Pacific Northwest Roadtrip

<p>OH YES--Agua Verde--try to have some nice weather!!</p>

<p>
[quote]
Walkability Score = 9.5

[/quote]
Except it is all uphill and sometimes in both directions.</p>

<p>Very happy to see this thread in advance of our own Pacific NW road trip a couple of months hence. The UBC info in particular from post #96 was interesting and something I passed along to my S, who is in love with the idea of going to school betwixt mountains and ocean (Midwest prairie syndrome) but has been leery about large schools. I see UVictoria also got one plug.</p>

<p>Anyone hearing of increased interest in Canadian schools this year -- in the Pac NW or elsewhere -- given the cost factor and the fact the conversion rate has gotten more favorable for Americans?</p>

<p>Plus, Canadians are just swell people.</p>

<p>Ah, Seattle - when it snows, walkability goes to 0 due to abandoned cars and stuck buses. :)</p>

<p>If you are visiting SPU, go across the Fremont Bridge and take a walk around the Center of the Universe (that's how Fremont loves to call itself). Fremont is really artsy and has lots of little shops and eateries. Bring your cameras. Go up the Troll Ave and peek under the Aurora Bridge for an interesting photo opportunity. Buy an organic sandwich or a cup of soup at PCC, sit on the bench near the ship canal, eat your lunch and watch the boats and kayaks passing by. If you see a lady in high heels and a long cashmere coat with a really ugly backpack running like a bat out of h*ll towards the bus stop on the corner of 34th, that's me :)</p>

<p>And I think that the Ride the Ducks tours may be already up and running.</p>

<p>Oh my gosh -- I just remembered Maximillian's in Pike Market. Is it still there? Best place for a lazy late Sunday breakfast while watching the ferries appear out of the fog. Yummy brioche and home-made sausage.</p>

<p>Steelhead Diner near Pike Market is doing the 3 course for $30 program during March--you can eat dinner at any one of about 20 local restaurants Sun-Thursday for just $30 each. That might sound like a lot, but these are all places where you would usually expect to pay $50 or so for three courses.</p>

<p>Mombot: Thanks for that tip - I remember eating at the Steelhead diner on a business trip a couple of years ago and it was excellent (but expensive). This makes it a possibility for our trip...</p>

<p>In Ballard ( just north of ship canal)
where you can visit Archie McPhees- and still see some genuine Scandinavians
Ballard locks are worth a trip as is the fish ladder and the English gardens
Best</a> of the Northwest: Seattle Visitors Guide</p>

<p>Any of these places are highly recommended by me- I don't have a big budget so I don't go out to eat a lot, but I have eaten at all of them many times, very affordable but really good.</p>

<p>Mexican- Senor Moose cafe, I sit at the counter at the cafe- I have met the most interesting people- or La Carta de Oaxaca ( where I get it to go, it is usually really crowded- but have a margarita at the bar while I am waiting)</p>

<p>Thaiku ( I used to know the previous owner of - Julias- ,* she had three or so restaurants- she sold the name a few years ago * and she used to carry my D around in the back to show her the kitchen- great space and it hasn't been remodeled much just redecorated- don't miss the herbal drinks- hey you are on vacation)</p>

<p>North Indian- India Bistro ( One of the last Scandinavian restaurants in Ballard was in this space- but the Indian food is really good too- make sure to have the naan and a mango lassi)</p>

<p>Ballard Breakfast</p>

<p>The Dish-& I hear Anita's crepe restaurant around the corner is good.
Anita also has a cart at the Ballard weekend street market.
also breakfast- Hattie's Hat ( just don't go for breakfast after the bars close, cause it is so loud you cannot hear yourself think- however you might sit next to Chris Cornell or better yet, Tim Di Julio ;) )</p>

<p>if you don't mind open seating - Chinook's at the worldfamous Fisherman's Terminal ( just south of Ballard bridge ) is good( kinda loud but fun to look at the boats & the Deadliest Catch boat is in)</p>

