scubish.com: Scuba diving Olympia - Washington - USA

Olympia is in Washington.

Understand

Olympia is the state capital of Washington State, and the Thurston County seat. The culture of the city reflects a diverse economic base and culture. Olympia is also home to The Evergreen State College, one of six public four-year schools in Washington.

Olympia's art and music scene is unusually large and active for a town of its size, and its identity as a city remains distinct despite strong influences from Seattle, Tacoma and Everett to the North and from Portland/Vancouver to the South. Olympia is a breeding ground for Pacific Northwest alternative culture, and has spawned or influenced many of the region's better-known personalities.

The city's downtown core has been designated as a National Historic District.

The natural beauty in Olympia is of particular note. From downtown, one can see the Olympic Mountains to the northwest set behind Puget Sound's Budd Bay - and towering Mt. Rainier to the southeast set next to the state capitol building and Capitol Lake.

Get in

By plane

Fly in through SeaTac airport. http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/

Olympia Regional Airport (private, charter)

By train

Amtrak station 6 miles from downtown in Lacey. Takes 15-20 mins to drive there, and there are also buses.

By bus

Greyhound Bus Station centrally located

Shared Route, . Biodiesel bus connects Olympia with Seattle and Portland. Fares to Seattle are $10; fares to Portland are $20. Operates on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as some holidays. Bus stops on Franklin Street and State Ave, across from the Olympia Transit Center.

City buses are operated by Intercity Transit, . Schedules available on their site. Public buses also run from Seattle and Tacoma, you can plan a trip from Sound Transit's website .

Get around

Olympia's numbered streets run East-West, and the city is broken into four quadrants with the center point in downtown. Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. These indicators come after any address. (123 Main St. NW)

Capitol Way is the main north - south street in the downtown area. Fourth Avenue is the main connector that runs through downtown east - west.

The city's downtown district lies in the middle of what residents refer to as the Westside and the Eastside. Most residents of the city will claim these two areas are distinctively different.

See

The Washington state capitol building. One of the largest free standing masonry domes in the world.

The Evergreen State College - Public baccalaureate liberal arts college

Puget Sound

Olympia Marina

Olympia has a thriving music community, with frequent local performances by rock, jazz, blues, folk, and other bands. Local noncommercial community radio station KAOS at 89.3 FM (which also streams live at http://www.kaosradio.org) features tremendous variety of independent artists, often live in their performance studio. The station is located on the campus of The Evergreen State College.

Washington Center For The Performing Arts 512 Washington Street SE, (360) 753-8585. South Puget Sound's largest performing arts facility, provids a wide variety of entertainment and cultural activities.

Hands On Children's Museum 106 11th Ave. SW, (360) 956-0818. The Hands On Children's Museum stimulates curiosity, creativity and learning through fun, interactive exhibits and programs for...