Five Mini-Escapes Perfect for When Seattle is Too Gloomy
Rain got you down? Try these five springy activities
By Michelle Tolfa March 19, 2013
This article originally appeared in the May 2013 issue of Seattle magazine.
1. Blush among the orchids and other tropical flora in the Volunteer Park Conservatory Palm House—kept at a hair-curling 72 degrees with 60 percent humidity. Prices vary. Capitol Hill, 1400 E Galer St.; 206.684.4743; volunteerparkconservatory.org
2. Bake away all traces of winter on sand heated to 140 degrees in the Sand Room at the Olympus Spa. A $35 day pass includes access to herbal hydrotherapy pools, steam, sauna and more. Women only. Lynnwood, 3815 196th St. SW, Suite 160; 425.697.3000; olympusspa.net
3. Immerse yourself in a tropical rain forest among eye-popping lepidoptera in the lush, light-filled 80-degree Tropical Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center. $9–$16, includes admission to exhibits. Lower Queen Anne, 200 Second Ave. N; 206.443.2001; pacificsciencecenter.org
4. Discover the antidote to seasonal affective disorder in the last place you’d expect—a library. Eight Verilux HappyLights now illuminate some of the formerly darkest carrels in the North Seattle Community College Library. Licton Springs, 9600 College Way N; 206.934.3607; northseattle.edu
5. Kick off your rain boots and feel the sand between your toes during a game of indoor beach volleyball at Sandbox Sports. Drop-ins welcome Friday and Saturday nights, $12 per player. Georgetown, 5955 Airport Way S; 206.624.2899; sandboxsports.net
Follow Us
A New Place to Ice Skate by the Water
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington’s dockside rink offers lake views and eco-friendly synthetic ice.
Skating season has officially arrived. There’s a particular joy in gliding—or trying to—on cold days. I always go for the outdoor rinks, especially the ones strung with twinkling lights. It can be so romantic. And this year, there’s a new place to lace up. A 71-foot by 38-foot covered Glice rink is up and running…
Bergen: Finding a Home, Abroad
A trip across western Norway reveals strikingly Northwest sensibilities.
A few months ago, we randomly walked into Wallingford’s Fat Cat Records. Greeting us, face-out by the cash register, was not Nirvana, not Soundgarden, but Peer Gynt Suite, by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Was this a Norse omen, a mischievous prank from Loki? For us, two Seattleites with a trip to Norway on the…
Hives Among the Headstones
Inside a north Seattle project reimagining cemeteries as sanctuaries for pollinators.
In many old stories, bees are more than just insects. They’re messengers—tiny intermediaries between the living and the dead. There was once even a custom in Europe and America known as “telling the bees:” When a family member died, or another significant life event occurred, someone would go to the hive to share the news….
Dispatches from Greenland, Part Two: Nuuk
An insider’s guide to Greenland’s mysterious, overlooked, and charming capital.
Greenland is too vast to take in all at once. Yet a few days in Nuuk—the island’s compact, curious capital, just a four-hour flight from Newark—offer a surprisingly complete portrait. Nuuk changes like the weather that shapes it: by turns wild and polished; intimate and bold. To Northerners, it feels as hectic as Manhattan; to…