Kubota Garden

Seattle is definitely not short on parks, but Kubota Garden is a different story. It’s special because it’s not actually a park, it’s a garden! Plus, it’s the only one that is a historical landmark in the City of Seattle. This beautiful place was the dream of Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese immigrant from the island of Shikoku. He purchased 5 acres of land in 1927 and started a garden entirely self-taught (which is pretty amazing to us since we can’t even keep succulents alive). Over time features were added, and the garden expanded to the 20 acres it is today. It was always Fujitaro’s dream that his garden would be open to the public and help promote Japanese culture. After Fujitaro passed away, the City of Seattle was able to purchase the garden and make this dream come true. The garden is now maintained by the gardeners of the Department of Park and Recreation.

The park is a beautiful and peaceful place to take a stroll and admire the Japanese architecture. There are a couple of picnic tables for you to enjoy lunch and a handful of benches throughout. Dogs are welcome as long as they are on a leash and the park is wheelchair accessible.

Since no trip to a garden is complete without food (who are kidding…no trip to anywhere is complete without food!), we recommend grabbing some fried chicken at nearby Ezell’s (11805 Renton Ave. S.) or a donut at King Donuts (9232 Rainier Ave. S.).

3 Favorite Seattle Geocaches

Two Seattle geocache locations! Hail to the Chief and Keep Reading

The PNW is one of the best places to be a geocacher. The oldest surviving geocache is located in Oregon and Geocache company headquarters are located in Fremont, Seattle, which has been accurately dubbed "The Center of the Universe."

When we are out and about the city with a few moments to spare we always open our app and see if there are any fun cache locations near by. Don't let us fool you though, we are absolutely amateur geocachers. You can usually find us confused and crawling around like crazy people at cache locations. Sometimes help comes in the form of a hint from the app or a helpful person watching and every once in a while we succeed just on our own skill (Happy dances always follow). We have not ventured outside of the PNW, but have explored Seattle quite a bit, so we decided to share our favorite spots around city. 

Fremont's Chairy Tree

1. Chairy Tree

This geocache is crazy fun to find. It was created by the Geocache Headquarters and their enthusiasm for treasure hunting is apparent at this location. You will feel like a kid again when you finally find it! Geocache HQ has placed some other caches around Fremont, see the others here. 

The gum wall cache is extremely difficult to find

2. Double Bubble Toil and Trouble

This cache is hidden really well, because we have been looking for it for over a year and still haven't been able to find it. But the hunt is half the fun, so we keep coming back and staring for something out of the ordinary sticking out of all that gum!

Searching at the waterfront

3. Mimi's and Papa's 50th

This cache is a favorite because of it's location. Walking to the end of Pier 56 in Seattle, rain or shine, is a spectacle. You can see the ferries coming and going, the ferris wheel in all its glory and shipyards hard at work. After you take in the views, hunt down this cache and sign its tiny logbook (bring your own pen)!

Are you way beyond finding these easy-peasy caches? We found this article, PNW Geocaching Bucket List, full of some more difficult geocaching around the area (the butterfly one looks right up our alley)!

Are we speaking a strange language? It's probably because you aren't geocaching yet! Check out our post on Geocaching 101 for newbies. 

The Gorge Amphitheatre

Calling all Deadheads, Grunge kids, Phish Phans, Swifties, Beliebers, Metalheads, and country lovers. Whatever genre of music gets you going, there is one thing all music lovers can agree on. Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater is THE place to catch a show in the PNW. Located in remote George, WA, (around 2.5 hours from Seattle) the amphitheater sits above the Columbia River at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and offers a beautiful and sweeping backdrop to your concert. It draws big names because the venue holds over 27,000 fans at one time and offers a wide selection of food and drinks for all guests (including Beecher's!). Fun fact: The venue has won a ton of awards for being the best outdoor venue in America (take THAT Red Rocks).

Headed to the Gorge...let the good times roll

Now, a concert venue in the remote desert does come with some logistical problems. First off, you aren’t going to find many hotels close by. In fact, there is only one we know of, Cave B. This spot is pretty sweet because it’s a spa AND winery (why, yes, please), and it’s walking distance to the amphitheater. However, it books up fast especially for big name shows.

Your other option is to camp, which really is what a weekend at the Gorge is all about. Our favorite campground is Wild Horse, which provides shuttles to and from the show, a restaurant/grill so you don’t have to pack all your camping cooking equipment, and free coffee in the mornings (which if you are doing things right you're going to need). You can also camp on the Gorge property. The Gorge offers a tiered selection of camping (including glamping in yurts!), but if you want the main lot, just know it’s a little bit crazier and a little bit dustier than Wild Horse. There is a ton of other camp ground options around the gorge, but they tend to be a bit more primitive and will require someone to stay sober to drive you to and from the show. No drinking and driving. This is important.

John Mayer and Bob Weir crushing it at Dead and Co.

Your options for summer shows are running out as the season wraps up Labor Day weekend with a four night run by Dave Matthews. If Dave isn’t your thing, there are also a few festivals left as well.

Insider tip: Due to the location of the venue, it gets very hot during the day and very windy at night. Pack layers and don’t forget to check the weather! 

The wind farm on your way to the Gorge

Fans

Hidden Gems Seattle: Aurora Avenue

Okay, we know what you are thinking. Aurora Ave? There aren't any gems there, just dirty motels and sketchy car dealerships. Well prepare to be proven wrong. Aurora is one of those misunderstood avenues, like Jack in Titanic. It might seem a little rough around the edges, but once you start to look a little harder you will see it's actually a sweet, kind avenue, with a lot to offer the world. It just needs you to be open to its flaws, which we will remind you, we all have. So we challenge you to channel your inner Rose and look past the occasional scantily-clad woman or grafitti-ed wall and see the hidden gems below! 

