Seattle, Washington is a big city, but not huge; more along the size of Denver or San Francisco. Most people know that Seattle is located in the northwest corner of the state, or country for that matter. But many don't realize that it is not on the Pacific Ocean. Seattle is 100 miles inland from the ocean, or 150 miles by way of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.
And like the best of the big cities we like to visit, Seattle has its own unique character. It has a funky, musical vibe, like Nashville, Memphis, or New Orleans. The grunge music scene originated there in the mid-80s, and you can still find memorials for Curt Cobain and Chris Cornell.
Seattle, Washington, also has a collection of some of the most colorful characters you will encounter. A walk through any of the city's many parks will provide you with a view of the hip and the homeless, as well as Seattle's thriving busker scene.
Seattle, Washington, has food glorious food.
It has coffee.
Lots and lots of coffee.
It has rain. The rain in Seattle, Washington is almost a cliche, but on a rare bright sunny day, you can watch the citizens of the city cheering up and coming out to play.
It has the Space Needle and Lake Union, and Queen Anne Hill; all lovely places to visit.
And it has Pike Place Market.
Don't mispronounce it; you will irritate the locals. It's not Pikes Place Market; it's Pike Place Market, as in the market on Pike Place.
If you come down Pike Street from downtown, which becomes Pike Place when it turns at the market, you are greeted with the old Public Market Center sign as you cross Second Avenue. But if you come down Pine Street, you will see the famous Public Market sign overlooking Elliot Bay and Puget Sound.
As you enter the market proper from either end, you will be met by a cacophony of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. As you bounce off the crowds of people slowly moving through the market, all five senses are assaulted at once. From the flower stalls, past the fruits and vegetables to the restaurants and the fish markets, there is no place quite like it.
As a photographer, it is Mecca. The people, the flowers, and the food will occupy me for the better part of a day. On many occasions, I've walked through with my family, and as we finally break through to open-air at the end of the market, they are always (though they shouldn't be by now) shocked that I want to turn around and do it again.
There are many wonderful places to eat there, but if you stop and sample all the wares that are thrust at you as you walk through, you won't be hungry long. Surprisingly, one of our favorite places to eat is a little taste of home. Near the southern end of the market, just across from the seafood tossing vendors at the Pike Place Seafood Market, is Pike's Pit Bar-B-Que. Delicious slow-roasted pork and Brunswick Stew.
And there are several other places we like to eat there, especially when we are ready for one of the rare and coveted seats to rest and refresh.
But that's not how you eat at Pike Place Market. Starting at one end, just walk all the way through, accepting any sample that is thrust your way. There are pastries and bread. There are delicious chocolate-covered Chukar cherries. There is the fruit that tastes like fruit tasted when you were a kid. Ahh, the fruit. Peaches that will bring tears to your eyes. Even living in the peach state of Georgia, I haven't tasted peaches this good in decades.
This is definitely a place you want to hold off on until post-Covid. Crowded doesn't begin to describe it. But, it's not always like that. If you don't like crowds, get there before it opens for a quiet stroll and maybe a conversation with the vendors. Get a taste of some of that wonderful fruit before it gets handled by the masses.
But to experience Pike Place Market in all its glory, visit on a holiday weekend.
You've never seen anyplace like it.