About Lake Washington

Many visitors are surprised to learn that a major fresh water lake - Lake Washington - runs North South directly through the middle of the greater Seattle metropolitan area. The world's first floating bridges span the deck due to its depth and size and they carry commutes back and forth to the burgeoning east side home to Microsoft and many high tech companies.

But the lake itself is the draw. Homes from the small to the mega mansions of Microsoft found Bill Gates line its evergreen covered shores. And everywhere there are boats. Ski boats to yachts. Here the rich can jump aboard their craft to buzz up the lake, out through the ship-locks, into Puget Sound and from there even sail the world. It’s a kind of commuting other cities can only hope for.

Lucky visitors can often find a rental home directly on the water complete with boat dock and comfortable decks and patios on which to wile away the time breathing clean air and enjoying stupendous mountain views.

In summer, there are pleasure craft everywhere as the waters warm and Seattleites rush to the cool fresh water. But the shore also accommodates a large variety of parks, boat docks, fancy restaurants, marinas and fun. Even in winter the waters are not deserted. The area is famous for its Christmas boat flotillas that ply the entire lake with each boat bedecked in lights. The first Saturday in May is the opening day of boating season. It too includes parades of boats capped off by collegiate rowing championships hosted by the University of Washington.

By the way, this university of 40,000 students is itself perched directly on the lake shore. The football stadium is just 100 yards from water and a large number of game fans arrive and depart by boat. The site provides a setting other schools can only envy.

About Seattle

It started as a small western seaport and has grown into a bustling metropolis. Yet Seattle retains all the things that made it great. It lays between the deep blue waters of Puget Sound and the sparkling fresh water Majestic Lake Washington. The town is choked with trees and crowned by hills. And all of this lays in a basin between the Olympic mountains and their central washington cousins the Cascade Mountains.

The area is home to major industries like Boeing, Weyerhauser, Microsoft and Amazon.com. And speaking of technology, Seattle was the birthplace of this thriving industrial revolution. But these giants are supported by a thousand innovative companies and tens of thousands of others that make the place a fine place to work.

For visitors there are too many attractions to count. Worldwide, the Space Needle is known and admired. It was built in the early 1960's when Seattle hosted a world fair from which a great many innovations sprung. It was the spring board that catapulted Seattle into the mainstream of world wide commerce.

On the waterfront folks can ride the state ferries, or a string of sight-seeing boats. Major cruise line carriers jump off from here to tour the majestic British Columbia and Alaska coast lines.

RENTALS WANTED:
Sunspots has been headquartered in Seattle for many years but the concentration of our vacation rental homes has been out and away from the city and, in fact into other states. Now we are searching for wonderful houses and condos in Seattle and around Puget Sound. We're getting inquiries for short-term rentals of weekends, weeks or longer and will be listing them here shortly.

If you have a home that needs rentals - or more rentals - please call William May today 888-628-8989 x902.

About Washington

The Evergreen State lives up to its name. In Western Washington vast forest once covered most everything and even today new visitors are sometimes stunned by the ever present green that can be found in the forests of course, but also in the vegetation that seems to spring up everywhere.

Much maligned as a rainy place, most areas of the state such as Seattle actually get less rain than New York City, Chicago and Florida. And in Eastern Washington vast stretches of high plateau and vast agricultural areas are actually hot and bright in summer and have a great many days of sun even in winter.

THE COAST:
Washington also has some of the most diverse coastal areas in the U.S. To the Southwest, the Long Beach Peninsula is the longest beach in the world and visitors can even drive their cars right out on the sand. There they'll find color kiting, legions of shore birds and a brisk ocean environment.

Further up the cost are Willapa and Grays Harbors home to forest industries, fishing fleets and moderate year round climates. From Seattle and the larger cities, visitors flock to both Harbors during the spring, summer and fall. Many come for fishing, claming and beach front activities.

Still further North is the vast Olympic Peninsula where beaches rise steadily to numerous snow capped summits including Mount Olympus, the Hoh rain forest and the rain showed Sequim recreational areas. The Peninsula is also home to numerous low land lakes where spring fishing gives way to summer water skiing and other great fresh water fun.

PUGET SOUND:
Tucked between the Olympic Mountains to the West and the metropolitan areas of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett to the East is a vast salt water estuary known as Puget Sound. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the pristine Straight of Juan De Fuca. State ferries and the engineering marvels of floating bridges, allow visitors to move around "the Sound" with ease. The Sound has been reshaped by the scouring action and till deposition which extended as far south as Olympia.

SAN JUAN ISLANDS:
At the Northern edge of Puget Sound lies a cluster of spectacular rocky islands known and the San Juan’s. A ferry or float plane is required to access the islands but worth the trip.

SOUND CITIES:
Almost dead center on the East coast of Puget Sound lays the large city of Seattle and its cross lake cousin Bellevue. Home to big industries such as Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks Coffee the cities of Puget Sound offer much to visitors. There are restaurants, tours and places to visit such as the Pike Place farmers market. Professional spots teams and major arts organizations including Opera, Ballet and many Live Theatres provide things to do on every night of the year.

CASCADE MOUNTAINS:
Running North-South and splitting the state in half are the Cascade Mountains. Sometimes forgotten in comparison to the Montana, Idaho and Colorado Rocky mountains, the Cascades are vast and sheer. Mt Saint Helens eruption in 1980 brought attention to the area but there are a dozen other major mountain climbing areas including Mt. Rainer and Mt Badams. All are within easy driving distance of major cities and international airports.

At the Northern End of Washington State's Cascades is Mt. Baker, birthplace of snow boarding and still one of the snowiest ski areas in the world. Just to the south is the North Cascades Wilderness area which boasts one of America's most scenic roads. So precipitous, in fact, that it closes in winter due to immense snow falls.

EASTERN WASHINGTON:
From the Eastern Slopes of the Cascades spreads the sprawling areas of Eastern Washington. On the south it is bordered by the Columbia River gorge how to numerous dams and world famous wind surfing. Above that lay the deep rich fields and wine grape vineyards of the Yakima Valley which compares in longitude and composition of renowned French growing areas.

The Columbia river flows north through the middle of Eastern Washington State where dams have created long and winding lakes surrounded by campgrounds and recreational areas. North Central Washington is home to the Replica Bavarian Village of Leavenworth which boasts over four million visitors per year, as well as to Lake Chelan a 50 mile long natural lake one of the cleanest in the United States. Its gorge - if it were emptied of water - would be deeper than the Grand Canyon. North of that can be found the Wild West town of Winthrop Washington where real live cowboys ride the ranges during hot summers and frigid white winters.

On the border shared with Idaho and about central North to South, lays the Inland Empire city of Spokane headquarters to industry and agricultural activities. To the south likes the Palouse region known as the bread basket of the world because it produces more grain per acre than anywhere else.

In short, the Evergreen state is a very diverse place full of recreational activities like boating, fishing, water sports, professional sports arenas, high class arts organizations and so much to do you'll need a month just to begin to see much of it.