For someone who has spent her entire life on the east coast of the United States I have a strange fascination with the other side of the country. I went to Vancouver at the end of college for a conference and was instantly hooked by the dense forests and the spot where the mountains meet the ocean. Just standing between such vastness in two different ways has a connecting effect on my soul. I feel complete. I feel in awe, it’s just beautiful. And this past summer I got to experience it again when I added Washington and Oregon to my list of states, states 29 and 30 respectively. I’ve sure done a lot of traveling since going gluten free…

Packing of course included the typical food necessities. I try to pack something fresh (fruit), something dense (granola), something sweet (trail mix with dark chocolate and bars), something salty (crackers), and protein (tuna fish and string cheese). 

We spent out first day and a half in Seattle. My husband and I arrived late in the evening, so the first night was spent meeting our friend at the hotel and going over what we would do the next day. I was giddy to finally be back on the west coast and to be traveling with a friend for the first time. In the morning we snagged the last deviled egg at the abysmal continental breakfast, picked up our car, and headed into the heart of Seattle. On the way there we made a few tourist stops to Gasworks Park and Kerry’s Park to get some iconic photos of the Seattle Sky Line:

It is certainly worth it to make these stops if you want some great skyline photos. It is even more enthralling if you know you’ll be climbing one of the mountains in the background the next day.

Next up on our agenda was filling our bellies with good delicious food. After parking on Alaskan Way we found ourselves wandering first into Copperworks Distilling Company. If there is one thing we had found out about Seattle in our planning it was that they love breweries and distilleries, and when in Rome do like the Romans. Right? I wasn’t going to pass up the option to try some local brew. Luckily I was able to try the majority of their whiskys and flavored vinegars, and they were a good wake up call for the day ahead.

Gluten Free Brunch at Ivar’s in Seattle

For brunch we settled with the famous Ivar’s Acres of Clams, a restaurant who has been serving up great quality (and mostly local) seafood for over 75 years. They get super bonus points because most of their dishes are also gluten free. We had our brunch on the patio overlooking Elliot Bay. The servers were gluten free knowledgeable and friendly. In addition to the Acres of Clams, which we of course had to order, we also treated ourselves to the fried calamari and seafood cocktail. Although the clams were smaller in size everything was mouthwatering and fresh, and served rather quickly. There were a few great touches that made the dishes unique as well, such as the fried spinach chips that accompanied the calamari. Certainly check Ivar’s out if you are in Seattle; there are several other locations throughout Washington state you can visit as well.

With our bellies full we began our tour of Seattle. First things first, a tour by water. We found the tour, by Argosy Cruises, to be a very fun and informative way to learn about the Harbor. It was about an hour long and gave a good over view of the harbor’s history, the skyline sites, and the geography itself. After this we made our way to the spot I was looking forward to the most, Pike’s Place Market. I could have spent my entire time in this market. Lavender lemonade, huge bundles of sunflowers, locally made jams, homemade gluten free pastas, stands of meat, small thrift stores full of dusty books and old voter pins, dried fruit logs, tea shops full of bagged and loose leaf teas, freshly caught fish ready to be throw at your face (you can wait for them to sing a song and toss some fish) and local produce. It was a foodie, and gluten free, heaven. We stocked up on some fresh fruits for our next few days, and some other assorted jams and teas before heading out. Well worth the visit! Visit the Gum Wall under Pike’s Place market for a quirky (although minty smelling and somewhat nauseating if you really think about it) addition to your visit.

Legendary Pike’s Place Market Sign and entrance

Gorgeous flowers.

Gum wall, complete with posing tourists. Mike and James couldn’t tolerate the smell. 

We used an iconic mode of transportation, the Seattle Monorail, to get to Seattle Center for the remainder of the day. The Experience Music Project Museum (EMP) took up the majority of our time with it’s exhibits on Indie games, horror films, fantasy worlds, Looney Tunes, Nirvana, Sci Fi props, and Star Wars costumes. Some of these are long term exhibits, while others were touring (like the Star Wars one).

Two of the original C3PO and R2D2 Models used in Star Wars.

Dalek used in Doctor Who, part of the Fantasy and Sci Fi exhibit. 

I love an experience that utilizes all your senses, so this was a great place to visit. Afterwards we tried to get into the Space Needle for a 360 view of Seattle, only to find out the next tour was well beyond our window of availability. So, we took this fantastic photo instead:

Terrible quality, but great faces. We made the best of not being able to go up.

Next up, dinner. The pick of the evening was Capitol Cider, one of Seattle’s 100% gluten free joints. That’s right: 100% gluten free. Not a crumb of gluten in anything on their expansive food and drink menu. PHENOMENAL. This means the staff all know what they’re talking about when they speak our gluten free language, and your food is COMPLETELY safe even if a staff member or cook is having an off day. Like bad food reviewers Mike and I got the same dish, something we often try to avoid, but who can honestly pass up the opportunity for completely gluten free fish a chips. The portions were small but the food was crisp and flavorful. With our fish and chips we had a flight pairing, including a pepper cider. Very strange, but rather good paired with the dense food. For our dessert we had a great vanilla Crème brûlée topped with locally picked berries. As an added bonus the atmosphere was incredibly inviting and had the vibe of a pub filled with locals. You can even participate in some games nights, drawing nights, or hear some local music while you munch on your gluten free goodness.

We ended our night with me falling asleep in a fried food and cider bliss as we made our way out of Seattle. Tomorrow we were onto something that was looming in the background our entire day: Mount Rainier.