<p>Now that our son has moved to Seattle to attend UW for grad school, we will be visiting him for Thanksgiving. My husband and younger son have never been to Seattle before and my eldest sold his car before moving there, so he hasn’t had the opportunity to venture beyond Seattle proper. Does anyone have any ideas for a day trip that would be worthwhile in November that would give us a sense of the beauty of the area?</p>
<p>um at Thanksgiving time we will be lucky if we don’t have a wind & rain storm.
I would maybe take a ferry ride, maybe to Whidbey or Bainbridge Islands. or take a walk on Alki or golden gardens.</p>
<p>Thanksgiving weather, who knows? A few years ago we had several feet of snow and no power over Tgiving, north of Seattle.</p>
<p>A great summertime side trip would be a drive to Vancouver, explore BC and event take the BC ferry to Vancouver Island, you can make a big look taking the US ferry back to Port Angeles and drive back to Seattle from there. That could be a big beautiful adventure in a sunny time of year.</p>
<p>Whistler is north of Vancouver and could be a nice adventure in the summer. You do need a passport or enhanced driver’s license for border crossing. Seattle is only 2-2.5 hours from the Canadian border so it is an easy add-on destination.</p>
<p>This is not too far away:
[Snoqualmie</a> Falls](<a href=“http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/]Snoqualmie”>http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/)</p>
<p>Second trip to Port Angeles and around the coastal area. Second would be back way by Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens. Also trip out to Leavenworth area.</p>
<p>Yes there are a ton of summer & early fall adventures to be had, but it’s hard to see anything in driving rain.
Inside things to do …
MOHAI or Wing Luke history museums.
[Museum</a> of History & Industry](<a href=“Museum of History and Industry — MOHAI”>http://www.seattlehistory.org/)
[The</a> Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience](<a href=“http://www.wingluke.org/]The”>http://www.wingluke.org/)
Volunteer park conservatory & the Asian Art museum at Volunteer Park
[|</a> Friends of the Conservatory Volunteer Park | Seattle WA](<a href=“http://www.volunteerparkconservatory.org/]|”>http://www.volunteerparkconservatory.org/)
[Seattle</a> Asian Art Museum: Visitor Information](<a href=“http://seattleartmuseum.org/visit/visitsaam.asp]Seattle”>http://seattleartmuseum.org/visit/visitsaam.asp)</p>
<p>If you happen to be here on a nice day you might enjoy the
[Ballard</a> Locks - City Attractions - Virtual Tour - Visiting Seattle - Seattle.gov](<a href=“http://www.seattle.gov/tour/locks.htm]Ballard”>http://www.seattle.gov/tour/locks.htm) & while you’re in Ballard [Nordic</a> Heritage Museum: Home](<a href=“http://www.nordicmuseum.org/]Nordic”>http://www.nordicmuseum.org/) or walk over the locks to Discovery Park in Magnolia.</p>
<p>If you are thinking of heading to Mt Rainer, it is a good idea to check road status first.
[Mount</a> Rainier National Park - Road Status (U.S. National Park Service)](<a href=“http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/road-status.htm]Mount”>Road Status - Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service))</p>
<p>If it is not raining too much, a drive through Widbey Island with stops at Deception Pass and Fort Casey is a nice day trip. One can take the ferry to the island and then drive north all the way to the Deception Pass park area and come back via I-5.</p>
<p>If you plan on going to Vancouver BC, make sure you bring you passports. A ferry to Victoria BC is another possibility.</p>
<p>The coastal areas/Hoh Rainforest/Olympic National park and Mt Rainier would probably be too rainy and cold around Thanksgiving to appreciate their beauty.</p>
<p>The Boeing factory tour in Everett is a must see if you have never been on it.</p>
<p>If the rain ruins everything, there are always the Prime Outlets at exit 200, but nothing could get me to go there on Tgiving weekend!</p>
<p>I haven’t been on the Boeing factory tour in Everett but we did go for the 787 rollout.
That reminds me of another museum.
[The</a> Museum of Flight Aviation History, Airplane and Spacecraft Collections, Aerospace Library, Education and Research Center | The Museum of Flight](<a href=“http://www.museumofflight.org/]The”>http://www.museumofflight.org/)
Driving around Thanksgiving weekend just sounds like a horror show to me- but you could have great weather- stranger things have happened.
We are going down to Portland that weekend- but not driving, we are taking the train!</p>
<p>Snoqualmie Falls is a pretty drive from Seattle and not too long. And if it’s been raining, they’re that much more spectacular.</p>
<p>I think Snoqualmie Falls would be very nice for a family outing on that weekend, and not too far to drive. There is a lovely spa hotel there with quite a good restaurant for brunch or lunch. They have Thanksgiving dinner too if you don’t already have plans.</p>
<p>[Seattle</a> Luxury Hotels, Washington State Luxury Hotels, Seattle WA](<a href=“http://www.salishlodge.com/lodge.php]Seattle”>Seattle Luxury Hotels, Washington State Luxury Hotels, Seattle WA)</p>
<p>That site will show you photos of the falls. My H and I went to the falls once on Christmas day and it was fun.</p>
<p>If you want a longer day, come on over to Whidbey Island for the day (where I live now). You can take the ferry, drive up the island, stop for a little lunch, and see Deception Pass at the top of the island. It’s a good day trip with lots of pretty sightseeing, short hikes if you’re interested.</p>
<p>This is all great information. Thanks, everyone, for your ideas!</p>
<p>After the Sno Falls there is a very nice casino nearby.</p>
<p>If you want a coastal drive without the ferries, you might consider going north toward Skagit County - Mount Vernon and LaConnor are both kind of nice small towns on or near the water. If you go further, there’s a nice trip on Chuckanut Drive going toward Bellingham. </p>
<p>If you want to focus on mountains instead of water, going over Snolqualmie pass is good. Were you ever a fan of Northern Exposure, the TV show? You could go over the pass to Roslyn, a semi-cute old mining town where the show was filmed. Roslyn has the most amazing cemeteries I’ve ever seen. Nearby Suncadia Lodge has a great vista and a nice lodge for a meal or just walking around. Suncadia is just over an hour away from downtown Seattle. There could be snow on the pass at Thanksgiving, in which case all bets are off!</p>
<p>As others have said, there’s plenty going on in Seattle too. I like getting to the various waterfront parks for a walk, and strolling around the older parts of town -Capitol Hill and Queen Ann Hill especially. </p>
<p>I’m guessing you’ll stay busy and have a great time!</p>
<p>P.S. Bring warm raincoats with hoods.</p>
<p>Pikes Place Market in Seattle is always a fun time!</p>
<p>There’s also the San Juan Island area that’s accessible by a relatively cheap ferry ride.</p>