5 Places for the Adrenaline Junkie in Seattle

"If you don't feel like you are going to puke at least once a week, you aren't living life hard enough." - Mother Theresa 

Seattle is full of natural wonders that will get your blood running. You can hike back country trails, ski down mountains, and kayak with whales. If you are the type of person who loves getting your adrenaline rushing and that "Oh shiz, my stomach is in my throat" feeling then we have the list for you. 

Paragliding off Poo Poo Point

Paragliding off Poo Poo Point

Parafly Paragliding 

If you have ever hiked to the top of Poo Poo Point you might have noticed those people strapped to gliders jumping off the mountain. If you have ever wanted to feel like you were a bird and see the Pacific Northwest from an aerial view this is going to be your jam! Takes 2-3 hours from start to finish, tandem flights cost $220.

Skydive Snohomish

Skydiving is not for the faint of heart. The scariest part is willing yourself to jump out of a plane (not usually a good thing). Your brain might be screaming no, but quiet that voice and jump! You'll never experience a feeling like this any other way. Skydive Snohomish has very friendly, trustworthy staff and a great history of jumps that put safety first. Takes 3 hours and costs $225 for a tandem jump.

Sound Excursions 

Sound Excursions hosts a wide variety of events, one of which is white water rafting class IV rapids on the Skykomish River. The great thing about Sound Excursions is they plan everything, including transporting you from Seattle to the landing sight, food during the outing, and a guide for the whole thing! Oh, and you can BYOB too (Shots! Shots! Shots!) Cost is $139 for a nine hour excursion.

Canopy Tours NW

This zipling company located on Camano Island is home to a course of 6 ziplines. If you've never been before this a great starter zipline course, and it doesn't require too much stamina. The walking is all done on forest trails, so it's great for all ages (well unless you are under 12 since that's the age minimum). Plus you get transported to the ziplines in one of these-- COOL. It takes about 2.5 hours and costs $103. 

iFly Seattle 

We all know the weather can put a damper on plans sometimes. This means we have a lot of indoor options for things that are usually outdoor activities. Swimming pools, mini golf, and now skydiving have moved indoors! if you are over the age of three (who has an adventurous toddler??) and in good physical health this is open to you. It takes 1.5 hours and this summer they have a deal that only costs $49.95. 

What do we hope to see soon in Seattle that isn't currently here? Bungee jumping. All we are saying is there are a lot of bridges and cranes in the area...seems like someone should use them for our entertainment.

Seattle's Best Sustainable Restaurants

Remember when we used to eat Cap'n Crunch and Spicy Hot Cheetos and didn't know that they would eventually kill us? Aww, those were the days. Now we have all this evidence (damn you science) that tells us we should probably be eating more like the Flintstones (sans Moonshine, boo, they take away all the good stuff!) and less like Saved By the Bell. And, lucky for us, we live in this awesome place that really takes this seriously. We have lots of restaurants who put organic/local/sustainable/all other healthy buzzwords inserted here at the top of their list of priorities. Double lucky for us that this food usually tastes better. We picked our favorite spots around the city that serve delicious and sustainable food. 

And just for the sake of clarity we will leave the definition of sustainable and delicious here: 

Sustainable: adjective  sus·tain·able \sə-ˈstā-nə-bəl\ involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

Delicious: adjective  de·li·cious \di-ˈli-shəs\ very pleasant to taste

Photo credit: Local 360 Instagram

Photo credit: Local 360 Instagram

Local 360 is a Belltown spot that sources almost all of their ingredients from places within a 360 radius of the city. Recommendation: The fried chicken will make you feel like you can live forever.

Stumbling Goat in Phinney Ridge has an atmosphere that feels like home and ingredients that came from the organic farm around the corner (well not literally, but you get it).  

Homegrown this sandwich shop crafts some legit sammies. Plus they really do make sustainability their #1 priority. Recommendation: Bacon, Egg, and Beechers for breakfast or the BLT for lunch!

Mashiko was the first fully sustainable sushi restaurant in Seattle. Hajime serves up creative, authentic and sustainable sushi in West Seattle and also offers sushi cooking classes! Recommendation: Nami Omakase is a ton of food at a great value.  

