My husband and I are planning a very quick trip to Washington to look at a couple of boats. The plan would be to pick up the rental car in Seattle and head up to Anacortes. See a boat in Anacortes and another in Bellingham the next day. Drive down to Seattle and see a boat there, return the rental and spend the night at an airport hotel before a flight the next morning.
Any suggestions for a place to stay in Anacortes or restaurants? Also an airport hotel you like?
I’ll bring my raincoat.
Thanks
Ah, the boat search. Glad it’s you and not me. 
I think the market is pretty weak right now, so don’t get sucked into paying too much for something.
We have eaten at Anthony’s a few times, and they’ve been pretty good. As far as airport hotels, there’s plenty within the Marriott and Hilton chain that are fine, no particular ones to recommend.
What type of boats are you looking at?
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Phew, my husband is not into boats!! I agree that Anthony’s in Bellingham is pretty good.
On the way back, if you have time and want to explore a little, you might want to take a scenic route through the Whidbey island. It will involve a ferry ride at the end, but you can drive onto the island from Anacortes via Deception Pass bridge.
For SeaTac hotels, if you are not locked into a specific chain, take a look at the Cedarbrook Lodge. Very cosy with an excellent restaurant on site. Triple pane windows so no jet noise (we stayed there when my husband had an offsite meeting and liked it)! It looks like it is located in a remote forest, not a busy urban area.
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I think we’ve eaten at both Anthony’s in Bellingham and Anacortes. La Conner is a cool little town, also, great restaurants.
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I second the recommendation of stopping in La Conner to eat.
That area is one of the largest tulip and daffodil bulb producers in the world. Depending on the time of your visit, there might be already some daffodil fields in bloom. Tulips usually bloom later, around last week of March-first week or April.
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Thanks for all the replies.
La Conner sounds like a stop I’d enjoy. I’ll need to see if we have time on our way back to Seattle.
@busdriver11 he thinks he wants a down easterner style. He finally bought a boat 2 1/2 years ago after years of looking. It’s a great boat for lounging in the marina but he would like something a little larger. He’s been around boats and his family has owned both sail and power boats since he was a kid. He also worked in the industry when he was in his 20’s. He isn’t going into boat ownership blindly.
@BunsenBurner we have stayed at Cedarbrook lodge previously but my husband would prefer something less expensive. It’s a great airport hotel and we still might end up there.
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We were looking at a Sabre boat for awhile, which is that type of boat, I believe. We decided to get a Ranger Tug instead. Big mistake. Hope he finds the right boat!
He likes the look of the Sabre but they are expensive and they have a lot of woodwork. I like the looks of the Ranger Tugs but that isn’t what he is looking for.
What is your husband doing for a hobby now?
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Those Sabres are lovely boats, and the woodwork is gorgeous.
We bought two forestry properties for a total of 43 acres, and that takes a lot of his time. We call them Middle Earth and the Shire. The Shire is close by to us in Seattle, and we’ve been planting and cutting down trees, making roads, trails, and soon to be landscaping the entry and building a stone fence. Basically traded our big boat for a Cobalt (easy to use and maintain) and an excavator.
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Just got a promotional email from Cedarbrook that they offer 15% off stays in March and April if booked in the next 4 days.
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Thanks, I’ll check it out
My grandsons would be so happy if my husband bought a real excavator.
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I would be so happy if I had grandsons instead of the excavator.
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Sometimes we drop our crab pots and then boat up to La Conner for lunch at any of the waterfront restaurants.
Another favorite is Chuckanut Manor Seafood and Grill in Bow, about halfway between Bellingham and La Conner.
We also like the Rockfish Grill in Anacortes.
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Thanks, I’m making notes of all the restaurants.
We land at 5:30 pm, need to pick up rental and plan to drive to Anacortes. What kind of traffic should we expect? Also somewhere for dinner not far off the freeway?
Leaving tomorrow and back on Friday. Rain is in the forecast, I’m planning on bringing a raincoat and hoping to get by with running shoes.
Anyone fly out of Seattle since the government shutdown? Wondering how long we should allow for security.
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If your flight lands at 5:30 pm, you will likely have your rental around 6:30 pm. I recommend stopping for dinner in the Southcenter Mall area which is close to the airport and on your way north. On a typical workday, traffic out of Seattle going north can be heavy until 7-ish, so after dinner it should clear out, and you can decide whether to take I-5 or the 405 north and then merge onto I-5.
ETA: Duke’s has a location in Southcenter. Not to be confused with the Hawaii Dukes - it is a local mini-chain of several restaurants. Decent seafood, especially good clam chowders.
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Yes, definitely stop for dinner before driving through Seattle.
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Another agreement with dinner near the airport to avoid traffic, and agree with the Southcenter area. Tons of good chain restaurants, though we always end up at the Cheesecake Factory.
Running shoes are perfect, that’s all I ever wear, anywhere. This is an area where people don’t dress up and won’t look twice even if you’re in your paint clothes or covered with mud from working outside, it’s very outdoorsy and nobody cares.
Rain predicted, but who knows. They’re wrong all the time, and it might not rain much where you’re going. Most of us don’t even use umbrellas, just rain jackets.
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@mom60 Don’t keep us in suspense! Are you the proud owners of a new boat? Did you get snowed on in MARCH? Trapped in an epic traffic jam? Fattened up with some dungeness crab cakes or halibut and chips? Sample some local dispensary fare maybe? 
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They might be stuck in Seattle if they were flying back today!
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