After a summer of mostly staying in Los Angeles – which has been full of cool activities and lots of great food – I am off on another trip, this time to the jewel of the Pacific Northwest: Seattle. I’ve been to Seattle several times before, but always for a specific purpose. There were three weddings, a bat mitzvah, some other meetings with family or friends who lived in the area. As a result, I’ve never really been a tourist there. Sure, I’ve been to Pike Place Market, and I’ve seen the Space Needle (although I can’t recall if I’ve been to the top), but that’s pretty much it from a city boasting some truly awesome things to see and do. Well, it’s time to rectify that situation.

Thanks to the amazing generosity of Visit Seattle, I am coming armed with a Seattle CityPass, which I am utilizing to the fullest. This pass, which retails for $115, is getting me more than $200 worth of activities. But I also have some other things planned that aren’t part of the pass.

I’m staying in an Airbnb near Sea-Tac airport, and will be utilizing Seattle’s light rail to make my way from there downtown, where the majority of the attractions are within a few miles. If you look at the map below, there are two basic clusters of things, coinciding with the two attractions Google maps decided to highlight. The Space Needle sits next to Chihuly Garden and the Museum of Pop Culture. The Seattle Museum of Art – which I will not be visiting on this trip – marks the rough location of Pike Place Market and the Seattle waterfront. My lodging is well to the south of where the map ends, along the orange colored light rail line.

So with all that in mind, here is my basic itinerary for the trip.

Day One – Burbank to Seattle

A direct flight on Alaska Airlines from Burbank gets me in just before dinner, so I’ll check into my Airbnb, get some groceries, and settle in.

Day Two – Baseball Day

Did you know I’m a huge baseball fan? Well, I am, and today the Seattle Mariners are hosting the Texas Rangers, so I’m going to catch the afternoon game at T-Mobile Park. This will be my eleventh baseball stadium, as far as I remember.

Day Three – Downtown Part 1

Morning coffee with Stacia of Stumble Safari will be followed by Seattle’s famous underground city tour, which takes visitors into the tunnels below the city. Then, after lunch along the waterfront (perhaps Ivar’s since their salmon chowder haunts my dreams), I will be spending the afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium, the first of my CityPass attractions.

Day Four – Downtown Part 2

CityPass attraction number two is a morning harbor cruise, which I hope will lead to some awesome photos of the Seattle skyline, and maybe some wildlife spotting in Puget Sound. (After my failure at California whale watching, I am due.) Lunch and exploration at Pike Place Market – while I have been before, it has been years, and having a fish tossed over my head is still cool – will be followed by a couple of meetings here along the water.

Day Five – Uptown

Three more CityPass sights await me today. First is Chihuly Garden and Glass, a cross between a glass art museum and a botanical garden that I’ve been wanting to see for years. Then I’ll head up to the top of the next door Seattle icon, the Space Needle, for bird’s eye views of the city. Finally, time and energy permitting, I’ll do a quick round through the Museum of Pop Culture, which has spectacular reviews. And since it’s included in my pass and is right here, I might as well, right?

Day Six – Crystal Mountain

For my last full day, I’ll be taking a gondola to the top of Crystal Mountain, supposedly one of the best places from which to view Mount Rainier. Weather permitting, that is, which is always a challenge in Seattle. Here’s hoping!

Day Seven – Seattle to Burbank

My morning flight gets me back home by early afternoon, hopefully with some great ideas for stories to write!

So that’s the basic trip. As always, I’ll be posting daily (or almost daily) updates on my Instagram account, so make sure to follow me there. Articles will be coming out starting sometime in August, so also make sure to check for those. I can’t wait!