Plane to Train Transfer in Seattle

An Easy to Visit West Coast City

Everyone once in a while a travel unicorn will appear.  By unicorn I mean a very rare a magical opportunity where I can extend a trip and save money.  My trip to Seattle was a travel unicorn.  I needed to get to Vancouver to board a cruise to Hawaii with my boyfriend.  However, after playing around with airfare I discovered I could leave a day earlier, fly into Seattle and then the next day take a train to Vancouver.  Our flights to Seattle, train tickets, and hotel in Seattle were all cheaper than just flying into Vancouver.  So we flew to Seattle and added a day to our trip.

Ready to enter the world famous Pike Place Market.

I didn't realize how much I would like Seattle until I got there.  The first thing that struck me as awesome was how easy it was for an out-of-towner to get around without a rental car or taxi.  I booked us a hotel in the downtown area, most of which is a short walk to the light rail.  The end of the light rail line is at the Seattle Airport.  It took us all of five minutes to walk to the airport station without needing a shuttle or other inconvenience, and board the light rail with our luggage.  The lack of turn styles made boarding the light rail especially easy.  Riders simply hold their ticket in their pocket and show it on request (if anyone asks that is).  We got off two blocks from our hotel and walked the rest of the way.

David looks for a beef stick snack at this butcher stand in Pike Place Market.

Since we landed in the afternoon and needed to catch a train at seven the next morning, after checking in we dropped our bags in our room and headed straight to the world famous Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle just a block from the ocean.

The pig is a symbol of the market and pig statues can be found around the stalls and patios.

Pike Place Market is most famous for the fish vendors who toss fish over visitor's heads to move their catch quickly around the market (although for the fun of it too I'm sure).  Beyond the fish mongers, the market is an eclectic collection of produce stalls, candy stores, and quaint restaurants all lit up in neon.  Many of the shops were closing up by the time we meandered past them, making me wish we had more time to wander around the open stalls buying tidbits to munch while we explored the market.  Instead of nonstop snacking in the market due tot he late hour, we settled for some west coast sushi a block away from the market.

The classic neon signs of the market hang over patrons and tourists the length of the market.

After dinner we descended a series of seemingly endless stairs to the boardwalk bordering the shore.  Tired from our travels so far we only had enough energy for a hour's evening stroll on the boardwalk.  Pieces of art dot the walkway, with an occasional pier sporting an attraction.  Everything as cheesy as ferris wheels to as educational as an aquarium can be found on the boardwalk, with more seafood restaurants cluttering around them than I care to remember.  They all seemed to emit a pungent fishy smell.

Artwork and statues are displayed along the boardwalk on the water.

We settled in after our shore side excursion knowing we had the first train out in the morning.  In the morning we could have taken the light rail to the King Street Station, where we would board our Vancouver-bound Amtrak train.  But at six in the morning we were both more than willing to pay the five dollar difference for a town car.  The time we saved taking the town car allowed us a few extra minutes to walk around the exterior of King Street Station after checking our luggage and getting our seat assignment.  

Inside the King Street Station waiting for our early train to Vancouver.

This was the first time I would actually travel somewhere by train (let alone travel by train internationally) not just chug around on a tourist trap for a couple hours before returning to my car.  The King Street Station was everything I imagnined a real train station would be.  It was vast with a red brick exterior and white carved interior that made me think of the early twentieth century.  With the King Street Station as the icing on the cake, I can't think of anything I didn't like about Seattle.

Walking in the early morning light of the King Street Station as we wait for our seat assignment.