This tour made me so happy. Kevin and Russ were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and their passion (and…read morenerdiness) for the public arts was infectious and endearing. I'll never walk over another hatch cover the same again. I'm excited to go home and see what's beneath my feet there. I would highly recommend this off the beaten path tour to anyone and i'll be happy to do it again the next time i'm back in Seattle. Thanks guys!

I am always looking for low cost, less formal ways to learn about places I either live in or visit…read moreand have done many free tours both in Seattle and while traveling. I learned about this tour from a friend and I think it's fairly new. At any rate, interesting tour. Not your typical here's the city and these are some of the landmarks and here are some fun facts. The difference is this tour was focused around the public art that can be seen everyday along the streets and sidewalks, built into the infrastructure, in the form of manhole covers or hatches as they are referred to. The folks conducting the tour included information of the various artistic manhole covers, combining it with first hand information from the artists and discussed the history of the work and how it fits into the identity of Seattle. They also provide information on the history of the city and how Seattle became the city you see as you take the tour. Pretty neat concept exploring aspects of the city that folks often take for granted as they pass by. Another fun fact about this tour is that it evolved out of an art project. I thought that was particularly interesting. Some of the prints, etc are pretty cool and again not what you would typically expect or encounter from one of these free tours. I'd recommend this tour to anybody to who wants to learn more about the history of Seattle, who appreciates public art or art in general and who has a free hour or so on a Saturday morning.

Everything. We have experienced each phase of Rick Steve's' work: his books:his tours, his store,…read morehis luggage,, his Monday night talks, his political position. One Saturday two months ago we were in his Edmonds store with my daughter, her husband and their two college age kids. We had maps out everywhere! Rick walked in and exclaimed "Wow, 3 generations of travelers. Great "

Do your own advance research before considering booking any travel or tour with Rick Steves'…read moreEurope. Once you do, you'll likely decide to look elsewhere. Hopefully this review helps others learn what we've painfully learned when dealing with the Rick Steves' tour team. Besides being objectively more expensive compared to our similar tours, unfortunately it's clear Rick Steves' Europe has lost touch with considering their customers' full travel and tour experience. My partner and I, along with two other couples, decided together to book Rick Steves' Scandinavia Tour. Unfortunately, about 60 days before the tour, one couple experienced an emergency medical event that necessitated them canceling their tour reservations. Rick Steves' 2026 cancelation policy, which we learned changes from year to year, states "Refundable Medical or Family Emergency ("Refundable Event"): A Refundable Event must first occur less than 60 days prior to your tour's start date or while on tour. It is RSE's sole discretion to determine if your situation is a Refundable Event." The key words here are "RSE's sole discretion". Before agreeing to grant our friends any refund, they put them through multiple iterations and questions, many private and somewhat personal. Finally, Rick Steves agreed to give them a 100% refund (less their $800 advance deposit). Let's just say Rick Steves' staff didn't show much sensitivity or caring before finally granting them their refund. My partner and my situation is far worse! "Less than 60 days prior" to our tour, my partner learned she needed an urgent medical procedure. At first, we were of the impression that we could still travel on the tour with our other remaining friends on this tour. Unfortunately, 18 days before the tour, we learned my partner's medical situation was far worse than we'd imagined and travel was out of the question - leaving our one remaining couple traveling alone. We'd were hit with a serious "Family Emergency", within 60 days prior to our tour's departure. Once they heard this news, together, we'd identified another couple to assume our place on this Rick Steves' tour. Initially, when I contacted Rick Steves, they said that might be possible for these friends to assume our tour space. A couple days later, Rick Steves' staff called and indicated our space had already been reallocated to their long-standing tour waitlist. Leaving the 1 of 3 remaining couples to travel on this tour alone. Despite Rick Steves' initially staff telling me our tour space was already reallocated, preventing our friend's friends going with them, again Rick Steves made it very difficult on us to receive any refund. Rick Steves' staff showed little to no sensitivity to our difficult medical situation and journey still ahead, or anyone's disappointments. Initially, Rick Steves' staff said simply a dated hospital discharge notice would suffice to secure a refund. Then No, they needed a physican's letter. I opted to visit Rick Steves' Edmond office to deliver this letter and to confirm a refund. Days later, based on their "sole discretion", Rick Steves staff decided to we'd had an emergency, but opted to refund only 50% of our tour expense (again, less our $800 deposit). In that email, despite what they'd indicated previously when we'd attempted to fill/transfer our tour space, they now made claims that they were not able to refill our space, and had incurred lost operating expenses, etc.... Knowing we'd object given the circumstances, assuming we'd simply accept it, Rick Steves' staff went to far to state "This decision is final". Upon questioning Rick Steves' decision and rationale, after waiting, I received an email from another associate with multiple conflicting claims and points - like now saying they couldn't transfer our tour space since one or more of the hotel room on the tour was already booked by another tour company. Hopefully this review helps others. FYI, the one remaining couple that took this tour alone, informed us they were less than impressed.

