Have you guys ever tried sim racing?…read more We recently visited Gripwerx Simulation Racing, which was our first time checking out a racing simulation center. Gripwerx is conveniently located on the second floor of Redmond Town Center, and features a setup of racing simulators for an immersive experience. I've only seen a racing rig at PAX, so it was cool to see the number of setups for Formula and GT simulation. You pay for each 15-minute segment ($20 each) with a special buy three, get one session free deal. They also have all day passes available for purchase, which is great as a weekend activity. Gripwerx takes drop-in visitors but I also recommend booking a session online to guarantee a spot. Knowing that it's a simulation, you probably wouldn't think there's a physical aspect to it, but after an hour of immersive driving, my husband said that it did take some focus. With a variety of car models and courses available in their inventory, including local tracks like Pacific Raceways, Gripwerx was a fun experience and he'll definitely be going back for more!

Haven't been to their store yet, but my husband spoke with Calvin since we've been interested in…read morebuilding our own setup at home. Calvin was very friendly, easy to talk to and gave great recommendations. I see all 5 stars for in person experiences at their store too so I'm definitely booking a trip up there soon to support their business.

Snowflake Lane in Bellevue is a magical holiday experience, especially for families with kids. The…read morelights, music, dancers, drummers, and falling "snow" create a really festive atmosphere, and the fact that it's free makes it even better. Kids love the candy and characters, and it truly feels like a special holiday tradition. That said, it does get very crowded, especially on weekends, and you'll want to arrive early to get a good viewing spot. Traffic and parking can be a bit hectic around showtime, and it can get cold standing outside, so dress warmly. Overall, it's a fun and memorable holiday event that's worth seeing at least once -- and even better if you go on a weekday and plan ahead.

Beautiful, fun and never gets old! We've been going for the past 10 years and look forward to it…read moreeach year! Weekdays are less busy. Avoid opening night as it gets super busy. Go early so you can save a spot where you can see the parade. If you have children, try getting a spot in the front row so they can interact with the characters! Highly recommend this annual event!

Love coming here. Whether it's the Seahawks or the sounders, this place rocks! Literally! They…read moreengineered this place to be loud. Getting here is a breeze too. They have a nice parking garage but I prefer taking the link in. North side of the stadium you'd take the International District stop. If you want the south side of the stadium, then Stadium is the best stop. Food and beverage options here are decent. They're optimized for crowds too with those Amazon markets where you just walk out. Seattle dogs are my staple now but they have all your stadium favorites and generally lines aren't too bad since they have a lot of options. I've attended events in lots of areas of the stadium including suites, end zones, upper and lower decks. I'd say it's a fun environment wherever you sit. It does get loud though. Bring earplugs for those sensitive to loud noises. The suites shield you from much of that though. Getting around in the stadium is fairly effortless too. The pro shop on the ground floor is the most congested. The line moves pretty fast though. There are also large ramps like the Olympic ramp that you can walk up and down floors too. Overall, any chance I get to come here I generally take advantage of since it's easy to get to and I like this environment. Have fun!

For a big stadium pop/folk show like Ed Sheeran's LOOP Tour, built on looping, live layering, and…read morehuge sing-alongs, Lumen Field delivered the goods. Scale, energy, and that classic Pacific Northwest night under the arches. When the crowd is locked in and the songs are big enough to fill the place, it really shines. That said, the acoustics aren't great for quieter or more nuanced moments (stadium echo is real here), and getting in and out can be a pain, especially by transit. The light-rail mess after this show didn't help. If you care more about atmosphere and hits than perfect sound, you'll leave happy. If you're sensitive to echo or prefer intimate acoustics, maybe stick to smaller venues. Sheeran keeps coming back for a reason though--this place works for his style of stadium intimacy, even if it's not a sonic paradise.

