Jeff Dickey: Along with the fun experiences already mentioned (Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Aquarium, etc.), you should seek out the Children's Museum at Seattle Center, which has all kinds of kid-friendly, bright, colorful and kinetic doodads to play with and learn from, and the Seattle Children's Theatre, which has productions for a variety of ages. Those readers who have more time in Seattle to spend with the kids should try the productions of the Northwest Puppet Theater, the various animals of the verdant Woodland Park Zoo, or the big planes of the Museum of Flight, south of town. Across Lake Washington in Bellevue, the Museum of Doll Art is one of the less familiar, but still fascinating, sights for anyone with an interested in miniature human toys—some 3000 in all. And if you come back in May, there's also the Seattle International Children's Festival at Seattle Center, with lots of engaging music, dance and theater performances.

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North Falmouth, Mass.: We will be in Seattle for only a day and a half, August 30-31. What should we try to do in such a brief time? Also, after a long flight from the East Coast, we'll probably be looking forward to a casual place to have supper. Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeff Dickey: Dining in Seattle has only gotten better in the last decade or so, and significant attention is now given to the region's foodways and many fine restaurants for a variety of budgets and tastes. The signature Northwest Cuisine that many of the mid-to-upper-end restaurants serve is something of a variation on California Cuisine—including fresh, local ingredients (which in the Northwest can be anything from the apples of central Washington to the seafood of the Pacific coast) and inventive combinations of flavors, spices and ingredients, combined with a presentation style loosely modeled on French nouvelle cuisine.

Good dining choices for this kind of food, or anything else, tend to be quite numerous and beyond the scope of a chat to encompass (consult your favorite guidebook, ahem, for details). Some of the better eateries in the central area are Anthony's Pier 66, which has fine, expensive seafood on the waterfront; Campagne, tops for French dining near Pike Place Market, with a cheaper attached café; Monsoon, consistently good pan-Asian food in the Capitol Hill neighborhood; Wild Ginger, delicious southeast Asian cuisine downtown; Dahlia Lounge, the Northwest Cuisine restaurant mentioned earlier, as well as Lampreia for the same cuisine, also in Belltown; Piecora's, for its pizza in Capitol Hill; and for lunch only, the redoubtable Salumi in Pioneer Square, which has stupendous sausages and sandwiches that make people line up outside during weekdays. Few dining spots in the Northwest are excessively fancy (with the exception of places like Lampreia), and what might suffice as casual wear on the East Coast will be more than adequate in the Northwest. But if you really want cheap eats, the famed Dick's Drive-In has diners for cheap and hearty burgers and fries all over town.

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Puerto Rico: I travel regulary, on business, to Seattle. Because it's work related I don't have much leisure time. What would be the must see, visit, shop and eat at places in Seattle if you had only 1-2 days to spare?

Jeff Dickey: Sightseeing and dining matters are addressed above, but for shopping, downtown has numerous shopping malls with the usual chain stores, with Westlake Center being the most conspicuous—it also hosts one terminus of the monorail. Seattle's biggest names in brand shopping downtown are Nordstrom and REI, but for something unique to the area, venture a short distance south to Pioneer Square, which not only boasts the top-notch Elliott Bay Book Company, but is also rich with art galleries (the Gallery Walk on the first Thursday of the month is a key event) and stores selling arty knickknacks, as well as some good coffeehouses and bars. There are also myriad galleries in the up-and-coming SoDo part of Seattle further south, into the now-gentrifying industrial district.

For alternative boutiques, where you can pick up oddball vintage wear or stylishly upscale adornments, try Capitol Hill east of downtown, where such merchants can be found on and around Broadway; there's also a smattering of good record stores. (The Pike and Pine corridor also has a decent array of similar shops.) The University District, to the north beyond the Ship Canal, also sells books, records, and clothing, with an understandable tilt to the student market. Further west, Fremont is known for its warren of stalls at the Fremont Sunday Market, hosting vendors of secondhand jewelry, clothing, furniture, trinkets and the like, while Greenwood, further north, is still known for its antique sellers, though not as many as a decade or so ago.

Closer to downtown, Belltown's Second Avenue has just a few lingering galleries and alternative shops (and hardly any record stores), as most of the shopping has turned toward the upper-end boutique variety, ever since the old grunge scene of the 1980s and early 1990s was turned out to make way for high-end condos. Finally, if you're really pressed for time, good old Pike Place Market has dozens of vendors of fruits and vegetable, coffee and other staples (including the original location of Starbucks), book- and record stores, and newsstands selling a variety of periodicals.

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Pa.: Are there any excursion trips to any of the Boeing factories in the area?

Jeff Dickey: Gray Line of Seattle is the main operator for all manner of tours in the city and the region beyond. Some of its offerings include double-decked bus tours of the central city, culinary and dining journeys that take in restaurants, excursions to Mount Rainier, whale watching, and cruises along the city's locks. Gray Line also has trips down to the Museum of Flight in Tukwila or up to the Boeing factory in Everett. Prices can vary widely. The Boeing tour itself is four hours long, for around $50.

