The AAO returns to the Pacific Northwest May 18-22 for its annual meeting in Seattle (Fig. 1). Here is JCO's yearly preview of restaurants, events, and attractions in the convention city.
Although May is one of Seattle's driest months, rain is always a possibility. Evenings are cool and days mostly pleasant, with an average high of about 65ºF.
Transportation
Taxi fare from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to downtown is about $35-40; a shared van from Shuttle Express costs $28 each way. Both cabs and shuttles can be found on the third floor of the airport garage. The Gray Line Airport Express bus, which departs from the baggage-claim level, is only $8.50.
Some rental car companies pick up customers on the first floor of the garage, while others have courtesy vans; check at the appropriate counter in the baggage-claim area. Considering the availability of taxis, AAO shuttle buses, and Metro Transit buses, however, you probably won't need a rental car unless you plan to travel outside the city. Local buses are free in the downtown waterfront area. A monorail runs between the downtown Westlake Station (Fifth Avenue and Pine Street) and the Seattle Center, and a vintage trolley connects the waterfront with Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District. Note that the bicycle-riding police are known to issue citations for jaywalking in any area other than Pike Place Market.
Attractions
Pike Place Market (Fig. 2), overlooking Elliott Bay just a few blocks from the Convention Center, is one of the most delightful areas of the city. One of the oldest farmer's markets in the country, and celebrating its centennial this year, it's full of fish and produce stands, craft and gift shops, and street musicians. Don't miss Pigs on Parade, a display of more than 150 life-size, decorated fiberglass replicas of the market's piggy-bank symbol, at Western Bridge. Tickets for Seattle Food Tours, sampling the wares of either Pike Place or the neighboring Belltown area, can be purchased online at or by phone at (800) 979-3370. There's a visitor information booth at First Avenue and Pike Street.
The Seattle Center (Fig. 3) is anchored by the city's most famous landmark, the Space Needle (observation deck open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon Friday and Saturday). The 74-acre park, a remnant of the 1962 World's Fair, contains many other attractions, including Paul Allen's Experience Music Project. Designed by Frank Gehry, this quirky museum (closed Mondays) honors local native Jimi Hendrix and the history of pop music. Also in the Seattle Center are the Children's Museum, the Pacific Science Center, and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Downtown Seattle and waterfront at night. (Photo: N. Bratslavsky, Dreamstime.com.)
Produce stalls at Pike Place Market.
Space Needle and Experience Music Project on Seattle Center grounds.
Seattle commemorates its ancient connection to the sea in the annual Maritime Week, beginning May 10 in the waterfront area. If you're in town on May 12, the Tug Boat Races are the highlight of the festival. The excellent Seattle Aquarium and the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center are both located on the waterfront. Ferries, catamarans, float planes, sightseeing cruises, and charter sailing and fishing boats can all be booked from here. A $36 Seattle CityPass ($22 for children) covers one admission each to the aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tours, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Museum of Flight, and the Pacific Science Center for a nine-day period.
The Center for Wooden Boats, on the city's Lake Union, is a paean to the art of boat building. If you need more speed, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is south of Seattle in Kent. A good place to see real maritime traffic is the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, connecting Lakes Union and Washington with Puget Sound; its visitor center, in the Ballard neighborhood, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and tours are available. Settled in the 1850s by Scandinavian fishermen, Ballard is also home to the recently restored Golden Gardens Park and the Nordic Heritage Museum.
Buildings in the Pioneer Square Historic District, a little south of downtown, date back to the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. Smith Tower, which was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it opened here in 1914, has a 35th-floor observation deck. At the other end of the spectrum, an Underground Tour is a good way to get a taste of Seattle's history by exploring its subterranean passages. If you prefer touring in World War II amphibious vehicles, you can Ride the Ducks around the city.
The Seattle Art Museum (Fig. 4 ) opens an expanded downtown branch for its permanent holdings on May 6. The core of its collection, however, is the Seattle Asian Art Museum, featuring temporary exhibitions of Chinese paintings and Buddhist art during the convention. The museum also operates a nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront at Elliott Avenue and Broad Street.
Other significant area museums include the Bellevue Arts Museum, the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, the Frye Art Museum, the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, the Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park, the Museum of History & Industry, and the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art.
The Woodland Park Zoo celebrates Inter-national Migratory Bird Day with a Festival for the Birds from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 19. Or you can watch the artificial variety from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the annual Cascade Warbirds Fly-In at the Museum of Flight. Aviation aficionados will also want to take the Future of Flight & Boeing Tour at the mammoth Boeing assembly plant, 30 miles north of Seattle.
Other out-of-town highlights are the Rhododendron Species Foundation Gardens in Federal Way, south of Seattle, and the Bloedel Reserve wildlife sanctuary on Bainbridge Island (advance reservations required), accessed by ferry from the waterfront.
In less than a quarter-century, Washington has become the second most important wine-producing state in the country, next to California. Most of the grapes are grown in the east, near Walla Walla, but there are a few wineries in the local Puget Sound appellation. For information on tours and tastings, check www.winesnw.com .
“Hammering Man” greets visitors to downtown Seattle Art Museum (remaining photos courtesy Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau).
Restaurants
Top restaurants in Pike Place Market include the elegant Campagne and its bistro offshoot, Cafe Campagne; the hot new Steelhead Diner; the wine-friendly 94 Stewart; and seafood specialists such as Cutters Bayhouse, Etta's Seafood, and Matt's in the Market.
