If tent camping is fine, I recommend taking the ferry up Lake Chelan, and camping right on the lake. My favorite is Refrigerator Harbor, which is a 15-minute hike from the Lucerne stop. You may also be able to get the boat to drop you off at Prince Creek; there's plenty of camping there as well.

If you want a roof over your head, there's no need to pay $300/night. There are inexpensive inns, B&B's with value-priced rooms, and last-minute deals to be found on Craigslist.

http://riverwalkinnchelan.com/?page_id=2
http://www.thewellmadebedandbreakfast.com/rooms/

My mom lived in West Germany during the 70s and 80s, so I asked her to write about her experiences with it. This is what she sent to me:

"Early in 1973, I was part of a group of about 30 American students studying near Tuebingen, in then West Germany. One portion of our studies included a trip to Berlin and into East Germany, to visit Leipzig and Dresden. We passed through Checkpoint Charlie on a bus chartered for our group. We were accompanied by an East German guide, who stayed with our group during our entire trip (i.e. we got no "independent" time in East Germany). Our bus pulled into Checkpoint Charlie and stopped; the driver turned off the engine and opened the door. A very intimidating East German officer in a grey-green uniform came aboard the bus. He gathered up the passports and walked slowly through the bus, examining each passport, comparing photographs, looking hard at each student on the bus. It was eerily silent. (We had been prepared for this ahead of time and told not to talk at all unless we were asked a direct question. In addition, we had been warned to take no photographs, nor to even take out our cameras.) After his slow passage through the bus, he took the passports and left. We waited, still silent and apprehensive, until he returned, handed the passports to our assigned guide. When the door finally closed and the driver restarted the bus, the guards raised the bars which let us drive out into East Berlin.

I remember Checkpoint Charlie as a large, walled-in area, felt like a prison yard. We were told some buildings had been razed so that people couldn't overlook the border crossing area. When we next went back to Berlin in February 2009, I was surprised to see that Checkpoint Charlie was just a point on a city street. All the fences and walls were gone; if it weren't for the display placards along the street and the tacky tourist "opportunities" (get your picture taken with someone wearing a military uniform, ride in an East German "trabbi" car) you wouldn't even know it was the site of Checkpoint Charlie.

When we traveled into East Berlin and East Germany in 1973, you were required to exchange West German Deutsch Marks for East German Deutsch Marks at the rate of 1 to 1. I recall that it was a minimum of 5 DM per day. You had to show receipts for that transfer at the official rate, and when you departed East Germany, the East German border officials would compare the purchases you had made against your receipts to ensure you had exchanged enough DM at the official rate to cover what you'd bought. At the same time, you could go into any bank in West Berlin and exchange DM at the rate of 1 to 4. Some of our group did this, but given the strict checks when returning to the West, it meant all those "extra" East German DM had to be consumed in food or drink; you didn't dare buy goods with it. This led to some interesting restaurant meals. The problem was, you'd go in, look at the menu, try to order something, but they would be out of nearly everything. Finally, we learned to simply ask "what do you have to serve today?" I remember lots of big tips, just trying to get rid of the East German DM.

In 1974/1975 I lived in West Germany again, as a teaching assistant for English as a second language in a German school. This didn't pay much, the TAs were paid a small stipend by the German government. Over our spring break week, there was an offer to travel as a group to Berlin for only 25 DM. This included train fare, accommodation and meals. When you're only making 525 DM per month, this was an irresistible offer. The catch was, you had to sit and listen to East German political lectures for several hours each day. I went on the trip, but for our time in the classroom, I had a knitting project which I held in my lap, below the desk and could work on without looking at it -- this was my way of getting something that I wanted out of the time. I don't remember much about the lectures, but I still have the vest I knitted! Taking the train from Frankfurt through East Germany to Berlin was interesting. At each station where the train stopped, the platform was lined with uniformed, armed military personnel, standing with their feet apart, facing the train windows. Looking out was very intimidating. We were forbidden to leave the train at all during the passage through East Germany and the presence of the armed personnel certainly ensured that.

