Inspired by the Rangers Road Trip to Seattle? Here are Great Places to Eat, Stay, Play and More!

It is one of the most beautiful, delectable and exciting U.S. cities you can visit.  If you have the chance to visit Seattle, do it.  It's a trip you will always recall fondly.  Plus, if you're a Gen-X Pearl Jam lover like me, it will help you re-live your early 90's grunge spirit.

View of Pike Place from Matt's in the Market

I have been there twice for Rangers baseball coverage, twice for Cowboys games, twice on my own for vacation and once as a pit stop en route to the beautiful San Juan Islands.

Driftwood on Orcas Island

If you're heading that way for a baseball or football game, stay downtown.  Both Safeco Field and Century Link Field are within walking distance of most downtown hotels.  You could easily take a cab if it's too far for you.  It shouldn't cost more than 10 bucks.

Here are some of my recommended spots and activities gathered over a decade of visits.

Where to Eat, Sleep and Play if You're Headed to Houston for the Rangers/Astros Series

Visiting Houston this week or sometime this season to check out the Rangers take on the Astros?  Not quite sure where to stay and what to hit while you’re there?  Fear not!  I have you covered.  Enjoying yourself on a road trip is as much of a sport as is the game itself.  For details on our recent trip to the Bayou City, which included a fan crashing my live shot and hard press box meat, check out my diary of your dream job.

Houston is a tough city.  If you make your base “outside the loop” or outside Loop 610, you will wind up miserable, stuck in traffic and be relinquished to chain dining hotel and restaurant hell.  If you stay "inside the loop", in Midtown, Montrose, in West University or near River Oaks you will discover the wonderful diversions that made my four college years there some of the most fun I've ever had.

This is a bit female-focused but if you're a guy taking your Sig O with you, you'll score big points by trying some of these suggestions.