I want to spend every summer in Seattle. Apparently, they spend 9 months out of the year in the rain. But all I saw were sunny skies, warm weather, and the entire population outside enjoying it! We couldn’t get over the volume of cyclists throughout the city, and every park was full of families playing. Our first night in the city, we stayed on a houseboat on Lake Union and kayaked to a dockside restaurant for dinner. I’ve never seen a lake so packed – sail boats and pontoons were out, people were tubing off speed boats, there were a slew of other kayakers and paddle boarders, and every few minutes a water plane would land! I felt like I was kayaking down the interstate!

We started our trip out with a hike on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Ranier. The alpine meadows are beautiful in the summer. Late August, when we were there, you can still see wild flowers, but not nearly as vibrant as earlier in the year. Chantrelle mushrooms were peeking out in the forests, ready to be foraged. I won’t lie – the going was tough. Our feet were all pretty bruised and blistered by the end, and three out of our party of four got stung by bees. But the views were stunning and the company was top notch.

After the hike, we spent three nights back in the city. We rented bicycles and explored the town. There are so many great neighborhoods in Seattle! We got crumpets in Pike’s Place Market (and an apple cider slushie, and biscuits, and macaroni & cheese… we spent a lot of time there), sat on the beach by the lighthouse at Discovery Park, had the best coffee in Seattle in Phinney Ridge (no it’s not Starbucks), ate a brewery in Ballard, layed out by the lake in Green Lake, and explored Gass Works park in Fremont.

After almost three years of marriage and lots of travel together, we’ve learned that we’re not really “attraction” people. We rarely decide it’s worth it to stand in line and pay to go to a museum or to see an attraction. We’re much happier to walk the streets, take in the sights, and let the locals guide us to the best food and drinks. So far, it’s worked out for us. And Seattle has officially been added to our list of places we’d like to live – but maybe just during the summer!

And for any of you who are interested, here’s a guide to gluten free and/or dairy free in Seattle:

Breakfast: Biscuit Bitch. There are a number of locations but we went to the one in Pike’s Place. They only make 15 gluten free biscuits each morning so get there early or go on a week day but it’s worth it! The texture was so good!

Lunch: Head over to Duke’s Chowder House on South Lake Union. They recently won an award for the best chowder in Seattle and 3 of their 4 flavors are gluten free! At least one is dairy free too!

Dinner: Check out McMenamins Queen Anne (in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood). They’ve got a fantastic gluten free burger bun and a separate fryer for gluten free tater tots! They’ve got some fantastic wine and even do a $9 wine flight that come swith at least 1.5 good sized glasses of wine! This is a very homey pub atmosphere with lots of craft beer for your non-gluten free companions.

Dessert: Molly Moon Ice Cream. This place is the best! Seriously! They’ve got 14 flavors daily and always at least one vegan option. I got the vegan coconut chip and it was to die for!