So Ryan and I flew flew from Houston to Seattle along with Remedy and Vice Versa. It was a lot of travel time, but both girls handled it great. It was Vice’s first flight, and she was fabulous. We flew Southwest, which is my preferred airline for ease of travel and cost. The amount of underseat space for bags is predictable, which I also appreciate. The aisle seats are a little narrower then the others, with the middle seats offering the most underseat space. Since there are no assigned seats, I will generally elect early bird check-in to have more seat options when I fly with dogs.
We arrived late and stayed near the airport. Our first stop the next day was Snoqualmie Falls. This was a pet-friendly spot to stretch our legs. Nearby parking will cost you $7, but we parked just across the street for free. You can view an overlook of the Falls with minimal effort.
There is also a paved hike about 1.5 miles round trip down to the river and back. It’s pretty much downhill on the way there, and uphill on the way back. It’s not too difficult, but it is busy with people and dogs, even when we were there on a Thursday morning. It was definitely a good first place to see what the Seattle environment was like.
Next stop was to Tradition Lake at Tiger Mountain State Park. Turns out you need a special pass (a Discovery Pass) to use this park. Luckily we were able to buy it online in the parking lot, and write down the transaction number and stick it on the dash. The girls enjoyed some more freedom on their long lines, but it was admittedly busier then I thought it would be mid-afternoon on a Thursday. The weather was sunny, which is apparently a big draw in Seattle ;-).
Then it was time for lunch! We headed into Seattle to Norm’s Eatery and Alehouse. They are super dog-friendly, and even have a dog menu. The girls split chicken feet and a peanut butter and pumpkin pretzel. Two paws up!
After that we had to see the Fremont Troll. It is way bigger then you would think — Shelties for scale.
After the troll, we had a couple of beers at Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden, where dogs are also welcome. It was a gorgeous day and nice to sit outside and relax.
We stayed in Seattle at the Belltown Inn, which was super dog-friendly. There was limited grass which was the only real downside, but we made it work. In the morning the dogs slept in while Ryan and I headed to Pike Place market. Turns out I think it would have been fine with the dogs in the upstairs part that we spent most of our time in. I’m sad I didn’t get pics of the dogs with Rachel the Pig, but alas. We did get some amazing cheese at Beecher’s, and some bread and pastries at Le Panier. We also got a couple of sandwiches, which was unexpectedly great planning on our part. We decided to take the Edmunds-Kingston Ferry to Port Angeles, and ended up waiting about an hour for the ferry. Those sandwiches were a lifesaver when I was starving and waiting in line.
We spent two nights in Port Angeles. Our hotel (The Red Lion Inn Port Angeles) was right on the water, and the Olympic Discovery Trail runs right along the water. This was a great way for the dogs to stretch their legs after spending a lot of the day driving. Port Angeles was the perfect base for visiting Olympic National Park. More in Part 2.