<p>I also like Little Chinook's right outside for fish and chips.
Ivar's at the waterfront is OK for fish and chips and you got that touristy snatch your fries away from the seagull thing going on, but if I am at the waterfront I would rather go farther north past the Aquarium and got to Anthonys fish bar- for fish tacos.</p>

<p>or go to the Pike Place Market-
highly recommend in the artist tables- Amesquita, Jose - Luis & Linda- leatherwork and silver handmade jewelry. I think Luis is from Peru, he was the assistant ( main coach- actually- but as it was a school team it wasn't official), for my daughters middle school soccer, he made each girl a silver and leather bracelet, just beautiful.</p>

<p>Recommend Emmett Watson's Oyster bar, in the market
( if you can find it- you can claim you are a native)- I met Emmett a few years ( ok it was eight- he died in 01) ago at Anthony's Homeport on the waterfront.
A true legend- and what a face!</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Watson%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Watson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Well we are back from Seattle - I posted a longer version of this in the 2010 thread as well as did college visit reports - but I will summarize here. All in all, “Well Dad, I’m not going to school in Seattle - and those Oregon schools look really good”</p>

<p>University of Puget Sound - A poorly done info session followed by a weak tour didn’t help. DD did not like the area around campus (too gritty). Campus itself was OK - but not nearly as pretty as some of the others she has visited. Dorms were mediocre. Incredibly nice new science building. </p>

<p>Seattle Pacific University - on the north side of Seattle - pretty neighborhood. Campus is tightly integrated into the community - with small streets running though parts of campus. Not much green space. Built on the side of a hill, steps everywhere. Three mid 60s dorms - terrible, dark, moldy - and one brand new dorm that was one of the best I have seen with huge light and airy rooms. Great cafeteria and a top notch coffee shop (I researched that one personally) School is very religious - methodist heritage but no longer formally affiliated. </p>

<p>Seattle University - very urban campus overlooking the city of Seattle, the school is growing fast and feels overcrowded - also felt somewhat like a commuter campus. </p>

<p>University of Washington was our final stop. I won’t bother writing it a trip report - we got there early and did a walk around campus. Great library building, overall campus is very impressive. Went to admissions where they sent us out on a tour along with 348 of our very closest friends - and one tour guide. After 5 minutes we walked near the parking garage - quit the tour and left. Since UW knew they were going to have that many people it was inexcusable in my mind to have one tour guide.</p>

<p>Despite the less than successful visits, DD has a greater understanding now of what she is looking for. We also had some great father daughter time - and these days that is worth a lot as well.</p>

<p>Oh yes - and the food report:</p>

<p>While on the trip, we ate at a number of places that were simply outstanding – not necessarily right next to the schools but Seattle is small enough that none were more than a 15-minute drive.</p>

<p>For breakfast we ate at two different bakeries that were both simply world class. </p>

<p>Macarena is located on First street, just north of the Pikes Place market. For lack of a better description, it is a “hippy” bakery – with excellent coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, outstanding coffee cakes, and muffins. They also have sandwiches and stuff for lunch but we did not eat lunch. Breads looked outstanding and smelled wonderful.</p>

<p>Bakery Nouveau is a French inspired bakery located in West Seattle – a bit of a drive away but absolutely worth every minute. Highly rated in the Zagat guide and written up in Sunset magazine – and I can see why. They had the best French pastries I have ever had – even in Paris. The chocolate croissant was flaky and filled with warm dark chocolate in every bite. The apricot Danish had a sweet but not too sweet glaze lightly applied over a very flaky pastry. I also enjoyed an excellent cappuccino as well – strong dark roast coffee with a dense frothy foam. We also bought some hot cross buns to go – rave reviews when we got back home.</p>

<p>Lunch on Pikes Place market is a great way to go – dozens of little stalls with great food. Two that we particularly enjoyed were Mee Sum Pastry - a Chinese place with great Pork buns (and a veggie version for my daughter) and Cinnamon Works - a great bakery on the corner – try the pumpkin cookies. </p>

