Today is the first day of the 2023 mother-daughter-getaway! Mom and I try to take a mother-daughter trip every year and, this year, we are going to Washington. We have been visiting National Parks on our recent trips and we are continuing that tradition with a few other activities mixed in. Mom lives in West Virginia so she flew down a day early to spend the night with me before we left on our trip. This is Mom’s first time visiting Washington so we have a fairly busy few days to explore! We are going to visit Seattle, Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and go to Burlington, WA for a couple cooking classes! 

We drove to the airport this morning, parked, and took the shuttle to the terminal. TSA was insanely busy and backed up with some of the worst lines I have seen in Atlanta for TSA Pre-Check and CLEAR. The lines were moving but slowly and people were being testy. Rude airport personnel and changes to the process didn’t help but we finally made it through security and decided to have breakfast at Gordon Birsch in the A Terminal. Breakfast was your typical airport food, not great and not terrible. We stopped in one of the shops to be sure we had bottles of water for the plane. Soon it was time to board! 

The flight from Atlanta to Seattle is roughly 4 hours 45 minutes. As a loyal Delta Airlines customer, I was disappointed with the service on our flight. We were seated in row 10 (Delta Comfort+) and there was a closet across the aisle from us. The problem was that the stewards ignored our row. We had to get a steward’s attention for them to take the trash. I am not a high maintenance traveler, I enjoy the perks of frequent travel, credit card perks, etc., but I do expect the stewards to make at least a couple passes through the cabin to collect trash. This has been a standard occurrence on the other flights I have taken, especially the ones over 2 hours. 

Disappointing Delta experience aside, our flight was easy and uneventful. The landing in Seattle was smooth and we were soon on our way to baggage claim and the rental car facility. The Seattle airport requires taking a bus ride to the rental car facility. The ride takes about 10 minutes and the buses are frequent. When we arrived at the National car area there was only one car remaining and, rather than waiting for a different vehicle, we took the electric blue Chevrolet Malibu as our wheels for the next several days. I purposely planned our afternoon to have a good bit of open time because 1) we ended up having to change our flights around due to Delta making changes to the flight times and 2) the time difference is challenging to adjust to and having an easy afternoon helps with a smoother adjustment. This open time meant we were able to check out a bakery I have been stalking on Instagram and am excited to finally try in person! 

Deep Sea Sugar & Salt should be sampled anytime you are in Seattle and the shop is open. As a small business, DSS&S is open Thursday through Sunday, so plan accordingly. We ordered online in advance and were able to pick up our cake slices after a short wait in the line. Online pre-orders of cake slices can only be placed the day of pick up. I recommend ordering early in the day to have the best chance of getting the flavors you want. Cake slices are $10 each and you can add to your order once at the counter; we added a couple cupcakes to try. You can also order a whole cake but you need to order well in advance as the capacity for custom cakes is limited and they sell out a month(s) in advance. The menu changes each month with some favorite flavors returning while new, seasonal, offerings join the line up. My only complaint, and this is a Covid remnant, is that DSS&S is to-go only. Pre-pandemic, you could go into the cozy shop and sit down to enjoy your slice of cake. The shop is moving to a bigger location just down the street in October (and unfortunately they are closed for the month to move everything!) so, hopefully, a sit down area will be available again soon. All of that being said, the cakes are worth it. The flavors are beautifully balanced and you can try some unexpected combinations. Who makes a seasonal brown sugar peach cake? Deep Sea Sugar and Salt. The golden cream cake with brown sugar soak, spiced peach jam, cream cheese frosting, and brown sugar oat crumb is a delicious bite of summer. Who makes a London Fog cake? Deep Sea Sugar and Salt. The Earl Grey cake, honey and Earl grey syrup, bergamot mascarpone, blackberry jam, and cream cheese frosting will leave your taste buds craving more. The Earl Grey is delicately flavored, enhanced by the sweetness of the blackberry jam, and the tartness of the cream cheese frosting. The cakes are good enough that I am tempted to fly to Seattle a couple times per year just to bring home (and freeze!) cake slices! 