When we visited in the early 1970's, West Berlin was really an extraordinary German city - lots of lights, beautiful city streets, almost a frantic pace. Compared to the rest of Germany, it felt almost like an amusement park. By contrast, East Berlin and East Germany was drab: grey, dull, very little going on in the streets and lots of WWII destruction that hadn't been repaired. The German government poured lots of subsidies into West Berlin; situated as it was surrounded by East Germany, it became a window into the west. At the time, there was a subsidy offered to West German citizens who were willing to move to West Berlin to study or follow careers there.

Returning to visit in 2009, almost 20 years after the Wall came down, I found Berlin to be still an exhilarating city. However, the former West Berlin was no longer the happening part of town. All the cool neighborhoods, fun street life and interesting stores were in the former East Berlin. You can still track the location of the Wall, mostly by a line painted on the street. I remember the Wall being the biggest, most important part of Berlin -- now it's completely gone, but I still found myself looking for its traces. "

Even assuming the passport becomes your primary ID, you will only look at this photo for like *two seconds* on those occasions when you fly, or cross a border, or go to a bar.

Actually, someone else will look at it so you won't even have to.

If you're really worried about having a flattering photo, you could get glamour shots done separately and then tuck a print into the ID page of your passport.

But really, you shouldn't worry because everybody will already know just from meeting you that you are awesome and attractive. Just bite the bullet and get the picture over with.

As a Portlander, I use "PDX" all the time, and refer to some other cities the same way if it's clear in context where I mean (SFO, LAX, DEN...) But I've never run across natives of other cities who refer to their own that way.

One thing to consider, too, is this seems to only be done in print/type. I don't recall anyone ever calling Portland "PDX" while speaking. If I heard that, I'd be more likely to think that they're referring to the actual airport.

I have traveled with the temporary paper license that you print out from your own computer (which is basically a receipt that shows that you renewed your license online - it doesn't have a picture or anything), along with my expired picture ID, and I had no trouble. They were really careful about checking the dates on the temporary license, but ultimately it wasn't a problem (or even an issue).

(Edit to add: the trip that I took with this license was in January of this year, so my experience is pretty recent.)

Yes, but you can't go hunting on the same trip that you bring her along on.

Camping together could be a great opportunity to explore the different ways in which you interact with the natural world. Maybe you can enjoy some time outdoors with her and explain the important role hunters play in wildlife management. Many animal lovers don't understand how important hunting is to maintaining the sustainability of the deer population, for example, by controlling the size of the herd and ensuring they don't exhaust their food supply.

Intellectually, she might be able to wrap her head around this if you take her hiking and enjoy viewing wildlife through binoculars together.

But if you think an animal lover is going to be ok with you field dressing a deer in camp, think again. I guarantee you your girlfriend is not going to abide watching you gut, skin and quarter Bambi. Your goal should be to get her to enjoy nature with you, and understand (in abstract intellectual terms) how you both have different views of the natural world, and the human's place in it.

You believe animals are there to be harvested sustainably for our nourishment. She believes humans should look and not touch. Spending time camping together can help you both better understand one another's worldview, but not if you have dead deer hanging from the trees around camp. She's not going to be able to handle that.

Be sure and walk up and down Newbury Street in the Back Bay. Lots of shops, and it's its own little architectural tour -- about a decade per block, starting at the Gardens end.

