A. Alene Anderson Law Offices
Ms Anderson helped me prepare my will, healthcare directive and various other legal documents. We communicate via email most of the time and I only need to go to her office for signing the final documents. Overall I find the process to be a brisk and easy to understand. However, Ms Anderson has a tendency to type some of my beneficiary's and my name wrong, so you might need to pay extra attention to that area.
Frye Art Museum
This musuem is located in the First Hill area of Seattle. Free admission and free parking make it a great attraction for downtown visitors. It has a very nice gallery of 19th century European and American paintings. I also enjoy their frequent exhibitions on contemporary painters and photographers. Adjacent cafe has a good and creative menu with low price (relatively).
PROS: free admission and parking, nice cafe menu
CONS:
The Center for Wooden Boats
This place is on the shore of Lake Union and has quite a lot of classic wooden boats from different countries and time periods. They also rent out some of their boats to the public. Boat workshop (to conduct boat crafting lessons) as well as sailing lesson are offered. I find their information center to be very educational.
Remlinger Farms Incorporated
This farm in Carnation is only open in season (from May till October). It has mini train rides, a petting zoo, a U-Pick farm and harvest festival when in season. It also has an on-site farm market which has good produces, jam and honey at a nice price. The big "in-season" calendar near the entrance of the market tells you the best time to buy a specific kind of fruit.
Fuurin-Oka Futon & Breakfast
Fuurin-Oka is a Japanese style bed and breakfast located in Bainbridge Island. It is only 10 minutes from the Winslow ferry terminal (20 minutes ferry ride from Seattle downtown).
The hosts have traveled and lived in many countries and are interesting to talk to. They prepare a delicious Japanese style breakfast using local materials and stuff from their own garden.
The b&b is in a separate house away from the hosts residence. It features very authentic Japanese dcor. The Japanese bath which overlooks the attached Japanese garden is a relaxed place to end a day.
This is a great place to spend a weekend away from the city.
PROS: serene, solitude environment; delicous breakfast
CONS:
Snapdoodle Toys
This store is located in the Canyons shopping center in downtown Redmond. It is right next to the Ben Franklin Crafts store. It carries good quality toys from the major manufacturers like Thomas, Lego and Playmobil. One thing I really like about this store is that they stock the usually hard to find Playmobil accessories in bulk. The accessories are cheap to get online but shipping will add up a lot to the final cost. Buying local for this kind of accessories make a lot of sense. Price is ok for this store.
Pike Place Fish Market Inc
This is a nice place in Pike Place Market to bring tourists to. The seafood selection is interesting to browse, and the must-see is the fish throwing show put up by the guys who work there. Since they are at the prime location (just next to the Pike Place pig statue at the entrance), they are guaranteed a crowd. The seafood quality is ok but the price is pretty high.
PROS: fun place to be
CONS: expensive
Boehm's Homemade Swiss Candies
This candy manufacturer is located near downtown Issaquah. It also has a retail store opened to public. The main building is a European-styled chalet and there is also an adjacent Swiss chapel. You can sign up for a tour of the complex. The candies are yummy and they sometimes have samples for would-be buyers to try.
Uwajimaya Deli
This large Japanese grocery store in the International District of Seattle is a one-stop shopping place for Asian goods. It has a large variety of Asian produce, snacks, microwave food, condiments, sauces, tea, etc. The seafood department has 6-7 different kinds of live oysters plus geoduck. The attached food court has good varieties but the food quality is not that high. Gift department has a lot of Japanese dining ware and cooking utensils for sale.
Hau Hau Market
This grocery store is located on the east side of the international district. It has a good selection of produce, canned food, meat, etc. Price is similar to Viet Hoa, and cheaper than Uwajimaya. However the place is a bit run-down and parking (in the underground garage) can be tough on weekends.
PROS: price
CONS: place is not tidy
