Seattle Washington Temple

The Temple

My 51st Temple, February 2023

 

The Seattle Temple is located in Bellevue, Washington (2808 148th Ave SE).  Our daughter Lizzie auditioned for and was selected to perform in the All Northwest Choir in Seattle.  We were excited, not only to hear Lizzie sing with the other amazing singers from Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, but also to get to attend the Seattle Temple!  We had never been there before, and this was my 51st temple.  The temple is located in a beautiful residential area.  It is large, and I admit that I did get lost a couple times trying to find my way around inside.  I was surprised that the Celestial Room wasn't bigger, because of how large the temple is in general.  It reminded me a little bit of how the Provo Temple used to be, because of the escalators that we could ride from floor to floor.  The temple workers were cheerful and helpful, and we had a very peaceful experience in the temple.  My favorite part of this temple is the stained glass windows on the front, especially lit up at night.

The Trip

Whenever we visit a temple, we know that we will not likely be in that city every again, so we try to visit the major attractions in the area while we are there.  We flew into the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on a Friday afternoon, and flew home early Sunday morning.  So we really only had one full day in Seattle.  We flew into the Seattle airport, then rented a car and headed to our hotel.  I was really glad we rented a car so that we had the freedom to move around easily, anywhere we wanted to go, but the down-side of that was paying for parking absolutely everywhere we went (including at our hotel).  Still, if I were to do it again, I would definitely still rent a car.  

We stayed at the Hilton Bellevue.  It was less than fifteen minutes away from the temple.  After checking in, we changed our clothes and then headed to the temple.  We arrived very early, so had lots of time to sit and ponder in the chapel before attending our Endowment session.  Afterwards we went to eat at the STK Steakhouse, which is also in Bellevue.  This was perhaps the most expensive meal that the two of us have ever had (including when we went to Italy!), so keep that in mind when deciding where to eat dinner!  But the food was amazing!  They serve very large portions, so we probably could have shared a meal.  After dinner we enjoyed walking around the Dining District of Bellevue and looking at their beautiful lit-up trees.  The whole time we were in Seattle, it was cloudy, sometimes misting, sometimes lightly raining.  I had brought an umbrella, but I never used it.  I'm one who really enjoys sunshine, so I don't think I could live in Seattle long-term, but I didn't mind the clouds and rain for a couple days.

Saturday morning we went to Pike Place Market.  We used the PayByPhone app to park on the street and pay for our parking.  In the morning we only had to pay $.50 for an hour of parking.  We were also able to find a spot very close to the pier and Pike Place in the morning.  In the afternoon parking wnet up to $4 per hour and available spots were further away.  We walked around as the shop-owners were setting up shop, and ate breakfast at Lowell's.  You could choose to sit on the second floor and order and be served by a waiter, or to stand in line and pay ahead of time, then sit on the first or third floors to eat.  We chose the latter option, ordered our food, and then went up to the third floor and sat by the window.  We enjoyed a view of the water while we ate a delicious, and very generous breakfast!  That is one thing I noticed about food in Seattle -- they serve very generous portions!

After enjoying breakfast, we headed to the Space Needle.  I had made reservations beforehand on the get-your-guide website, but we could have just bought tickets at the Space Needles because there was not any waiting when we arrived.  Our tickets cost $73.50 for two adults.  We paid $18 to park in the parking lot right next to the Space Needle, just a couple minute walk to the entrance.  Our reservation was for 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and we arrived just after 10 a.m.  We redeemed our vouchers for tickets and then got in line to ride in the elevator!  The wait was not long, only about twenty minutes.  My grandson Krew Facetimed me while we waited in line and then wanted to stay on the phone and watch while we rode up the elevator!  Inside the elevator, we all faced outward where the doors were glass so we could see Seattle as we ascended to the top of the Space Needle.  The observation deck is 520 feet above ground.  I am terrified of heights, but I knew that I needed to experience the Space Needle while I was in Seattle!  My husband James is also pretty nervous about heights, but we did OK riding up in the elevator since we were surrounded by so many other people.  Once out on the deck I needed a few minutes to gain the courage to go outside where the wind was blowing.  We did manage to go outside and sit on a bench for a quick picture, but then headed straight back inside!  Meanwhile, we saw kids leaning back against the glass for a photo -- much braver than I am!  We walked around inside the observation deck to see all the views of Seattle.  Then we went downstairs to the revolving glass floor.  I was handling my fear of heights pretty well until then!  I only got within a foot of the glass floor, but that was about all I could take and I quickly escaped back up to the observation deck!  It is very amazing that they have a glass floor 500 feet above the ground - but I'll admire it from a distance!  The ride back down the elevator was enjoyable, although I didn't stand too close to the window.  I would say that the Space Needle was one of the highlights of my trip, a must-do in Seattle, and not something that I need to ever do again!  :)