Another great place to walk around is Beacon Hill. Here's what you do: get off the T at Park St -- oldest subway station in America. Walk up Tremont Street toward the State House, then left onto Beacon Street between the gorgeous bow-front houses -- many with original panes of purplish glass -- and Boston Common. Don't miss the memorial to Robert Shaw and the all-black 54th Regiment in the Civil War; it's an impressive work by Saint-Gaudens. Continue as far as Spruce Street and turn into Beacon Hill proper. Right on Chestnut, Left on Walnut, left again on Mt. Vernon. Go down the hill to Louisburg Square, where the REALLY rich people live. Right through the square, right on Pinckney, left on Anderson, left on Myrtle, which curves into Revere Street after a couple of blocks. Revere will take you to Charles Street, the main shopping drag; go left, and you'll end up back at Beacon Street at the dividing point between Boston Common and the Public Gardens. If you're pressed for time, just continue down Mt. Vernon to Charles -- downhill always takes you there if you get lost (bring a map).

If you go to the North End, which you should, make sure you start at the Blackstone Block near City Hall. It's not much -- a couple of tiny blocks behind the Union Oyster House, Scott Alley and Salt Lane, but it's the real old Boston street layout. You come out on Hanover Street, which is the main drag of the North End; turn right and cross the stupid wasteland where the elevated freeway used to be (and shiver at the prospect of doing this to Seattle, as many hope for), until you get to the North End proper on the other side. Be sure to check out some of the side streets. Here: up Hanover to Richmond, turn right and proceed to North Street, turn left and go past Paul Revere's House (1680), left onto Prince Street, then a short and a long block to Salem Street. Turn right on Salem to Hull Street, admire the Old North Church (lovely and plain inside), then left onto Hull Street up the hill to the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Revolutionary War-era bulletholes in some of the gravestones. Note the 10-foot wide "narrowest house in Boston" across the street from the entrance at #44. Cruise back down Snow Hill Street, left onto Prince again but only for a second, then left onto Thacher Street, left on Cooper Street, which will take you to Salem Street again. Right on Salem past many shops to Cross Street and the former freeway again, where you can cross back into downtown Boston.

Another fascinating corner that few people ever see is Bay Village, a tiny little slice of Beacon Hill that drifted off south of Boston Common. Just a few streets -- Piedmont, Winchester, Melrose, Fayette -- the last two are the prettiest. Go south from Boylston Street Station (also the oldest in the US -- what's a subway without at least two stations?) on Tremont, left onto Stuart, past Charles, left again onto Church Street into Bay Village.

You can combine these walks easily; downtown Boston is really small.

Aw, of course! It really wasn't like you, so I figured you were probably just having a bad day :)

I appreciate the apology, though. My mom's in the hospital right now and I've been bumming out a bit, and this message just cheered me up a lot.

Thanks and take care.

I know Everett has free parking, though you have to check in with security if you're going to leave a car there for longer than 72 hours. Edmonds also has free parking, but I think whether you can park there long-term is ambiguous. We always used to leave a car there for up to a week when we went hiking on the Olympic Peninsula, but that was back before the Sounder and Cascades services had really taken off.

I'm not familiar with the Tukwila station, but the website says it has free parking too.

"Yakima" was an attempt to phonetically spell their name with Roman letters during contact in the nineteenth century. In 1994, the tribe officially changed the English spelling to "Yakama" to reflect the way it is traditionally pronounced better.

If you want something bright and pretty but not necessarily huge and identifiable from a distance, check out this seller on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TAGSMITH

She makes really beautiful leather luggage tags which close so your personal info is only visible when the flap is lifted, and she makes them in a variety of colors/patterns.

one of the cheapest and most satisfying cabins i've ever stayed in is at alfred loeb state park in brookings, oregon. it's the southern-most park on the coast of oregon, so it'd have to be a long weekend to make all that traveling worth it. the cabins are camp-like but electric-ified and are on the river, so you wake up to nothing but the sound of rocks tumbling.  $39 a night, no tubs, no fireplace.

if you want to be on the ocean but don't wanna drive for 8 hours, i've stayed at the cabins at kalaloch a few times and they're a winner. they're clean and semi-cute, and sometimes you have a neighboring cabin 50 feet away, but who cares - you're overlooking the PACIFIC!  also - you're super close to kalaloch lodge, so you can go get grand marnier marscapone french toast and a pile of bacon without going very far. $140 a night, no hot tub, but it's got a fireplace.