However, if you have transportation of your own, you can also see the huge facility by yourself—it's 98 acres and the biggest building in the world by volume. Inside you can watch planes from 747s to 777s being built, as well as new craft that haven't hit the skies yet, such as the 787 Dreamliner. Touring the factory is a major and involved affair, not for casual visitors in town for a day or two, but essential for anyone interested in aerospace and/or heavy industrial machinery. For more info, check out boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/tours.

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Columbia, Md.: Hoping you could help me. What's the one of a kind food experience I should be sure to have in Seattle? Also, any great brewpubs? Thank you!

Jeff Dickey: See my earlier answer for some of the top restaurants, but as for brewpubs, Hale's Ales in Ballard and Elysian Brewing near Capitol Hill are some of my favorites. Also don't forget about Big Time Brewing in the U District or the staples of the McMenamins chain like Dad Watson's or the Six Arms. The most popular brewpubs, though, tend to be in the touristy areas, like the Pike Pub & Brewery near Pike Place Market, or Pyramid Brewing near the stadiums. Regardless of location, any of these places should satisfy your palate to a nice degree—though, this being Seattle, there's nothing wrong with popping open a macrobrew at a good old fashioned dive bar like the Comet Tavern or Central Saloon.

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Charlotte, N.C.: Where is the best/most unique place to get a cup of coffee in Seattle?

Jeff Dickey: Drinking coffee is one of the abiding joys of a trip to Seattle, and there are countless java joints at which to get your fix. For many caffeine fans, the several locations of Vivace Espresso are at the top of the list, since they're well known for their espresso-roasting dexterity. On the other side of Capitol Hill, Bauhaus Books and Coffee is a classically compelling, and cramped, environment that's alive with neighborhood dwellers and a few scenesters looking to pose. Other reliable choices are Victrola Coffee in Capitol Hill and Caffe Vita, with a handful of branches around town. Other names, like Zeitgeist, Top Pot, Caffe Umbria, Caffe Ladro, All City, and Stumptown (a Portland interloper!) all have their passionate adherents, and there are many others that have their appeal—often as simple as a cart on a sidewalk. The city has not only led the way in appreciating the many kinds and styles of java, but been instrumental in drawing Northwesterners, and ultimately Americans, away from their old percolator habits. Ironically, of course, Seattle is also the home of a certain company that's led the way in global homogenization of the coffee experience...can't seem to remember the name...

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Boston, Mass.: I'm planning a trip to Seattle July 16 and spending about 4 days in Seattle and making some day trips and then taking the ferry to San Juan Island and spending about 3 nights in Friday Harbor. Do you have any suggestions of special things I should see that might not be highlighted in the general guide books, and what day trips should I take from Friday Harbor?

Jeff Dickey: The San Juan Islands make for a great trip from Seattle, and Washington State Ferries runs numerous routes to four of the islands—Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and the little-visited Shaw—from a base in Anacortes, north of Seattle. The typical guidebook recommendations for the main island, San Juan, revolve around the American and English camps of San Juan Island NHP, the Whale Museum, and various whale-watching cruises. If you're interested in outdoor activities, though, you really can't go wrong with the possibilities for hiking, cycling or sea kayaking. Companies like San Juan Safaris and San Juan Transit can provide information on all of the above (along with whale watching) and you can rent a bike from outfitters like Island Bicycles. If your journeying takes you beyond San Juan, Orcas Island is a good choice for its range of striking scenery and Mount Constitution (crowned by a medieval-looking tower), while Lopez Island mainly appeals for its miles of country lanes for cycling, compelling sea kayaking, and Shark Reef Park for nature watching.

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Chicago, Ill.: Hello, Jeff. My boyfriend and I are foodies on a budget. Any recommendations for our trip to Seattle?

Jeff Dickey: Several questions ago, I mentioned a handful of restaurants that were good for food lovers without regard to price. For budget restaurants specifically, the 5 Spot in Queen Anne is one of my favorites for its modern take on classic diner fare. In Pike Place Market, El Puerco Lloron has cheap and tasty eats from south of the border; Phnom Penh Noodle House, in the Intl. District, and Noodle Ranch, in Belltown, come to mind when thinking about cheap and savory noodle dishes; the local chain I Love Sushi, despite the goofy name, has solid and inexpensive raw fish and rolls; Café Flora in Madison Park offers reliable vegan and vegetarian fare; Ivar's Acres of Clams is the major seafood haunt on the waterfront, with an attached raw bar; Saigon Deli in the Intl. District has authentic Vietnamese cooking worth seeking out; and Madame K's in Ballard is a good, rib-sticking pizza joint. Also in Ballard, Hattie's Hat is one of the longstanding diner/dive bars that has affordable well drinks, cheap beer, and good and greasy breakfasts (perhaps with a chaser) to eat and drink the pain away.

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Jeff Dickey: That's about it for this hour's chat. Thanks to everyone for sending in such good questions. If you'll be in town at the end of July, check out Seattle's Seafair celebration, which has airplanes and hydroplanes on view, plus milk-carton boat races and other quirky events. And if you're around over Labor Day weekend, Bumbershoot is one of the country's premier cultural events, loaded with hundreds of musical acts of all styles, performers, theater events, food vendors, and other artists, artisans, and events all over the city. With the weather cooperating, it's just about the best time to see the Emerald City glitter. Whenever you visit, good luck on your journeys.