The tour was great, but the staff was better. From what I gathered we got a little unlucky with how…read morefew whales we saw but it was still so much fun. Everyone was so kind and helpful, especially Justin! Thank you guys! (Also they do warn you to layer up... but I'm double warning you. It was much colder than I thought it would be)

Whether your interest is in seeing whales in the wild, birds from eagles and osprey or puffins, or…read moreseeing the wonders of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, family-owned Puget Sound Express will bring you an amazing experience. The crew is professional and welcoming. The naturalist shares in picture and word, background for species and individual whales that enhance and educate. I get express strongly enough my recommendation for such an enriching experience.

I got to choose from several virtual experiences for a work event: cooking classes, wreath making,…read morecandle making, and winter cocktails. I opted for the cocktail class and was so impressed! First, the quality of the ingredients they shipped to me was amazing, from a spiced honey ginger syrup and special bitters blend to candied ginger and dehydrated orange garnishes. We made three bourbon drinks (Woodford Reserve, also included), led by a mixologist from the Seattle area. I especially liked the Holiday in Louisville, which was a twist on a Moscow mule, and the spiced old fashioned. The webcast was well produced, with a couple of folks from our company co-hosting with the mixologist. If you're planning a corporate event and have remote team members, I highly recommend these virtual experiences!

What a fun day trip to Leavenworth! This trip leaves from south lake union at 10am, which I thought…read morewas a much better time & location than most other tours (8am & not centrally located). Overall Leavenworth was well worth the trip. Expectations were exceeded! We enjoyed a beautiful snowy drive with several Christmas movies & Trivia on both ways. The bus was surprisingly filled with people who seemed to be 25+ (a perk for us late 20's) but it would still be enjoyable for kids/teens. We left the SLU around 10am and arrived by 1pm, had time to explore shops and eat two meals, then got on the bus by 6pm and arrive by 8:15pm! It even snowed during our time there which made it extra memorable. Food and drink is super reasonably priced there, compared to Seattle at least. The host was entertaining and friendly. Only knocked off one star for the in-bus bathroom - it unfortunately wasn't the cleanest as was out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer - yikes! The host did walk around with plenty of snacks, water, and hand sanitizer later. Aside from that, everything was seamless! Thanks, Sound Excursions!

I'm not a performing artist, but I have worked with a lot of nonprofit arts groups in the past…read more One of the groups I worked with is Vox Femina Los Angeles, one of the nation's premier women's choral ensembles. I was lucky enough to tag along on their recent international tour to Mexico which was organized by ACFEA. ACFEA knows what its doing and with their vast connections throughout the international arts world, they tailor each tour to fit each individual group, reflecting that ensemble's unique interests, abilities and expectations. On this trip to Mexico City, Tepotzotlan, and San Miguel de Allende, an ACFEA consultant organized three performances in three different venues/cities. The concert in Mexico City was a joint concert with Coro Karites, Mexico's only women's choral group. The Tepotzotlan performance was part of a concert series held in the most amazing venue: The Church of San Francisco Javier. The San Miguel de Allende performance was held at the Teatro Angela Peralta opera house, in conjunction with girls from a nearby orphanage. Not only did the ACFEA consultant set up the concert, she arranged a visit for our group to visit the orphanage where we were able to spend some time with the girls and also bring them some supplies and necessities, etc. All of these performance-related activities would not have been possible without the ACFEA consultant! The tour also consisted of five days of travel/sightseeing, which was comparable or better than that of what you would receive from most other tour companies. Now that I've been on choir tour planned by ACFEA, I understand why they are considered the best at what they do!

At $4,500 per person, it is extremely over priced. Hotels are extremely cheap, and so are included…read moremeals. You don't get an option, as a musician in an orchestra.

Manya is so welcoming. Her gallery is filled with beautiful art: clothing, purses, jewery,…read moredecorative home items, paintings, gifts. Well worth a stop.

I love MaJe Gallery. I have shopped there for many years. I no longer live in the area, but make a…read morepoint to get to MaJe Gallery whenever I am in town. Manya, the owner, is very astute at steering you in the right direction, especially when it comes to clothing. I have taken many friends to MaJe Gallery and they always find a special something to purchase. MaJe is located in Edmonds which is a fun town to visit. Lots of shops and places to eat/drink. You can also walk on the ferry. All in all a stop at MaJe can lead to a fun day's worth of activities.