My first wine walk ever and it was so much fun! Old Bellevue is south of the Bellevue Downtown…read morePark. Fifteen businesses running along Main Street hosted twenty wineries. It is a great event that supports the local merchants and community. The walk ran from 5 PM to 8 PM. VIP tickets were $45 and granted an hour of early access starting at 4 PM plus small bites at four of the host venues. General admission tickets were $30 if purchased in advance and $40 at the door, although tickets were already sold out on the day of. Admission included twelve wine tasting tickets. Extra tickets could be purchased at $5 for an additional three. Registration was located at two places: 520 Bar & Grill and Zenrock Fitness. A plastic souvenir GoVino wine glass was given to use for the tasting. I had a VIP ticket and also received a wine carrier tote bag. Purchases could be dropped off at the Bottle Valet at 520 Bar & Grill. Wine bottles were sold tax free and had a $5 discount if two or more bottles were bought from the same winery. Bottles ranged from $10 to $60. Since snacks catered for VIP ticket holders only lasted the first hour, we tackled those places first. Even if not a VIP, a good number of the vendors provided offerings, such as charcuterie boards or chocolate, to pair with the wine. A few handed coupons or swag as well to promote their business. The VIP hosts were Zenrock Fitness, Bar Moore & Realogics Sotheby's, Whisk, and 520 Bar & Grill. Whisk was by far the best as it is a venue for cooking classes, followed by Bar Moore. As for the meet and greet with winemakers, it was quite the experience to learn and taste all sorts of wines I had never heard of before. We ended up visiting every place and trying all of the wineries. I am no wine connoisseur, but I could still distinguish the quality and taste of the wine. Structure Winery won as both of our favorites. Twelve tasting tickets for each of us was ample and we were there for three hours. Downtown Bellevue has street parking along with nearby public parking lots by the park. The area surrounding Main Street offers many various restaurants and retailers. The city has free Wi-Fi.

Great weather... a chance to try multiple new wines.. VIP tickets courtesy of the Old Bellevue…read moreMerchants Association and Yelp... how could you not go?!? Add in, getting to explore the many merchants in beautiful Old downtown Bellevue, it was a perfect opportunity and very much appreciated! Huge thank you to the Old Bellevue Merchants Association and Jennifer J. and Yelp for the great opportunity! Check in was quick, friendly, and easy, everyone was great at explaining the process and suggested routes to take. With over 600 people at this sol d out event, I would definitely say VIP tickets were great! You start an hour before regular ticket holders , and although some station had light snacks, such charcuterie boards, that were set out for the first hour, many continuously replenished the boards throughout the event. I can honestly say that I didn't have one tasting that didn't at least have me intrigued enough to want to try more from each winery or purchase bottle(s) from. Being from Nor-Cali can sometimes be a detriment to experiencing wines from other regions, but I've been mildly surprised at the Wonderful Washington wines I've experienced. I've also found it interesting that most of the wine grapes are grown in eastern Washington, but the tasting rooms are more local... gotta go where the people are sometimes, which is a bonus for us in western Washington. I tried to show as many of wines tasted in the multiple pictures taken and info about each tasting station. It would difficult to just pick one for sure, but I have to say a shout out to Browne Family Vineyards, for being on task on a very busy evening and also being the 'bonus' No ticket needed stop. Loved the 'Do Epic Shit' red blend... a great red blend with a epic title. It was a pleasure to see Washingtonians out and enjoying the sunshine, with great weather wines, and Bellevue's beautiful old downtown area. Lots of great restaurants, clothes shopping venues were highlighted as stations for this event, so you really could explore all the downtown area. One I noted for myself, since I love to cook was Whisk, a great stop for the Patterson Sangiovese, checking out all the cooking gear, and the delicious snacks being prepared in the teaching kitchen area, definitely looking into their events schedule. I highly recommend attending this event as well as other Wine walks that are hosted throughout the greater Seattle area during spring through fall. Great ways to try multiple wineries and explore places you may not regularly visit and be surprised at what you find. Fun times! Happiest Yelping, God bless and Cheers!

