We recently had an opportunity to head out to the Hood Canal for an overnight stay at Alderbrook Resort & Spa. It’s a nice escape less than two hours from Seattle, either driving by car, or hopping on the Bremerton Ferry part of the way (which we recommend eastbound for the return view of the city). As grand as the lodge is, the view from behind is even better, especially when the sun—and therefore the......

Until the day after Thanksgiving, Seattlest hadn't seen The Nutcracker -- probably the world's most famous ballet -- in years. But we had a solid image in our head of what it looked like because when Seattlest was a little kid, our mom made an annual birthday tradition to see it every year on opening night. For much of our childhood, this meant getting all spiffed up and walking a few blocks to Lincoln......

Is it just Seattlest or is this the Fridayest Thursday in a long time? We'd like to comment on how the first of the ELF guys has been sentenced down in Oregon and how he's going to do 13 years for his acts of terrorism despite turning in other members of The Family, but the only thought that will stick right now is how we're going to get the hell out of here tomorrow. I'm......

Out-of-town friend writes that he loved slurping half-shell oysters at The Brooklyn on a visit last week. But wait, aren't the oyster beds closed because of the dreaded vibrio parahaemoliticus outbreak? The answer is yes and no. Says Kim Zabel-Lincoln of the state Dep't of Health, it's the worst outbreak they've seen, but it hasn't closed all the beds. Hood Canal, Dabob and Quilcene bays, Totten and Skookum inlets, yup, they're shut down. But plenty......

-Every 24-yr-old who's ever been frustrated at their inability to rent a car should rejoice - Seattle-based Flexcar is going for the campus market. -We thought "I heart Viaduct" bumper stickers were bad, but now "Save the Viaduct" tee shirts exist? There is no way these spring from grassroots affection for the Viaduct, sorry. -Bad day for floaty things: A submarine in Hood Canal was damaged by a towline and a hydro practicing for this......

Uh-oh, the Feds are getting into the act. First it was the state-level Health Dep't telling folks not to eat bivalves because a bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, had infested oyster beds in along Hood Canal. Wrote letter to Seattle Times, we did, pointing out that the vibrio bacterium is effectively neutralized in a solution of 12 percent alcohol: in other words, a glass of white wine. Slurp. But of course the gummint won't tell folks to......

-Microsoft paid Religious Right mainstay Ralph Reed $1.6 million last year to lobby on behalf of the software company. -A speed trap on Alki road resulted in 230 tickets yesterday. What's the speed limit over there? 7 knots? -Yeah, yeah, the boat parade. Don't forget about the tugboat races, though, and it's opening day of shrimpin' season at Hood Canal Saturday. -A perpetual item: Single family homes in King County get further and further......

Port Townsend is a favorite weekend getaway for many Seattleites, and it's easy to see why. The drive up is alone worth the price of admission (Seattlest likes Kingston ferry to Hood Canal to 19) but once there the food is good, the downtown is cute and there are plenty of activities to keep you going. In an effort to keep the city cute, the Port Townsend City Council recently passed an ordinance that limits......

Is Sound Transit cursed? If it wasn't, it may be now. The Seattle P-I reports this morning that, while surveying light-rail sites along the Duwamish river, workers dug up an ancient Native American village. More than 900 artifacts have thus far been unearthed. A UW archaeologist calls the find "miraculous." Yet it could turn to bad fortune very quickly if archaeologists find any human remains. In fact, it could halt the project. Only a......