Seattle is the Pacific Northwest's financial, commercial and industrial center, with Boeing and Nordstrom stores based in the city. However, the atmosphere of Seattle is "street" instead of "institution." Some attribute this to the crisp Northwest air, some to the drive-through coffee houses and some to the high humidity that frequently washes the streets, but visitors to Seattle can feel the vitality.

Seattle sits on a strip of land between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, with Mount Rainier looming overhead through the frequent fog. The wilderness is less than an hour away, so hikers, bikers, kayakers, canoers, climbers and other outdoors types find Seattle a convenient place in which to settle. The University of Washington adds to the youthful population.

Almost surrounded by water, Seattle has the highest boats per capita ratio of any city in the U.S. Several nearby islands and hundreds of marinas provide plenty of destinations for the marine nomads. During the short but sweet summer season, several festivals boggle the mind and fill the calendar. Starting in May, with the Pike Place Market Street Festival (at the Pike Place Market, of course) through the summer, there are at least seven major festivals each year and nine or 10 community fairs. If you're a parade fan, there's the Solstice Parade in June and the Torchlight Parade downtown at the end of July.

To travel across Puget Sound you should get a ferry schedule and take one of the 25 ferries operated by the Washington State Ferries to any of the 20 different ports of call, across Puget Sound and its inland waterways. You can visit Tacoma, Washington or Sidney, British Columbia. Or perhaps you would like to take an escorted Chinatown tour, go to the 73rd floor of Columbia Seafirst Center, watch the street performers at the International Fountain at Seattle Center, ride the monorail from Seattle Center and Westlake Center, or take a ride up into the Space Needle for a spectacular view of the city and Puget Sound