The spot for Caribbean food!

Bongos

This brightly colored spot serves up authentic Caribbean cuisine and is being raved about by everyone who sets foot here. You can get sandwiches or plates (served with black beans and rice), and if you are doing it right, you'll sit outside in their beach-y feeling patio and pretend you are someplace tropical instead of Aurora Ave. It's hard to recommend something since everything we have tried is excellent, but you can't go wrong with the citrus braised pork (The Desi), which is a crowd favorite. 

Sky Nursery

We don't claim to have a green thumb, but if we were to invest in garden plants, we would go to Sky Nursery. This place is HUGE and every gardener's dream. Indoor and outdoor plants, gardening supplies and tools, fountains and art...you can find everything you need to turn your backyard into a garden oasis. You should probably grow tomatoes and bring us some.

Donuts galore and Aurora Donuts

Aurora Donuts

This tiny donut shop shares space with a Baskin Robbins (hey, feel free to do double duty, we won't judge!). It has all the standards and a large assortment of donut holes (even filled ones!). But our favorite is the kreme donut covered in powdered sugar and filled with either chocolate or vanilla. Yum.

El Camion

A taco truck in Home Depot's parking lot might seem like a risk, but El Camion has proven itself time and time again to be a go-to stop when you need a quick bite and want a taco. We are big fans of the veggie or fish tacos and don't forget to load up on the pickled veggies at the counter.

The French Dip at Grinders

Grinders Hot Sands 

Sandwich mecca! It's really hard to choose one of their over-the-top, loaded, hot grinders, but you'll be thankful you did. If you have trouble choosing like us, we like to get the SauBall, which combines the meatball sandwich and the sausage grinder (genius). They also have wine, beer, and live music. What more do you need?

Woodland Pizza

Woodfired pizza and an extensive rotating beer list, makes this an excellent choice for a chill night out. We especially like to go on Monday nights when they have trivia (7pm - 9pm) and order the Italian Stallion pizza. If pizza isn't your thing (who are you?!?!), they also have small plates, a great selection of salads and sandwiches. We also recommend swinging by for breakfast to build your own burrito. 

Brightly colored Mendoza's Mercado

Mendoza's Mexican Mercado

This tiny shop does double duty as both a small cafe and a Mexican grocery store. We like coming here for specialty ingredients like pre-marinaded carne asada and Jarritos soda. Don't forget to grab some of the homemade corn tortillas as they are essential for taking your tacos to the next level (oh yes, they are life changing).

Pop Pop Thai Street Food

Chances are you have driven right by this place and never noticed it. It sits in a strip mall/parking lot and doesn't gather much attention, but it's a secret gem that you must, must visit. This Thai street food is some of the best Thai we have ever eaten. We love the grilled chicken, which, we know, sounds extremely boring. Trust us. This dish is bursting with flavor and comes with an incredible tamarind dipping sauce. The braised pork leg, fried rice, and spicy holy basil are also excellent choices.

Than Brothers Pho

This shop only serves pho, and they do it well. The bowls are simple, but delicious and warming and made from a secret family recipe. It is our favorite bowl of pho in the city, and they also get our vote because you get a creme puff for dessert with every pho order.  

Burgermaster

Burgermaster has been serving Seattlites burgers since 1952, which gives them instant Aurora street cred! We love the old school feeling of ordering from your car window and having your meal delivered car-side. Sure, they no longer come along on roller skates, but we respect it all the same. They also only serve local, grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef, which gives them a leg-up on those other fast-food burger joints. 

Central Market Grocery

Central Market 

Is it weird to want to marry a grocery store? This place is the best of the best when it comes to getting your weekly haul. Central Market is a Town & Country Market, which is independent and locally owned and operated. It has the largest produce selection of any grocery store we have ever seen, an amazing deli for grabbing lunch, a huge selection of sustainable fish and meat, and a machine that grinds together peanuts and chocolate on the spot making the best toast spread and our favorite guilty pleasure. 

HT Market 

HT Market is another grocery store we love because it focuses on products from around the world. You can get all kinds of specialty goods from Japan, China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Korea (to name of few) and all at extremely affordable prices. We like to go here for items you might not find elsewhere like the durian fruit, kaffir lime leaves and dumpling wrappers.

The crazy Aurora elephant

Aurora Rental's Elephant

A true roadside attraction right on Aurora. This elephant has been hanging out at Aurora Rentals's for many, many years, and has become somewhat of a landmark. Turns out, you can actually rent this elephant for 10k a day (40k a week...such a bargain!). The only catch is you have to replace it with another zoo type animal while you have the elephant rented. Giraffes or rhinos preferred. No biggie.

125th Street Grill 

Everyone needs a good diner in their life. You know, a place to go to for some "hair of the dog" and a greasy breakfast. We like this grill for their wide selection of omelettes and the pecan cakes for something sweet. They are also open for lunch and dinner, but we prefer going for breakfast and sitting in the lounge. They also have a banquet room just in case your book club meets early.

Interurban Trail Art

We love public art, and the silly sculptures along the Interurban trail near the Trader Joe's in Shoreline at 175th Street really spruce up this part of town. Our favorites are the snail and the horse! 

Fuzzy Buddy's Dog Daycare 

Your pooch needs some love while you are away at work and Fuzzy Buddy's is a great option if you live up north. Not only can your dog have an active social life during the work week ($30 drop-in rate), but they offer dog training classes as well.