Tilth is one of the many restaurants in Seattle you can find a James Beard award winning chef who cooks up mouth watering food. It is beautifully presented and a bit pricey, but you get high end ingredients you don't have to feel any guilt chowing down on. Recommendation: Pan seared scallops

Portage Bay Cafe is not only sustainable, but quite possibly one of the happiest places to eat on earth. Recommendation: 1. Go for brunch. 2. Get the Pancakes or French Toast which will gain you access to the best toppings bar you've ever seen. 3. Go to town. 

Photo Credit Top Left: Mashiko, Top Right: Portage Bay, Bottom Left: Tilth, Bottom Right: Stumbling Goat

Photo Credit Top Left: Mashiko, Top Right: Portage Bay, Bottom Left: Tilth, Bottom Right: Stumbling Goat

Girls Night Out: Brooke Westlund's Fabulous Paint Night

Readers, we love ya, but we have an honest truth for you. If you are paying for those paint nights where everyone in the class recreates Starry Night you are doing it all wrong. Last week we had the pleasure of hanging out with Brooke Westlund, a Seattle abstract artist, in her studio in Pike Place Market and creating some truly unique and beautiful art pieces to take home. 

The whole experience was a perfect 10. Brooke was ready with wine, snacks, and paint stations when the group arrived (she won us over at wine). We grabbed our aprons and started choosing colors for our paintings and then got started! It took about 3 hours from start to finish, but this is at a very relaxed pace; we gabbed and oo'ed and ahhh'ed over everyone's works, which added a lot of time! 

At the end of the night everyone had created something completely unique to their personalities. It was pretty incredible how different they all were. Some did the more geometric style and some did the more circular, bubbly style and all of them were beautiful! 

Even though she is a fabulous artist, we think the part that makes her truly great at throwing these events is her open and friendly personality. She was absolutely one of the girls for the night. We all felt at ease and able to ask for advice on what we should do based on her expertise (and for the indecisive ones in the bunch this was very important). 

Outside of throwing fun paint parties, she also sells some truly rad art. Go find her gallery on Western Ave (we wrote about it when we covered The Backside of the Market) and shop around. There is art for all prices and personalities!

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

This park isn't a new, unknown thing to do in the PNW, but it is a beautiful park that people of all ages can enjoy year round in Vancouver, BC. 

The Capilano Suspension Bridge was first built in 1889 (yep 1889, I definitely wouldn't have walked across this canyon before modern engineering) by a Scottish engineer. He had built a cabin on the edge of the canyon and needed a way across, so he took some rope and some wood and made himself a bridge (people were so resourceful back then). The bridge has had many owners and modifications since then; the bridge you walk across today was built in 1953. 

Now Capilano Suspension Bridge sits in the middle of a huge park and is one of a few attractions you get when you pay for entry (Adults $39.95, Children, $12.00). You not only get to walk across the giant swinging bridge (the thought that you are about to plummet to your death will cross your mind, just go with it), you also get to walk in the treetops on mini suspension bridges and the newest attraction, the Cliffwalk, where adventurers can hike along the cliff face on small walkways that jut out over the Capilano River. 

In addition, the park offers a lot of history in photos and stories in various locations about the park and the First Nations people who are connected to it. And it goes without saying there are places for you to spend additional money (gift shop and a cafe). 

Insider Tips: 

  • In the summer this park is a hot spot. It fills up fast and can definitely impact your happy-time fun levels. Go before 11 AM to have a little more space to explore. 
  • This summer they are also offering "Twilight Rates" if you go after 5 PM. Tickets are 20% off. The sun doesn't set until around 10 PM, so this gives you ample time to explore and save a few bucks!
  • In the winter they drape all nine different species of trees with Christmas lights! It makes visiting the park magical. Walking in the trees filled with twinkling lights will make you feel like you are in a fairy tale! 
  • If you want to avoid the lines and the price tag altogether, Lynn Canyon Park is nearby and also boasts a suspension bridge you can cross for free. Sure, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Capilano, but it is a nice alternative. 
Don't look down!

Don't look down!