the three bears cabins up in rainier are nearby but super remote.  some of the cabins near rainier are in residential neighborhoods and you get all disappointed when you pull up and you realize you're overlooking someone's backyard.  not these ones - you're in the middle of nowhere and it's delightful.  $160 a night, private hot tub, no fireplace.

i've also stayed at the cabins at beaver creek last year - completely fantastic.  the cabins are right on the river and even though there's four cabins next to each other, the river's so loud that you'll never hear them.  the property is awesome - an ancient moss-covered stone bridge, a creek and river, a pasture full of friendly cows and horses.  they'll lend you a farm dog to show you guide your way on hikes.  it was a quick drive to rialto beach. i don't remember the price, but it was worth it.  no hot tub, gas fireplace and they build you a bonfire every night.

if you like adventure, you can always go rent a fire lookout!  i've always wanted to stay up at desolation peak overlooking ross lake.  no guarantee you'll be alone, but it's guaranteed it'll be cool. as in actually cold. 

and the cabins & yurts at washington state parks are actually pretty decent, though not as remote as you'd like them to be.  i've stayed at a yurt in grayland beach, a cabin at perryginn lake, and a cabin at wallace falls.  all lovely. variable price, no hot tub, no fireplace, but there's a firepit!

Movies at the Capitol Theater. Double feature nearly every week night. If you're there this week, I recommend Summer Wars, the new Studio Ghibli joint.

Drinks at any number of bars:
Brotherhood = hipster bar with incredible happy hour, McCoy's = rock and roll dive bar, Reef = reformed hipster dive bar, Jake's = gay bar + dancing, 4th Ave = Jocks, Vault = White hats, etc

Food is good.
You can get it cheap (Olympia Hot Dog Company, Old School Pizza, Nammy's [$3 homemade bahn mi], Quality Burrito)
You can get it fancy (Basilico, Trinacria, Cielo Blue)
You can get it Asian (every other restaurant in town - I like Thai Pavilion for curry and Angel's for everything else)

If you like reading, you should probably go check out Orca Books, Last Word Books, or Fireside Books.

If you like coffee, you can pick your own poison... Sizizis is an amazing space that is open 24 hours downtown with free wifi and a pretty incredible interior.

You get the idea.

Richard McIver recommends the Four Seas. Although I don't know if he is much of a Bloody Mary man.

It depends what you're into. But here are my basic suggestions: Pike Place Market, Gasworks Park (stop into nearby Ivar's Salmon House for fish and chips on the water), downtown Ballard then out to Discovery Park for a little hike through the woods, and beers and lunch at The Jolly Roger to experience a Seattle microbrewery and damn fine little mahi sandwiches.

Go see a show at The Tractor or The Crocodile and enjoy the shopping and art galleries in Belltown. Stop into the SAM Sculpture Park, then head down the piers to Ye Olde Curiousity Shop and The Aquarium. Take an Underground Seattle Tour in Pioneer Square and enjoy the shopping down there too.

And be sure to visit the Fremont Troll, the statue of Lenin in Fremont, the rocket, and take the Theo Chocolate Tour. If it's summer, catch a film at the Fremont Outdoor Cinema and get some Thai food.

Oh, and explore the International District-go to Uwajimaya and buy lots of Japanese candy. Go to either Green Leaf or Tamarind Tree for lunch in the International District. Get pho or bun. Have fun!

I ALSO would suggest "the Road to Hana", but be sure to allow for an all-day trip, as the road takes four hours ONE-WAY, plus, you need to either have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to complete the loop, OR turn around and drive back. (A map will help.)

But remember there will be sights along the way that will tempt you to stop and explore. So allow all day, and be sure to give yourself time to get home before sunset, so that you recognise the turns and your accommodations.

Do make a trip to the Io Valley. This box canyon is close to the main city on Maui, and features gardens, step steps and spetacular views. It is within 15 minutes of downtown. But you'll want to spend an hour or so at least.

