Early Summer in Seattle

Even though it is not yet the twenty-first of June, summer time--and with it, tourist season--has officially arrived in Seattle.

If you walk down by the waterfront almost any day of the week you will find at least one, and often more, cruise ships tied alongside the docks readying for the weekly excursion to Alaska and back. This brings literally thousands of visitors into the city's confines on a weekly basis, most of them wanting to see at least something of the city during their short interlude here.

What are the best things to do during a short visit lasting from a few hours to a day or so? I will break this into several posts over the next few days. We will begin today with things to do if you only have a few hours in town either before or after a cruise.

Almost everyone wants to make a visit to the top of the 600+ foot Space Needle, the icon of Seattle's skyline. On a clear day, you can see the magnificence that is Mt. Rainier; the snow capped Cascades and Olympics; the graceful skyline of the city (as seen above); and the marine traffic on the Puget Sound and Lakes Union and Washington. The trip is a little pricy at $14.00 per adult and $7.00 per child, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. Lines may be long on peak days, but not so long that it should dissuade the visitor from taking the glass elevator ride to the observation deck level.

Another can't miss experience is the Pike Place Public Market, though it can take nearly a full day to explore just the Market alone if you want to catch all of the ambience and wonderful shops available to you. Set on a hill overlooking the Sound and well within walking distance of the downtown cruise dock and hotels, you can find anything at the market from wonderful produce to a myriad of local and international cuisine to typical tourist souvenirs. Possibly even more rewarding, though, is the opportunity to just sit back and people watch. Watch the merchants at the fish market tossing salmon and other fish from person to person while filling orders. Watch the children mesmerized by street performers. Watch discerning shoppers making their picks from the produce stands, meat markets and bakeries. And, above all, enjoy watching others who have never been to the market before discover its charm.

Argosy cruises has a number of options for touring the waters surrounding Seattle, ranging from two to six hours or so in length.

These include the generic harbor tour, the Locks tour, Blake Island/Tillicum Village tour and Lakes tour, as well as lunch and dinner cruises on the MV Royal Argosy. With the exception of the Tillicum Village tour, the average length of these tours is 2-2.5 hours and includes sights such as the Hiram Chittenden Locks, Fisherman's Terminal, the Elliott Bay Marina, Lake Union houseboats, the floating bridges, and the University of Washington campus--depending on which tour you choose. The Blake Island/Tillicum Village tour is about 4-6 hours in length and includes admission to the Tillicum Village native area, lunch or dinner, and a presentation of First Peoples' folklore and dancing. Prices range from about $25 to $75, depending on the date and the tour chosen. Lunch and dinner cruises require advance reservations, the others do not (though you can make advance reservations on the company's website at www.argosycruises.com and it may be preferable to do so during the busy summer season. You can also find information there on the availability of various specialty cruises such as the Jazz Cruise, 4th of July fireworks cruises and such).

For the somewhat more "adventurous" there is the Duck tour. In this one, you will join fellow travelers in an amphibious craft (also known as a Duck) for a tour on land and water that includes: Downtown Seattle, Pioneer Square, the waterfront, the Aurora bridge, and the waters of Lake Union. Rates are $23 for adults and $13 for children under 12 years of age.

More tomorrow on things to do in Seattle this summer.