Originally posted by aslyfox no actual plans for the time we are in Seattle
I can second the recommendation for riding a ferry as a walk on from Seattle, just as a nice ride. The Bainbridge ferry is good. You get good skyline/spaceneedle/ferriswheel shots from the ferry.
Gasworks park, Discovery park, the Fremont troll, the Ballard salmon locks, Alki Beach, and Golden Gardens beach are all cool offbeat tourist destinations. I'm sure you know about Pike Place Market or the Space Needle.
Ivar's Salmon House and Ray's Boathouse are nice restaurants. Both have upscale menus but also more mid-tier sections, and both have waterfront seating. There is also a nice restaurant in/off of the market with nice waterview seating as well, Maximillien. It's a little hard to find. That market is kind of a labyrinth. If you like tea, check out MarketSpice, which is on the way to that restaurant.
On the lower end for dining, be sure to get a Dick's cheeseburger, fish'n'chips with a cup of chowder at Ivar's (one of the fast food ones, not the fancy ones), and/or some terriyaki from any of the little local terriyaki places. International district has lots of cool Asian food, and the big asian grocery Uwajimaya is neat.
The Boeing Museum is, I think, the best museum to see, but kind of out of the way. For my money the EMP(or whatever it's called now) and Seattle Art Museum are both kind of 'meh.'
Seattle has changed a lot since I lived there (moved out there in '07, went back to Ohio in '13, IIRC). Share some shots of the homeless camps for me.