F and sunny all week.

(We do actually wake to the sound of glass recycling every morning. Sigh.)

I don't wake to glass recycling, fortunately.

That snow video is spot on. We had a good time at work during the "blizzard" in January watching people try to get up the hill on Marion trying to get onto the I-5. A surprising number of people actually made, though not without trouble, but the ones that didn't were rather fun to watch.

SixteenBlue wrote:

Thai food and seafood are also big in Seattle. I've seen a bunch of Teriyaki + Burger places. I don't get it.

Second vote for Ballard.

Touristy stuff: Pike's Place. EMP/SciFi Museum. If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

At a coffee shop in ballard now. 30 min ago it was snowing, now it's bright and sunny. Went to EMP earlier, really liked all of the exhibits but sad we missed the Battlestar Galactica one by a week. So far pretty good.

Scaphism wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

Thai food and seafood are also big in Seattle. I've seen a bunch of Teriyaki + Burger places. I don't get it.

Second vote for Ballard.

Touristy stuff: Pike's Place. EMP/SciFi Museum. If the weather is clear take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back.

At a coffee shop in ballard now. 30 min ago it was snowing, now it's bright and sunny. Went to EMP earlier, really liked all of the exhibits but sad we missed the Battlestar Galactica one by a week. So far pretty good.

If you like board games check out Card Kingdom/Cafe Mox while you're in Ballard.

The weather has been insane today.

Welcome to the place Scaphism! Have you already found a place to live?

I think he was just visiting.