Belltown also abounds in notable establishments, including Brasa (Mediterranean), Cascadia (Pacific Northwest), El Gaucho (steakhouse), Flying Fish (seafood), Lampreia (international), Marjorie (romantic), Mistral (French-American), Palace Kitchen (Pacific Northwest), Restaurant Zoe (American), Saito's Japanese Cafe & Bar, and Shiro's Sushi.
Downtown is not lacking in fine cuisine, with restaurants such as Andaluca (Mediterranean, in the Mayflower Hotel), Dahlia Lounge (Pacific Northwest), The Georgian (elegant French-American), Lola (Greek), Metropolitan Grill (steakhouse), Oceanaire Seafood Room, Union (eclectic American), and the ever-popular Wild Ginger (Pacific Rim).
The fare is mostly Italian in Pioneer Square nowadays, with Al Boccalino and Il Terrazzo Carmine heading the list. The adjacent Chinatown-International District, as its name would indicate, specializes in Asian restaurants, including China Gate and Malay Satay Hut.
Ranging a mile or two northeast of downtown are several favorites: Capitol Hill's Crush (American), Geneva (international), Lark (small plates), and Monsoon (Vietnamese); and Madison Valley's Harvest Vine (tapas), Nishino (Japanese), and Rover's (French). Even farther north, in Green Lake, you'll find two acclaimed Pacific Northwest eateries: Eva Restaurant & Wine Bar and Nell's.
Outstanding restaurants northwest of the Seattle Center, near Lake Union, include Boat Street Cafe (bistro) in Queen Anne; Canlis (Pacific Northwest) and Daniel's Broiler (steakhouse) in Lake Union; La Carta de Oaxaca (Mexican), Le Gourmand (French), Ray's Boathouse (Pacific Northwest), and Volterra (Tuscan) in Ballard; and Chiso (Japanese), Ponti Seafood Grill, and 35th Street Bistro in Fremont.
Performing Arts
The 33rd annual Seattle International Film Festival, one of the world's largest, runs May 24-June 17 at the Seattle Center. Also at the Center are the Seattle Opera, presenting Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme, May 16 and 19; the Intiman Theatre, performing Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, through June 2; the Seattle Children's Theatre, featuring Cheryl L. West's Addy: An American Girl Story, through June 10; and the Seattle International Children's Festival, with performances by companies from around the world, May 14-19.
Other dramatic productions during the AAO meeting include Stephen Temperley's Souvenir, at ACT Theatre (next door to the Convention Center), and The Who's Tommy, at the Village Theatre in Issaquah. Teatro ZinZanni is a three-hour aerial spectacular, like Cirque du Soleil with dinner. For a more conventional dinner-show, try the long-established Jazz Alley.
The Seattle Symphony features one of America's most stunning sopranos, Renee Fleming, in a special, one-time performance on May 17. In the reverberant St. James Cathedral, which celebrates its centennial this year, the Medieval Women's Choir presents River of Red, with music by Hildegard of Bingen, on May 19.
Galleries and Shopping
Seattle is the most important center for glass art in the United States, thanks to the work of Dale Chihuly and his disciples. The focus of activity is the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, an hour's drive north of the city; tours are available May 15-22 for groups of at least 10 people. Prominent glassblowing studios in the city include Art by Fire, Glasshouse Studio, and the Seattle Glassblowing Studio (with an attached restaurant and espresso bar).
Seattle is also noted for its gallery scene, centered around Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. The more interesting locations include Carolyn Staley Fine Japanese Prints, Flury and Company (Edward S. Curtis photographs of Native Americans), Kobo (Japanese and Northwest art), The Legacy Ltd. (Northwest Native art), Northwest Fine Woodworking, and a number of outlets for regional contemporary artists: Gallery IMA, Gallery Mack, Lisa Harris Gallery, Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Stonington Gallery, and Woodside/Braseth Gallery.
The major high-end shopping malls in the downtown area are Pacific Place, Rainier Square, and Westlake Center.
Sports and Recreation
Safeco Field, on the waterfront south of downtown, opened in 1999 as the home of the Seattle Mariners. The Los Angeles Angels visit May 16-18, followed by the San Diego Padres May 19-21. The WNBA's Seattle Storm play host to Houston on May 19 and Phoenix on May 23. Soccer fans can watch the Seattle Sounders take on the Rochester Raging Rhinos on May 18.
The top public golf club in Washington is Gold Mountain, with its spectacular Olympic Course and complementary Cascade Course. Take the Bremerton Ferry across Puget Sound to reach Gold Mountain or another highly rated layout, McCormick Woods. On the Seattle side of the water, the most acclaimed courses are Avalon in Burlington, Classic Country Club in Spanaway, the Golf Club at Newcastle (Fig.5), Harbour Pointe in Mukilteo, Kayak Point in Stanwood, Lake Spanaway in Tacoma, Snohomish Golf Course, Trilogy at Redmond Ridge, and Washington National at the University of Washington.
City, lake, and mountain views enhance two 18-hole courses at Newcastle.
Outdoor enthusiasts can rent kayaks or canoes only minutes from downtown at the Northwest Outdoor Center on Lake Union. To reach kayaker's heaven, however, you should drive 80 miles north of Seattle to the San Juan Islands, where you can also arrange nature tours and whale watching through San Juan Safaris. Northwest of Seattle, opposite Vancouver, B.C., is the rugged Olympic Peninsula, renowned for its hiking, cycling, fishing, and boating. May is the peak season for fly fishing, and the best in the state can be found along the Yakima River, about a two-hour drive southeast of Seattle; for fishing packages with expert guides, contact Red's Fly Shop.