<p>Highlight for dinner was Wild Ginger – a Southeast Asian fusion place – its is on 3rd street, just a block or two south of Pike street. Large place but well divided so that the noise level is not a problem. Extremely popular and again highly rated in the Zagat’s guide. They had a full Veggie menu for my daughter and a great assortment of seafood and other dishes for me. For the appetizer, I had a full assortment of satay to choose from – chicken, beef, lamb, pork – all with interesting sauces. For my main course I had “Princess Prawns” – again with a great sauce. One nice touch – they have two sizes for all of the main courses so that you can order appropriately.</p>

<p>I tried posting this in the college section, but haven’t gotten any bites.</p>

<p>Do any of you know about the environmental programs at Univ. of Puget Sound and/or Lewis and Clark? They are called envir. studies/policy, but they have a lot more science requirements than some other schools programs. </p>

<p>D wants to do Enviro. Science, but I hate to throw these schools off the list because of semantics.</p>

<p>These two are very appealing as they have a high level of diversity and international students.</p>

<p>Karen, Lewis & Clark is very well known for their environmental studies programs both undergrad and at their Law School. I believe many students choose these schools because of these programs.</p>

<p>Many schools offer both degrees in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies. The University Of Tenn Knoxville sums it up pretty well:
Environmental studies and environmental science differ from each other in the amount of science course work needed.
Environmental studies provides a broad base of hard sciences as well as liberal arts or social science coursework.
Environmental science incorporates hard sciences and environmental sciences.
Choice depends upon career focus, for example, administration or policy-making versus technical areas or research.
This said, it seems rather obvious that L&C calls their program Environmental Studies but it really follows the Environmental Science programs many other schools offer. On the other hand Willamette calls their degree Environmental Science and yet it more resembles an Environmental Studies degree. Some colleges offer both the science and studies degree. I suggest your D look at the programs at the individual schools to see which coincides better with her interests. Also look at field work or internships each school offers and search out profs who are doing interesting research. Willamette (can you tell I am putting in a plug for this school :wink: ) just held their Student Scholarship Recognition Day <a href=“http://www.willamette.edu/cla/ssrd/pdf/2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.willamette.edu/cla/ssrd/pdf/2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt; You might check out some of the environmental research projects there. One sophomore won the Udall Scholarship for his work [Willamette</a> Unverstiy | Student Story](<a href=“http://www.willamette.edu/people/students/tucker_mottl.html]Willamette”>http://www.willamette.edu/people/students/tucker_mottl.html). And though Humboldt may not be strong is some areas, it shines in the environmental sciences.</p>

<p>D’s friend, who was very much interested in Enviro programs, had the following PNW colleges on her list: Willamette, Lewis and Clark, and Whitman.</p>

<p>Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.</p>

<p>I have read a lot in the newspaper about environmental science at WWU in Bellingham</p>

<p>I think many NW schools have strong programs in this area. Whitman just scored 3 Udall awards and has a variety of ways environmental studies can be combined with both bench and social science majors.</p>

<p>I am such a big fan of Whitman’s semester in the west program: [Semester</a> in the West](<a href=“http://www.semesterinthewest.org/]Semester”>http://www.semesterinthewest.org/) " Whitman College Semester in the West is an interdisciplinary field program in environmental studies, focusing public lands conservation in the interior American West."
D thought Whitman was going to be too cold so I couldn’t get her to apply there :frowning: but I think it is such a terrific school.</p>

<p>*Great library building, overall campus is very impressive. Went to admissions where they sent us out on a tour along with 348 of our very closest friends - and one tour guide. *</p>

<p>I agree that is ridiculous- I would have left too.
It is a gorgeous campus and some great programs-but so big.
I worked this past weekend with about 30 sophomores from a UW oceanography class ( they got extra credit), on an Earth day project.
They liked the school and as sophomores they were starting to get some smaller classes in their major, but I think for many kids-it would be overwhelming as freshmen.</p>