The whale watching trips are entertaining. Be sure to wear sunscreen and sit whenever possible, so you don't fall. Do bring binoculars, cameras and spyglasses. Oh, and a cap and jacket.

The kiak trip onto the whale areas can be thrilling, especially if you haven't taken the Whale institute cruise yet.

I can't recall the tour guide book we used, but it included mileage markers to the sights along the road to Hana, which were extremely helpful. We got a late start, and only got halfway down the road, but enjoyed it. Also, watch for a spur to the left, running down to the surf which is spectacular. That small paved road only runs about a half mile and is worth the side trip!

There's a garden of Eden botanical garden on the road, but you can get the flavor by driving up to the gate. We didn't go in. Pricy admission.

And there's a free arboretum fairly close to the start of "the road", but I was unimpressed. My wife wanted to walk deeper and deeper into the dark glade. That's what I mean by distractions.

And, if you're there on a Sunday afternoon, there is a drumming circle on the south side of the island near Little Man beach, which features a lot of counter-cultural arts type people, painting, singing, dance, drumming, and clothing optional celebration. "Little Beach" is the nude beach on Maui, if that's your thing. Locals can direct you to the parking lot, then you climb over the rocks or barriers to get to the beach and the drumming circle which happens late afternoon/evening. We missed it two years in a row. Bummer!

The sheltered side of Maui features stand up paddling, which might be a challenge. Yes, you can pay for surfing lessons. I would think an inflatable mattress or a boogie board kick board might allow you to pratice body surfing for free.
I paid too much for a surf lesson and learned how out of shape I am and how fit and practiced those surfin' dudes are. Be aware. But it could be a kick!

Quickly, because I'm at work and should be doing other things:

1. I second the Galleries Lafayette suggestion. See my comment under Fnarf's, below.

2. While I was there solo a few years ago, I stayed in a hostel in the Marais district, near Notre Dame. It was CHEAP -- $25 Euro a night to share a room with five other people -- and in a gorgeous 17th C townhouse. I can't remember the organization, but they are in Rick Steve's Paris book, and they had three hostels in the Marais. Most hostels will also have single rooms (for couples) for something closer to $100 a night, if you two want more privacy.

3. Once you're done exploring Notre Dame (which is worth it if you like huge old buildings and imposing sculpture), on the opposite side of the same courtyard is a little archaeological museum where you can see the ORIGINAL ROMAN FOUNDATIONS OF THE CITY. It blew my mind. Much of it is excavated, and you can walk around and look at the original structure of the city square in front of the museum. After that experience, I described Paris as a "palimpsest" -- that is, a surface that is written on and erased, and written over, again and again.

4. If you like looking at old antique-y things, then you should get yourself to the Marche Aux Puces (literally: Market of the Fleas) in the northen part of the city. This is also in the Rick Steves guide. It's the kind of rambling complex of shacks and lean-tos filled with everything from art deco furniture and Italian Murano glass to genuine 13th century religious sculptures. It will put any antique market you've seen in the US to shame. I picked up some lovely early 20th C French prints which are now framed in my hallway. This is an all-day venture -- they have a couple cafes in there, but bring water and snacks, as amenities can be few and far between.

Also, because the Marche aux Puces is on the outskirts of the city, it's quite a bit more rundown and significantly more ethnically diverse than the inner part of the city; I got the sense that this was the "true" Paris of the ordinary Frenchman, rather than the rarified cobbled streets of the Marais.

5. If you're there on a Sunday, remember that NOTHING will be open. Nothing, of course, except Jewish bakeries and falafel shops. In the Marais district, a historically very old Jewish neighborhood, there is at least one fantastic Jewish bakery, where I fed myself when everything else is closed. The Marais is also filled with lots of adorable shops and boutiques, all along narrow cobbled streets with so many 17th C townhomes.

