Interesting, free museum with a cute children's play area. Enjoyed learning about various aspects…read moreof the US Navy. Noticed that even the Navy makes poor fashion choices.

As a woman veteran I found my welcome less than warm. I was in fact told by a volunteer --…read moreunsolicited -- that he didn't hold with women in the Navy. Too much of a distraction for the men, he said. I can't say I was surprised -- this reception is still common in military museums. I am disappointed, however, with management and with whatever training they have seen fit to provide to volunteers. I live in the hope that those who manage sites like these will someday accord women veterans the same basic respect they give our brothers in uniform. No more, no less.

Not quite worth the effort. A bit difficult to get to, the U.S. Coast Guard Museum is open only on…read moreMonday, Wednesday and Friday. To get there, you can drive onto the Coast Guard base (be prepared to show vehicle registration and current insurance) or there is plenty of off-base parking. You have to enter through the main gate (show ID) and a volunteer from the Museum will pick you up and drive you through the base to the Museum. I almost would have preferred that the volunteer drove me the long way to the museum, because the base itself seem fascinating - with one of the large ice-cutters homeported. According to the website, the ice cutters may be available to visitors, but I never asked and the volunteer never mentioned. The museum itself is a one-room building, with hundreds of Coast Guard items one display, including large models of coast guard ships, the ship's bell from an Admiral Peary ship, items from a captured German trawler, ships wheels, uniforms, etc. Not much in the way of explanatory materials or historical context - but the volunteers are friendly, knowledge and looking for visitors to talk to.

What a gem…read more Maintained by volunteers. No admission and free parking. Director came and got us at the gate and we followed his car from the Coast Guard entrance to the museum. Small. But some very fascinating artifacts. We were the only ones there so we had the full attention of the very friendly and nice Director.

Really enjoyed an afternoon exploring the Suquamish Museum and learning about the history of the…read moreSuquamish tribe in this area. Be sure to check out the video and also the gift shop.

Worth a a visit for the deep history of the area, adds much needed context to the other historical…read moresites/ museums. Suggestion is to start in the conference room/auditorium for a video presentation, then the permanent display, and then the traveling display. We were lucky to see the weavings of Virginia Adams, and the permanent display helped us contextualize many of the names we had seen while exploring the area.

Easy five stars here because of the many flight exhibits (inside and outside) including a 1903…read moreWright Brothers reproduction, WWI planes, WWII planes, various Boeing aircraft, a supersonic Concorde, a Mercury capsule, Apollo command and lunar ascent modules and a space shuttle trainer. The Red Barn area features Boeing's original manufacturing facility, which dates back to 1909. I also enjoyed the reasonable ticket price, the great mass transit access, the nice Wings Café and the first-rate gift shop. Excellent!!!

The museum itself is gem and worth a visit. However we…read moreencountered an unpleasant and likely racist woman at the ticket counter on April 1st. There were only 2 people at the counter. She was on our right and refused to make eye contact and even turned her head away when I looked at her. Another white couple cut in front of us and was helped by the other woman After staring at the other woman on the right for a good 30 sec she turned here head. She reluctantly helped us. Later we discovered she didn't give us some handouts others were given for the Artemis 2 Launch party. This woman shouldn't be working there.

It's a great little downtown museum full of Poulsbo history and some wonder volunteer docents…read more I don't believe that they charge for admission, donations are excepted.

The volunteer that approached us was professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. The museum has…read morelots of old parts of submarines and torpedo from the past. Lots of educational videos and some hands-on areas where you simulate, not the kind like video games for children and adults, just to feel what is like. Great history, people should visit and it's free entrance, but you can donate if you like.

