I’ve enjoyed visiting Seattle a few times. Most recently, I decided to tag along on Steve’s weekend business trip to Redmond, which is a suburb city about 26 kilometres outside Seattle. One of the things I like about being a tag along traveller is that you get to explore places you wouldn’t normally set out to visit.
Overall, I give Seattle and area top marks as a tag-along destination. It’s a beautiful area with lots to do. I’ve been a few times and still feel I haven’t explored a fraction of the place.
Home of Microsoft
If Redmond sounds vaguely familiar to you, it’s likely because it is the home of Microsoft. With a sprawling 8 million square foot campus and more than 90,000 workers, it has a dominant presence. I had planned to go to the Microsoft Visitor Center, but as it turned out, it is closed on weekends.
Town Centre
A focal point of Redmond is its town center. A familiar site in many newer American suburbs, the center is constructed to replicate the idea of small-town “main street.”
I spent my first morning roaming through this central shopping district as well as the surrounding area. To be honest, it felt pretty generic, with all the usual stores and chain restaurants.
Halloween
My first day in Redmond fell on October 31. This was my first time spending Halloween in a different city. Throughout the day and evening, costumed children and their parents went from store to store in the town center collecting treats from retail and restaurant staff.
This was new to me. I wondered if kids in Redmond would also go door to door in their neighbourhoods, as is the tradition in my hometown, or whether trick-or-treating here meant visiting shops. In any event, the kids seemed to be having fun.
Tipsy Cow Burger Bar
On our last night, I headed out to dinner with Steve and a couple of his colleagues and we landed at Tipsy Cow Burger Bar, which was packed on a Sunday night. Featuring a robust menu of amazing gourmet burgers, it’s a challenge to choose one. Also be warned, they are huge! Lightweight appetites might do best sharing one of these puppies.
Tippy Cow’s Rockstar Burger: 7oz custom ground grass fed beef patty, brew battered & fried bacon, maple syrup drizzle, Beecher’s Flagship White Cheddar, fried organic egg, caramelized sweet onion, Bibb lettuce, tomato, Tipsy Sauce. A side salad makes it a healthy meal, right?
Rave Run
Redmond is surrounded by lush wooded areas, which were exceptionally pretty for this fall visit. There are also great running trails. The morning before we left (and after that massive burger the night before), we went on a very pleasant run a stone’s throw from the where we were staying at the Marriot.
At one point, we were surprised to see an otter cross our path. Couldn’t quite get the camera out fast enough to get a shot, unfortunately.
Time in Seattle
We had a rental car on this trip because we decided to drive from Vancouver (with a pit stop on Vancouver Island) to Redmond. This meant I had full use of the car while Steve was working. Thanks to Google Maps, I am completely confident navigating U.S. freeways, only occasionally missing my exits. Ah well, travel life isn’t perfect.
I’ve done the gum wall, Pike Street Market, and Space Needle on previous trips, so with a single day in Seattle, I sought out a couple of things I hadn’t experienced.
EMP Museum
I spent a super fun few hours at the EMP Museum, which was founded in 2000 by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. The museum has a heavy focus on the Pacific Northwest music scene, but has other fascinating permanent and temporary pop culture exhibits as well.
Located near the Seattle Space Needle, you can’t miss the Frank Gehry-designed building. It’s a sprawling mass of colourful metal featuring interesting twists and shapes. Apparently it is impressionistic of a smashed guitar. I can kind of see it.
My favourite of the exhibits was Can’t Look Away: The Lure of the Horror Film. It was quite appropriate for Halloween weekend. I’m not a huge horror film fan, but it was interesting to learn about what scares us and why we love to be scared (from the comfort of a movie theatre seat). There was a ton of movie memorabilia and a couple of cool interactive features, including the “scream booth” where you could step inside the sound proof box to deliver your best movie scream of terror. A camera takes your photo and, of course, you can choose to post it instantly on your social media networks. What do you think of my scream face?
Olympic Sculpture Park
After the museum, I ventured over to the Olympic Sculpture Park, which is about a 10-minute walk away. The park is perfect for wandering waterside on a lovely sunny day. Unfortunately, the weather in Seattle the day I was there featured huge gusts of wind, a constant bone-chilling light rain, and brooding grey skies. Oh well, it was still worth taking in.
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That was a better than half decent scream face. Well done.
Thanks, it comes naturally.