6. For a cheap lunch any day of the week, bring with you a pocketknife and a bottle-opener. Decent wine will run you only a few Euros per bottle, and you can pick up cheese, charcuterie (preserved meats), fruit, and baguettes from different vendors. This makes a fantastic picnic lunch just about anywhere, but especially so in any of the numerous public gardens. Be aware that in shops, you can't bag your own produce -- point to what you want and the shopkeeper will get it for you.

7. Get any decent travel guide for the city, and go do whatever sounds interesting to you!

Hrmmmm. I happen to know of a couple.

Take the ferry over to Bainbridge, have lunch and poke around there, then drive up to the Hood Canal Bridge and go across to the peninsula, drive up to Port Townsend, have dinner there (and preferably stay there - lots of nice places to stay), then drive back around the long way (Bremerton/Narrows Bridge).

My answer would be very different in summer, but my favorite drives mostly are either routes that are closed or very snowy right now.

I'm not normally a "splurge" kind of guy, and I like classic older "boutique" hotels more than steel'n'glass new ones, even if that means fewer amenities. But if I had the money I'd stay at The Russell. It has one thing that no other hotel has -- location. It's right on Circular Quay -- not near it, not within view, but right on it, across the street. http://www.therussell.com.au

I heartily recommend staying in this area, known as "The Rocks", the oldest part of Sydney. There are other choices here, including a not-bad if typically bland Holiday Inn.

The Aussie dollar is kicking our ass these days, so you won't get any spectacular deals like a few years ago (they're just about 1-to-1). But if you look on wotif.com, an Australian-focused last-minute discount hotel sight, you'll find the Russell for $150 a night most nights.

We stayed up the hill a bit in an absolutely charming old pub called "The Australian Hotel" AKA "The Australian Heritage Hotel". ("Hotel" usually means pub in Oz, and may or may not have rooms upstairs.) No A/C (but thick, thick walls), bath down the hall, but a million-dollar view of the harbor and the bridge and the opera house from the private rooftop, for $99 a night. Even if you don't stay here, you MUST visit the pub. Have the kangaroo pizza, seriously. And the Little Creatures Ale.

Or, on the back side of The Rocks, a quieter but fascinating area carved out of the sandstone bluff, the Lord Nelson is supposed to be very charming.

Do not under any circumstances get talked into staying in Darling Harbour, which unscrupulous creeps will try to persuade you is "the harbour", but which is actually a hideous, lifeless, modern monstrosity that completely obliterated any hint of charm in this former warehouse district. Stay downtown, or, if you can find an affordable room, in a lovely neighborhood like Paddington or Darlinghurst.

If you want tips on what to see, just ask! Sydney is amazing!

You might also want to check out Laura Bee, but you may be looking for something more rugged.

Hwy 12, White Pass, or Hwy 2, Stevens Pass, are your best bets. Stevens tends to close before White as it's higher.

If a major storm hits all the passes can shut down for hours or days. In that case, drive south and then head east along the Columbia River.

I've done all three as routes for getting back to Seattle after getting stuck on the other side.

Compared to Seattle, not much, and especially this time of year. All the interesting things I can think of to do in the area tend to start with "leave Boise."

There's a place called Riverfront Park that I think has some pretty trails to walk on. There's a Thai restaurant downtown (Mai Thai) that's okay. You can gawk at the tiny capitol building and visit the Idaho Wheat Commission. The Boise Co-Op is awesome, but unimpressive if you already have a PCC back home. Farmers Markets are done for the year.

Sorry, I really thought about it pretty hard!

Aw, thanks for asking!

What I ended up having to do was this:

The flights were booked through BECU's travel rewards program, so Alaska had nothing to do with it. BECU warned that if we missed the flight and didn't cancel our reservation ahead of time, our tickets would be worthless, but if we did cancel, we could reschedule for $75 each. So, I got on an instant messenger program, and had my Mom in Seattle call BECU and pretend to be me while I fed her information through the IM.

