Top tips for gay-cationing in Seattle

[Note: this post has been updated with some minor (but important) corrections from Bill W. of SeattleGayScene. Thanks for the email, Bill! Anytime you are coming down this way, feel free to get in touch and we'll give you a big Valley welcome.]

So I was first going to give you all a long writeup about my trip to the Pacific Northwest over the last week and realized that for the Fruit's general audience it might be a little too involved. If you want to know more, hit me up on the personal and I'll fill you in or even set you up with a small-group showing of my sideshow--all 400 something photos of it.

Instead, however, I thought I would just encapsulate the best gay bits of the trip for your use if you ever happen to travel to Seattle or Washington State.

I snapped this shot when walking up Pike Street in Seattle towards Boulevard, the gay epicenter (according to some) of Seattle's gayest neighborhood, Capitol Hill. This was my first queer sighting on the trip, so I got a little excited. All of Seattle is great to visit and (if you're not in deteriorating health) easy to walk (especially when sunny--my boyfriend and I were blessed with gorgeous weather last week!).

I won't bother with generic travel info to Seattle, etc. (I'll leave that to the Seattle Weekly), but here are my Top Tips for gay-cationing (or traveling while gay) to Seattle, etc:

The gayest part of the City seems to be Capitol Hill, a large neighborhood that stretches between I-5, Interlaken Park and E. Pike/Madison and 23/24th.
The gayest part of Capitol Hill (see tip #1) seems to be the corridor (that's what a local merchant called it) on Broadway between Pike and Pine. I would even expand it to include nearby streets...
In my opinion (and according to aforementioned locals), for drinks start off at Purr (a chill bar with mood-lighting, nice vibe and a small upstairs lounge) or if you prefer a pub (queer style), hit up Madison Pub
For an amazingly fun clubbing time, check out Neighbours (especially on Thursdays for 80s/90s, Fridays for dance on the regular level and latin night in their "Underground") and alternatively R Place (three levels, hip-hop dancing on weekends and is frequented by both lesbians and gays) or Re-bar
BONUS from Bill W., author os Seattle Gay Scene (see tip #7): Cuff is also a great place to dance on weekends, 100% gay (but no lesbians) and open till 3 am...people usually choose between either Neighbours or Cuff on any weekend night.
If you can't make it too long without your "gay soundtrack" (a.k.a. dance music, a la Energy 92.7), spin the dial to "commercial free" 89.5 FM. Driving up interstate 5, I was flicking through stations and as soon as I heard "the night is young...we break the dawn..." I felt comforted and at home in distant land, and I knew that whatever happened, I'd be okay. (Also, take note that the signal is pretty good and we could hear it on our full drive up the Sound and even on the San Juan islands, more than an hour north of Seattle!)
If you have web access and want current, extensive, up-to-date and entertaining info about Seattle's queer scene, click through to (appropriately enough) www.SeattleGayScene.com, a local-gay-blog by a local Seattle gay (kinda like us!)