Seattle ( CNN ) -- Carved out of the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest , Seattle started as an outpost for frontiersmen trying to strike it rich in the Gold Rush . Generations later , industries such as Boeing , Microsoft , Amazon and Starbucks rose up , transforming this frontier town into a cutting edge city and tourist destination . But even in the midst of a modern metropolis you do n't have to go far to find incredible natural beauty . Where can you get the best view of the city ? Skip the Space Needle and its $ 18 ticket price and head to the viewpoint at Kerry Park , where you can enjoy the city 's spectacular scenery free of charge . The park has great views of the needle , the spinning globe on top of the old Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper building and ferries busily bringing people across the water to and from downtown . On clear evenings , photographers line up to get a shot of the sun falling on Mount Rainier . It 's stunning . Which restaurant would you take your loved one to for an anniversary or other special occasion ? Seattle has so much delicious food and so many terrific restaurants that there is no excuse for having a bad meal . My wife , Alex , and I always end up coming back to a tiny place we love called How to Cook a Wolf . The menu is eclectic with simple but fresh pasta dishes and small seafood plates that are meant to be shared . You get the feeling the cooks are serving what they feel like making . We keep coming back and are consistently blown away . What is your favorite neighborhood ? A popular T-shirt I often see around Ballard describes the neighborhood as `` a sleepy drinking village with a condo problem . '' While Ballard may have turned trendy , its blue-collar roots have n't altogether disappeared . You can still find salty fishermen occupying well-worn barstools along Ballard Avenue . At night , many of those same bars are filled with people soaking up the neighborhood 's terrific music scene . Ballard 's Sunday market is people-watching central as stands are set up to offer freshly caught salmon , pizza from a wood-burning oven on wheels and even advice , from one guy ready to peddle his . How do tourists stick out , and what 's the best way to blend in ? According to locals , only tourists use umbrellas . During Seattle 's wet and gray winter , it is somewhat surreal to see people out and about jogging and riding their bikes . But as new arrivals quickly find out , if you wait for nice weather , you can wait here for a long time . What 's the biggest misconception about your city ? Seattle 's bad weather is so notorious people believe it pours here nonstop . In reality , Seattle rain is more of a constant drizzle . That combined with the painfully short winter days can sometimes be tough to take . I have friends who buy sunlamps and take vitamin D to get through the winters . But the winters are soon forgotten when summer rolls around . A long summer day in Seattle with the backdrop of white mountaintops against the deep blue of the Puget Sound is one of the most beautiful sights in the world . Where do you go to relax ? Just 15 minutes or so from downtown Seattle is Discovery Park , a 534-acre protected oasis of natural beauty . A well-worn path takes you through fern-covered trees to the water , where you might see bald eagles or even whales . That a place so natural and green is able to exist within a city is truly amazing . Do n't miss it . For a weekend trip , there 's no better outing than a visit to the Olympic Peninsula . A short ferry ride will take you over to the peninsula , where snow-capped mountains rise from the Pacific Ocean . There are still plenty of wild places to explore there , including the Hoh Rain Forest , where the thick tree cover can fool you into thinking you 've wandered into Jurassic Park . One summer , my wife and I camped on the Olympic Peninsula 's Rialto Beach . Just as the sun was setting , a fat seal swam out of the ocean right in front of us and looked as if he was about to come over and dry himself off at our camp fire . What 's the biggest tourist trap ? Is there a tourist trap that 's actually worth seeing ? Seattle is rightly famous for its Pike Place Market . In the summer when the cruise boats to Alaska are in full swing , it seems like the market is filled to the point of exploding with camera-toting , fanny pack-wearing out-of-towners . But the 103-year-old market survives not just from the tourists but also because legions of Seattle residents keep coming back for the amazingly fresh seafood and produce . My favorite stop is Pure Food Fish Market , celebrating its 100th year in the market . They may not throw your fish when you buy it , but with scallops the size of your fist , whole salmon and giant lobsters for sale , you 'll hardly be complaining . Where was your most memorable meal ? Just a seaplane or ferry ride away from Seattle are the San Juan Islands , which the U.S. and Canada almost went to war over 150 years ago . The first time I went there , I remember going kayaking and seeing killer whales hunting for salmon just off shore . At one point they swam so near to us , we grabbed onto floating kelp beds to keep out of their way . That night , still buzzed from the excitement of the seeing these amazing creatures up close , we went to Duck Soup Inn in Friday Harbor . The restaurant is tucked back in the woods . The food -- much of it picked or caught on the island -- is delicious . There were smoked oysters and huge panko-crusted calamari . The meal and the entire day were unforgettable . Are there local specialty dishes or drinks that visitors must try ? I tell any one who comes to visit me in Seattle that the one thing they have to try is the wild salmon that is readily available here . Friends who say they do n't care for the fishy flavor of salmon do not recognize the taste of the fresh fish you eat in Seattle . You can find plenty of salmon on the menu in the city 's fine restaurants , but for me there is no way to better prepare it than on my backyard grill with a little salt and pepper . What is a good local souvenir ? In Seattle , good coffee is abundant . You do n't have to go far to get a cup of it either . In fact , at the drive-through espresso booths , you do n't even need to get out of your car ! But then there are the specialty coffee places where the staff is into coffee in a way that borders on scary : holding coffee tastings , traveling around the world looking for the next java flavor and roasting their beans in store . Victrola Coffee Roasters is one of those places working to elevate coffee-making into an art form . Bring a bag of local coffee back home with you to extend your visit to Seattle just a little longer .
Big industries transformed Seattle into a cutting-edge city and tourist destination . The view from Kerry Park is better and cheaper than the Space Needle . Seattle 's infamous rain is really more of a constant drizzle . Pike Place Market offers amazingly fresh seafood and produce .