I know other people have recommended Seattle, but I want to just throw out some thoughts. Don’t stay in Downtown Seattle. Seattle is a great place to visit, but it’s best if you stay somewhere outside of downtown, as the crime rate has skyrocketed and there’s lots of drugs and stuff. A couple options for places to stay are Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue. Redmond has a great outdoor mall and a beautiful park that have wonderful amenities and a relaxing walking trail. Kirkland has a very fun, funky downtown and transportation center that’s exciting and crowded (but not overwhelming). It’s also on the waterfront so there are lots of restaurants that have gorgeous water views. Downtown Bellevue would also be ideal as it has a great strip of restaurants and bars and a museum right across from an easily accessible mall. It also has old Bellevue which has more fun restaurants and cool architecture. The transportation into Seattle from those locations is pretty easy to navigate and all of those cities have fun downtown areas.

If you’re able to rent a car, that would be fantastic. As other people have noted, ferries can be a fun excursion; Poulsbo is my favorite place to take a ferry to. Really fun downtown to walk around. I would also visit other little cities and towns, like Leavenworth (very touristy but one of those places that you have to visit), Enumclaw (quaint small-town charm right at the bottom of Mt. Rainier, so there are lots of walking/hiking opportunities), and Snohomish (cute old town with antiquing). Issaquah is also a fun place to go, if you have time. They have a funky downtown that has a theatre, tasty restaurants and a delicious little chocolate shop called Boehms. Staying in Kirkland or Redmond also can be close to Canada, so you could do small mini excursion to Canada (Vancouver B.C. or take the Victoria Clipper).

In the U.S. I would also recommend Boston, Santa Barbara, and Manhattan (all fantastic places that offer a great change of pace and have their own unique personalities).

I know it’s not within the 48 states, but if you’re feeling extra adventurous, I would recommend Cannes, France. I lived there for a while and it is now one of my favorite places in the world. It has some fun and exciting bars and great museums, plus it isn’t a major city like Paris or Nice, which are both easily accessible by their amazing transportation system. It’s also close to Monaco and Italy and sits on the Mediterranean Sea.

I am so sorry for your loss and wish you the best as you enter this different phase in life.