Afterwards we were right next to the Monorail, so we paid $14 for two round-trip tickets and rode the Monorail for a short 2 minute ride each way.  It was fun to see Seattle from that viewpoint, so it was worth the money.  We headed back to Pike Place Market after that and did a little bit of shopping.  We decided to wander up and down the streets near the Market to find a place to eat lunch.  We ended up choosing Doner Box, which served Greek fries and German kebabs.  It was delicious, and once again, way too much food for me to eat!  On the way back to the car, we encountered a homeless man who asked if he could have our leftovers.  We gladly shared with him and he was very grateful.  I observed quite a few homeless people on the Seattle streets.  We also saw some street performers, including one who was playing an electric violin.  The streets reminded me of the streets of San Francisco -- so steep!   

Next I wanted to take our car on a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, but we learned that the ride would take a couple hours round trip, and we didn't have that much time left before Lizzie's concert.  I looked into harbor cruises, but the shortest one I found was one hour and we worried that we'd be cutting it too close.  If we ever go back to Seattle, I will definitely do the one hour Harbor Cruise with live narration.  We headed to the Hyatt in Bellevue for Lizzie's All Northwest Choir Concert.  If I were to go back to Seattle, I would stay at the Hyatt because it is right in the heart of the dining district and has a large parking garage attached.  Students from six north-western states performed a beautiful concert in the grand ballroom at the Hyatt.  After the concert ended, we walked around a bit before deciding to eat dinner at Joey's, right beside the Hyatt.  This was my favorite meal of the trip!  Their prices weren't too outrageous, and the food was heavenly!  Try their mashed potatoes -- they resemble egg rolls, but creamy, delicious mashed potatoes are inside!  We wandered around a bit more, walked across the sky bridge, enjoyed the lit trees, and then headed back to our hotel for an early night because we had to get up at 3 a.m. to drive back to the airport and catch our 5:50 a.m. flight!

Lizzie was in rehearsals most of the time, but she did manage to do a little bit of sight-seeing, including to Pike Place Market where she visited The Gum Wall, which has been around since 1990.  Apparently people started sticking gum on the wall and since then countless people have added to it.  I think it may be OK that I missed seeing that local attraction! :)

This was one of my favorite Temple Trips.  I felt like even though we had only a limited amount of time in Seattle, we were able to enjoy a peaceful night at the temple and still see the most important sights the next day.  If we weren't so terrified of heights, we would have tried out the Seattle Great Wheel at Pier 57.  But we'll leave that to the more adventurous visitors!  The cloudy, rainy weather was the only draw-back to this trip, and even that was only a minor nuisance.  I may not ever see Seattle again, but I loved it while I was there!

The Hyatt Regency had a DeLorean parked right in front, just in case we wanted to take a trip back to the future...

our very bountiful (and expensive!) meal at STK Steakhouse

one of the sky bridges in the Bellevue dining district

our daughter Lizzie was touring with her school and came across this fun new friend

they also visited "The Gum Wall," which I cannot even fathom!  Apparently it began in 1990 and has just continued from there...

view of the water from Pike Place Market

The Great Wheel in the background on Pier 57, where those not afraid of heights can catch a ride

Breakfast at Lowell's

view from Lowell's in Pike Place Market

view from the Space Needle observation deck

the steep streets of Seattle reminded me of San Francisco

we only lasted long enough to snap a couple photos, and then we were back inside!

The Space Needle

under the Space Needle

The revolving glass floor -- look at Seattle below!

view from the Space Needle

view from inside the elevator heading back down the Space Needle

the Monorail

view of the Space Needle from the Monorail

Monorail Man  :)

this is the only BigFoot that we spotted while in Seattle, other than on lots of socks, shirts, and other merchandise that we could have purchased

tasty kebab and greek fries from the Doner Box

the beautiful lit-up trees of Bellevue

As part of our admission ticket to the Space Needle we received this complimentary photograph that we could choose different backgrounds for.  I chose all the backgrounds.  :)