5 Best Places to Shop in Wallingford, Seattle

If your life is missing a punching-nun puppet, an Edgar Allen Poe action figure, or a bacon-scented air freshener, there's hope. Leave your cares and woes at the door and step into a warehouse of the weird and wonderful. It's nearly impossible to feel bad while perusing stacks of armadillo handbags, demon rubber duckies, handerpants (don't ask), and homicidal unicorn play sets. Grab a cat-in-a-can to keep you company or leave with a dramatic chipmunk oil painting. You'll feel better. Trust us.

If you love microbrews, then make a pilgrimage to Bottleworks to peruse its massive collection. With 16 taps plus around 950 chilled varieties of malty goodness available, including seasonal varieties, vintage bottles, and global rarities, there's a beer for everyone here—as well as a good sampling of mead and cider. Try a few beers from the taps or bottles (with corkage fee) in their sit-down area, too.

Outside of San Francisco, Seattle has the largest Hawaiian population on the mainland. Hawaii General Store is a great resource for both those expats and anyone who loves Hawaii (and who doesn't?). With food, music, art, bath products, luau party supplies, and jewelry from the islands, the store is a warm little respite from Seattle's rainy winters.

One of only a couple of poetry-only bookstores in the country, this serene space is conducive to hours of browsing; when you're ready to interact, the owners are always happy to answer your questions, make suggestions, or chat about the titles you've selected. There's also a good selection of magazines as well as chapbooks; the emporium also hosts readings.

One of the first travel-only bookstores in the country, Wide World Travel Store has been outfitting the adventurous since 1976. This is a great place to grab hard-to-find travel guides to just about anywhere, along with trip essentials by Eagle Creek, Klean Kanteen, and more. From travel journals to sporks (a handy cross between spoons and forks), to voltage transformers for overseas trips, they'll either have it or know where to get it.