This art gallery twinkles on 5th Ave, near the heart of Edmonds. If you dare walk by, there are…read moreunconscious forces at work, prompting you to move a little closer to the window. Look in the window and you'll soon find yourself inside, your eyes now scanning the many works of art, so appealing to the heart. My wife and I stopped at Cole Gallery last month and loved some recent additions to the gallery. The staff is so knowledgeable on the artist's work and they have great working relationships to be able to answer most questions on the pieces on display. We walked out with a great prize of a landscape oil painting, only to return the following weekend and purchase a second painting from the same artist. We really enjoyed our connection with Scott, the manager, and will likely be back in the future, if not to buy, then certainly to browse!

This is a beautiful gallery from local artists. As far a galleries go, it is one of the premier…read moregalleries in Snohomish county. I love art and if I had been born with a silver spoon my walls would be covered with paintings of this quality, but I can always dream and be inspired. This is one of the galleries that a person who appreciates art can become enraptured with. The art is that good.

Blue Kingdom Whale and Wildlife Tours provided our family group of 10 with the trip of a lifetime!…read moreFrom our 7-year-old to our 50-year-old, everyone had an absolute blast. It was a rainy, windy day, but the crew completely minimized the elements by dressing us in heavy-duty gear from head to toe. We looked like we were going snowboarding! The included beanies, gloves, binoculars, and goggles kept us completely warm and comfortable. Take the goggles--you will thank them later! Wildlife-wise, we struck gold. We saw four different types of whales, highlighted by a Gray whale feeding and Orcas chasing a Minke whale. Our naturalist was incredibly knowledgeable and could even identify individual whales by their tag numbers. As a huge bonus, the Zodiac boat was perfect for the members of our group prone to motion sickness. The fresh open air and up-and-down movement instead of rolling kept everyone feeling great the whole time. They even sent us amazing photos after the trip. Truly a professional operation and worth every penny!

Amazing experience with Blue Kingdom! Amanda and Clint are extremely knowledgeable and friendly…read more It was apparent that is not just a job to them, they are passionate about the history, wildlife and conservation, we learned a lot! - The smaller Zodiac was a perfect boat for getting great views without the motor running and the gear was spotless and kept us warm. We were able to view seals, dolphins, a pod of orcas, bald eagles and a pair of grey whales. A truly unique experience, we highly recommend!

Going to Edmonds Historical Museum this morning, Saturday 9 November 2024, I could not clearly…read morerecall if I had been before. Walking the museum exhibits, I found I could recall seeing some of the items on display before - I had come with my Grandma Rosemary maybe over 20 years ago to check it all out. My visits have been all around enjoyable experiences. For parking, I went with street parking about one street away. Parking on the streets nearest the museum was limited due to the Edmonds Saturday Market. I arrived a few minutes before opening (9 a.m.) and was eagerly the first patron of the day. I was greeted by a friendly worker who told me a bit about the museum building and an exhibit that was on its opening day, "Voices of Valor", which covered veterans from Snohomish County in various wars. She informed me I was the first patron to see the exhibit. I thought that was cool! Before proceeding into viewing the exhibits, I made my $5 donation at a box near the entrance/exit though later I did note there was a least one other donation box location in case one forgot and/or did not want to be obvious. Uniforms for the veterans varied depending on the war. It was neat to see how the dark blue for World War(s) morphed into dark green for the Vietnam War and mottled tan (Army) and blue (Navy) for the Iraq War. I appreciated the focus on the efforts of local Snohomish County residents during the war, including what role(s) they served in. Information and artifacts were clearly displayed and easy to understand, and were well laid out and straightforward to navigate (in a clockwise direction displays covered more recent wars). Downstairs, the exhibits were straightforward to navigate as well and included an old jail cell that one could enter, a model train station, and a narrated out loud diorama of an old shingle (wood/logging) mill. A second friendly worker was in the basement when I took the elevator to the lower level, she kindly turned the model train on when I got to the Great Northern Railway section. Other displays also helped contribute to my broader understanding of the development of the area and what daily life looked like in the past.

Museum exhibits are engaging for kids and adults. Old jail cell, diorama of shingle factory, old…read moreschoolhouse -- lots to see. Our main problem was hours of operation. We called their telephone number to get voicemail saying check FB for hours of operation. We looked on FB which told us one set of hours... then drove over to find them closing. The woman at the front desk said they didn't know how to update their FB page to give current/accurate hours. Come on! Pretty basic... I don't recommend driving out of your way to get here given the risk that it will be closed.