I've lived in Wedgwood for 20 years. This is the 12th Annual Festival & it's just got better &…read morebetter each year. Nice small Festival with a great variety of art to peruse & shop. Pictures, paintings, jewelry, pottery, metal work & more. Nice little food court with a few food trucks to choose from. Live music & face painting for the kiddos. Street parking all around in the neighborhood. Please drive slow, lots of kids around.

Great college stadium with stunning views of the lake. This stadium is known for its high decibel…read morecrowd noise. This is due to the design of the roof effectively trapping the noise. This stadium features a U-shaped design and located right on the shores of Lake Washington. We've attended numerous Husky games have always had a great time. Staff members are cheerful and friendly. Concession stand prices are astronomical, which is to be expected. They do have a solid selection beverages and food. Tailgating and sailgating are time honored tradition at Husky stadium given the promixity to Lake Washington. Getting to the games is now easier with the light rail stop directly outside the stadium. Both Metro and Sound Transit have bus routes near the stadium. The most common strategy is to drive and park near or on University Avenue and walk through the UW campus. This stadium is convenient and a ton of fun.

It is appropriately named "The Greatest Setting in College Football" - the views, the fan base, and…read morethe decibel level are all top notch! Go DaWgs!

I went to check out the Public Peapod Program, which provides free one hour boat rentals to the…read morepublic. Took a while to get set up but there's not a lot of staff so patience is important! There's also not a lot of boats so if it gets super busy you might be waiting for a while. Best time to go is in the morning. We got there early before they opened and there was one other group already waiting too. Hard to find the entrance - we entered from the side between the two museums and not the south entrance. Rowing in the peapods is fairly straightforward after a while, but the staff is very friendly, helps you with lifejackets, and guide you on how to get started. Arguably the hard part comes first trying to undock out of the bay because you have to turn out of a narrow area and fine tune your skills before you go out into the lake. You can go as far as you want within the one hour you're given - apparently no one has reached the bridge before so if you come often you could try and make that your goal xp I did check out the museum afterwards. It's not too large, but might be more enjoyable for maritime historians or ship enthusiasts. It's filled with displays and information of different ships, not a lot of interactive exhibits. Overall this is a really cool place! I'd definitely want to check out more of their events like public sail. It's very informative and a great resource for the community to learn about sailing and get hands on experience. Kudos and thanks to all the volunteers and staff!

This place rocks! In addition to having a free museum and docks to browse, this is the best free…read moreway to get out on the water in Seattle! The Center for Wooden Boats is most well known for its free wooden rowboat program. It's a first-come, first-served program offering a completely free way to get out on the water. As a family visiting the area, this was an awesome activity to keep us busy for an hour and save us some dough! Make your way to the docks and find the boat house. Check in with the staff, and if a boat is available, they will get you set up quickly with life jackets and some oars to take one of their magnificent wooden rowing vessels out on the open waters for a full hour. Even if a boat is not available, you'll only have to wait a bit to get out in your own rowboat. The staff was ultra-friendly and knowledgeable. They even have a little gift shop located in the main museum building. Highly recommend checking this place out as a tourist or a local.

2019 is the 3rd year of the Chalk Fest in Redmond Town Center, and it's better organized than ever…read more More booths (community, services, free samples) and a live band entertained for 3 days, Fri, Sat, Sun. The shops at RTC have special sales, laying out a few tables on the outside. It's definitely a fun time to visit I always go on the last day towards the later hours when the art is done. Be patient as you stand in line to take picture sitting or standing on the 3D art and simply take photos of each. (So rude when people just cut in line to sneak a photo!) Sometimes, the artists are still hanging out, having their photos taken with the art by the professional photographers. Say hello and thank them! Plenty of party at the mall parking lot.

I have been going to this amazing annual event ever since it first started in 2017. Primarily…read moreartists from this coast are featured, but there are even international guests as well. It's awe-inspiring to watch these artists sweat and toil under the blazing sun for three days to compose these masterpieces! The 3D pieces are also cool, and there is usually a spot for you to stand or sit at to be a part of the picture! As with any other festival in the Redmond Town Center, there are plenty of other things to do: live band performances, a sidewalk sale, and children activities. Free parking at the garage too.