Attended the Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival over the weekend at Seattle Center. This is the…read morefestival's 6th year. I found this year's event to be the best edition so far. The festival has grown for the better. Compared with a past edition that I attended, this year's event had significantly more food vendors and entertainment. If you wanted to try Hawaiian barbecue, shave ice and malasadas in Seattle (in one place), this event is your best opportunity to do so. As for entertainment, there were three stages (two outdoor and one in the Armory). As well as a side stage in the Armory for "talk story" events. I thought the attendance for the event was quite large compared to other heritage festivals that I have been to at Seattle Center. There was plenty of people wearing Hawaiian aloha wear at the event and talking in pidgin that you felt a little like you were actually back in the islands. Being a Hawaii native, it was nice to see that there was a large turnout celebrating the place that I call my real home. Like being in Hawaii, there was a wait for food. Though the lines for Hawaiian barbecue did move rather quickly. The fare was plate lunch grinds and most of the vendors were selling many of the same things. I had a great laulau/kalua pork/ahi poke plate from Kama'Aina Grill that was delicious. If you like grilled marinated meats, attending this festival is an awesome event to get some. I did also try out the shave ice from Da Hula Hut. There was a large line for it, but I decided it was worth waiting for given the summer heat. The shave ice was not bad (syrups are sweet), though better in Hawaii. It is no Waiola Shave Ice, but I will take what I can get. There was also a long line for malasadas, but that was a line I refused to get in. I will just wait till I can get some at Leonard's in a few weeks. I would have liked though to have seen a Hawaiian cake vendor (haupia/chantilly/guava) at the event though since we do have a few of these in the Northwest. Enjoyed my time at Live Aloha and look forward to coming back next year for more Hawaiian culture and food.

I love going to events of my home state, here in Washington state! No, this is no cheesy luau event…read morecultural appropriation everywhere. This event got almost everything, besides the weather and REAL beaches to cure those home sicknesses. Food was delicious, I got a chicken pastele stew plate with passion orange guava Hawaiian Sun and poi mochi. Hawaiian music to put you into that feel good vibe, made me reminisce about Birthday Bash at the Shell. Wish the event more into the middle of summer, especially, not the first week of the NFL. My fantasy team still got the W, though. But I'd still go, every year! Cheeeee!

Some people come to Seattle for the Space Needle. Or for the ferries. Or to watch a Seahawks game…read more And that's great. While they're off hanging out at Pike Place Market and the Seattle Wheel we locals will be hanging out at our own special little tourist spot: the Rubber Chicken Museum. Housed within the glorious confines of Archie McPhee, the store with literally EVERYTHING you want and NOTHING you need, the RCM is an ode to all things rubber...and chicken. If it's yellow, plastic, stretchy and clucks you'll find it here. From a giant life-sized rubber chicken for a true selfie moment, to the tiniest, nearly microscopic iterations of this flexible bird the RCM enchants with its #rubberchickenglory. Folks both young and old marvel at its amazingness. And if you listen closely, you'll often hear people lament "I used to have that exact rubber chicken when I was a kid." I dare you to leave here without buying a rubber chicken (conveniently available for sale near the exit, just like at all the more well-known museums). I double dare ya!

I'm inside the Rubber Chicken Museum right now. For some reason Yelp filtered my first review…read more Maybe now that I'm literally inside it and "checked in" they will let me tell you how stupendous it is. It is amazing. You should go right now. Must-see attraction in Seattle.

What a wonderful annual event celebrating an era and ethnicity! Poulsbo is normally a small yet…read moreadorable "Norwegian themed" town that has deep roots in this culture and is doing everything it can to keep the traditions tied to it alive. This VikingFest occurs yearly in May and involves the entire town. The people are kind and the foods are fabulous. We tried 4 different meat pies and can't tell you which we liked best! It was set up perfectly with the carnival and rides set away from the entertainment, craft, and food vendors that were located near the marina, which kept the lines down. We even attended the Lion's fundraiser Pancake Breakfast on Sunday! It was great. Yummy pancakes, eggs, sausage, etc.! All breakfast funds are going towards the Lion's scholarship. (I was a recipient back when I attended college in the Dark Ages, so please help out this group if/when you can!) Highly recommend this festival that runs Friday afternoon through Sunday.

I love Viking Fest! The weekend is a fun time and no matter whatever day you go, you'll likely…read moreenjoy yourself. Not only do you get to explore all the little shops in downtown Poulsbo, there are many little vendors set up along the waterfront. They range from the same old people that show up at every festival in Kitsap to people specializing in things like drinking horns. They have a carnival ride area that runs throughout the weekend. On Saturday during the festival there is a parade that is a lot of fun to watch. The "vikings" may not be the most authentic, but it is a lot of fun. There is a viking village where you can learn from the people that staff it and are set up in tents and wearing traditional clothing. The stage is filled with all sorts of entertainment throughout the weekend.