Lost in Seattle?

You can always spot a Seattle tourist: they're the ones wandering around town with those bloody Blue Maps, the ones you get at the hotel that cover the area bounded by Elliott Bay, I-5, the stadiums, and Seattle Center. I've always pitied those who rely on them because it means they only see the downtown core and never the real city. It's not the way I travel. Conversely I'm always amazed whenever I see someone with one outside the Blue Map Zone. (In 20 years I've only seen this happen twice.)

Pay attention to the directional part of any street address. In other words, 16 Ave SW is nowhere near 16 Ave NW, or 16the Ave S, 16th Ave E, 16th Ave W or 16th Ave NE. Got that? Street names center around 1st Ave and Yesler. Of course that's also where the street grid bends.

flâneur :: Get off the blue map, discover the neighborhoods. Leave downtown, explore. There's more to Seattle than the stadiums to Seattle Center, the waterfront to I-5. You can get maps anywhere but there's no better place in Seattle than Metskers Maps. Get current with one or both of Seattle's weekly newspapers, The Stranger and The Seattle Weekly. Another way to find out what's going on in town is Seattle Spin, an email newsletter. This is a web site that does much the same thing. How about a Seattle Wiki? Not to mention Seattle craigslist. This is another site about Seattle to help you get oriented.

Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Pressure :: Old Seattle trick for remembering the sequence of streets downtown. First letter of the streets from south to north, two up: Jefferson James Cherry Columbia Marion Madison Spring Seneca University Union Pike Pine

Obviously you're an online kinda person so when you need a cab in Seattle use Taxi Drivers Direct. Snag a cab online!

Whenever possible, take 99 instead of I-5 and I-90 instead of 520. Seattle drivers are wimps compared to Boston (where I lived before moving here). Double parking, crashing red lights, jaywalking, and right turns from anywhere other than the right lane are all no-no's. The one thing I thank the Scandinavian natives for is the Swiss clock-like traffic habits.

I'm always in awe of the Frank Stella painting at SeaTac airport. In fact, there's a lot of art at SeaTac airport. Sooner or later you're going to be stuck there so you might as well know how to enrich yourself as you kill time.