The interesting thing is that BECU travel rewards never contracted with Southwest before, but suddenly, this time, Southwest flights came up as an option. So, we canceled the Alaska flight, and then booked a new flight for Saturday night on Southwest, because Southwest has no penalty fees.

We ended up being able to fly out to the frontcountry on Friday morning, an hour or so after my original flight took off, so it was good we canceled it. Then I was able to call SW and move my Saturday flight to Friday night with no fees, so we got to Seattle that night, only about 10 hours later than planned.

Flights from Boise to Seattle aren't terribly expensive, so being able to reschedule our original Alaska tickets for $75 apiece isn't that much of a savings. However, we can use them for up to a year, and as long as they're with Alaska and for the same two people, we can reschedule them for a different itinerary. So, we don't necessarily have to use them for the BOI-SEA run, and we'll likely use them for a more expensive flight in the next year where the $75 rescheduling fee would be better spent.

If I'd known that BECU had suddenly started letting people use travel points on SW, I would have done that to begin with! So from now on, I will ONLY use SW for those flights home, and if something goes wrong again, it will be far less of a headache.

Thanks again for your advice! We had a great Christmas home here in Seattle, and we're sad to be leaving tomorrow.

I can't say enough about the Guemes Island resort. It's got everything you ask for and is super dog friendly. You'll love it there.

http://www.guemesislandresort.com/

I suggest skipping SXSW for your first trip. You will get better airfare, hotel rates, & won't have to deal with all the pesky annoyances that accompany music festivals. No matter what time of year you go you can see great shows in cool small venues (Emo's, La Zona Rosa, Stubb's, lots of others).

If you go back for SXSW (or Austin City Limits) then you'll know the lay of the land, & have a better chance at dodging lines or catching an afterparty.

Try to get a room at Hotel San Jose. (Impossible during SXSW.)

Recommendation: go out on one of the little boats under the Congress St bridge at dusk. Watch a million bats slowly fly out in search of food. Sounds creepy but it is really cool, definitely not something you see every day.

How about San Diego, CA, or Puerto Rico, or Sayulita? Hawaii may be rainy.

You should reconsider going to Mexico. There's lots of nice safe small family friendly beach towns there. Yes, there's the drug violence but that's along the in drug trafficking routes, not the Jalisco and Nayarit beaches. Oaxaca is safe and really nice but more expensive to get there from Seattle. I go every year to the Pacific Coast and Mexico City and any worries go away as soon as I touch Mexican soil. Great people, great towns, cheap fun and 40 degrees warmer than Seattle.

Anytime. Anywhere.

(I'll be in Seattle late on the 14th)

While there's a lot of cool stuff downtown (Library, art museum, etc), Seattle, like many US cities, is all about the neighborhoods. Spend a day strolling around Capitol Hill, check out Pike/Pine, grab a coffee at any of the coffee places (Bauhaus, Vivace, Victrola - Seattle folks generally only go to Starbucks when travelling), drop in to Toys in Babeland, check out some of the book stores (Twice Sold Tales - pet the cats!, Elliot Bay Bookstore) and record stores (Everyday Music, Sonic Boom, etc), get some cheap teriyaki or pho or sushi, stroll along Broadway, head to Volunteer park and climb the water tower for free views of the city. If you're over 21, do the same thing again in the evening and hop between some fun and quirky bars (Unicorn, Cha Cha lounge and many others).

And that's just Capitol Hill. Modify as desired for U-District, or Ballard/Fremont.

Taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island is also a cool thing to do - one of the things about Seattle is that we're so close to water and mountains here; while the city is just about big enough to have cultural critical mass, you can easily get out of the city to go hiking or skiing or boating. The skyline on the way back - especially in the evening - is stunning.

People without large student loans and whose parents probably have large sums of money.

I think South East Asia is the new spot for unwealthy young backpackers. It's much cheaper, easier to get around, and has that adventurous, exotic flair.