Next we headed to into downtown Seattle. Mom was interested in the Seattle skyline and quickly pointed out the Space Needle. All the travel books and “things to do” articles highlight the Great Wheel of Seattle. Personally, and Mom agrees, I think the wheel is skippable. It’s a Ferris wheel and there isn’t anything unique or exceptional about it. My advice is to snap a picture, say you’ve seen it, and move on. We arrived later in the afternoon on a Friday near the end of summer and cruise season so it was packed. Pike Place Market is one of the oldest (founded in 1907) and largest (it spans 9 acres!) continuously running public markets in the United States. Pike Place Market is open 363 days per year and is a vibrant and fun place to shop, visit, and eat; just be aware that the price ranges (and value for your money) can vary widely at the market. There is a mix of meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, pasta, jewelry, crafts, art, and everything in between. Visiting the market on a Friday afternoon during cruise season meant the halls were packed and it was difficult to be able to look at things without getting completely separated. We made an obligatory stop by the gum wall … a gross memorial to the millions of people who visit each year and leave behind their chewed gum stuck to the walls on a lower level of the market. Another completely skippable “must see” in my opinion. We wandered the market long enough for Mom to get a sense of things. 

Whenever I visit Seattle, and specifically Pike Place Market, I stop in to see two of my favorite female vendors, Leanne and Sharon. Both ladies are located on the lower level of the market on Western Avenue and you need to make the effort to visit their storefronts. Leanne is the genius behind Leolo Handmade Shoes and Leather Goods. I purchased a pair of custom wingtips from Leanne during my last visit and I get loads of compliments every time I wear them. Leanne’s craftsmanship is unmatched and you get to be the designer of your own dreams in her fun and completely customizable process! Leanne measures your feet and you get to select every aspect of your shoes from leather color, style and design aspects, toe shape, etc. It can take a few months for the shoes to be completed but quality takes time and, I promise you, they are worth the wait! I wear mine all the time to work and probably baby them more than I should (sorry Leanne, they’re just so pretty)! Leolo also has some gorgeous and unique jewelry pieces and other leather goods like belts, laptop sleeves, passport covers, etc. Look for the golden yellow window frame to know you are in the right place. 

I mentioned my TWO favorite ladies at the market and it just happens that their shops are next door to one another. Look for the blue window frames to find Sharon at Eclipse Hat Shop. Eclipse Hat Shop has been a staple in the market since 1949 when Herman Helmun founded the shop. Mr. Helmun turned down requests for apprenticeships from many aspiring hatmakers until Sharon came along. The rest, as they say, is history and Sharon took over ownership of Eclipse Hat Shop in 1996. Sharon’s eye for style is uncanny. She stocks a range of styles, designs, and functions in the shop which is particularly incredible given that she has to place orders months, and sometimes years, in advance! Recently Sharon brought Diego on board to help and the two of them are so much fun to shop with. They’ll take your measurement and help you find the size and style best suited to you. Both are highly knowledgeable and great at helping you style your hat in different ways. You would be amazed at how different a hat looks when you add an accessory or adjust the brim. I’ve bought three hats and a beret from Sharon and people are always asking where I got them! Both Leolo (Leanne) and Eclipse Hat Shop (Sharon) should be on your Seattle must do list (and both are approved by me)!

We were still adjusting to the three hour time difference and decided to eat a late lunch at Lowell’s at the Market which has a waterfront view. The food is standard in flavor, large in portion size, and pricey. Two orders of fish and chips and two fountain drinks cost $50. After a little more shopping, we were ready to get to our hotel which was about 30 minutes from Pike Place Market. I booked the Four Points by Sheraton in Des Moines, WA, because it was significantly cheaper than staying in the city and it’s slightly closer to Olympic National Park. The hotel was clean and appears to be a slightly newer hotel. My only knock is that there is a fee for parking … I know that’s standard in bigger cities but it still annoys me. I will give the Four Points credit and say that they have a lower parking fee than other hotels at $15. 

Enjoying a slice of cake from Deep Sea Sugar and Salt in bed was the perfect wrap to our first day in Washington.