Washington Guide and Deals

Brew up a 4,000-square-foot batch of brew-fun with this Groupon: a brewery tour of Fremont Brewing for seven bucks. Fremont Brewing is a family-owned microbrewery dedicated to brewing really good organic brews. You also get a pint glass and complimentary pint of Fremont's signature Universale Pale Ale or Interurban India Pale Ale with the tour.Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

Today's side deal gets you one-day admission to the Seattle Bug Safari on Western Avenue for $4 (an $8 value). Feel your deep-seated phobias for multi-legged exoskeletons evaporate after making the acquaintance of 54 fascinating, exotic insectoid species—from behind the safety of thick glass, of course. Check the site or call ahead before dropping in, as Seattle Bug Safari is closed to the public during Groupon-exempt field trips.

Savor Seattle's founder, Angela Shen, heads a knowledgeable staff of devout gourmands, who pilot culinary walking excursions that have earned abundant accolades from the likes of Bon Appetit, USA Today, and Sunset magazine. The guides brandish Savor Seattle's signature pink umbrella during the informative tours, which grant anywhere from 12 to 16 pedestrians access to tastings of fresh, seasonal, and organic fare at up to 10 local eateries. Neighborhood outings allow tour-goers to sample the flavors of favorite spots, such as Capitol Hill and Pike Place Market, without the hassle of going door-to-door asking for samples of homeowners' dinners. Themed jaunts spotlight specific culinary heavy hitters, such as gourmet restaurants and chocolatiers. At every pit stop, chefs and restaurateurs divulge behind-the-scenes stories and recipes, and can modify samples to fit dietary restrictions.

High above Seattle, one of SeattleHeliTours.com Classic Helicopter Corp's Bell 206B-3 JetRanger turbine choppers hovers in midair. Maneuvering like a hummingbird, it whisks passengers toward the famous Space Needle that was used to crochet the entire Seattle skyline. The helicopter then flies over the downtown waterfront and heads to Snoqualmie Falls, where it pauses at the edge of the churning water. During tours like these, Classic Helicopter Corp's pilots share facts in English, Japanese, and Spanish. The experts can point out such sights as Bill Gates' house and sports stadiums.

Those who wish to maneuver their own space birds can sign up for flight school and obtain such certifications as a private rotocraft pilot or an astro instrument trainer. Charter services facilitate romantic and exciting excursions to such locales as the San Juan Islands or Semiahmoo.

Everything seemed normal at Avenue One—a restaurant operating out of the former Butterworth & Sons mortuary—then one day, customers noticed wine bottles levitating off the shelves and hurtling across the room. Things were never the same. After a vacancy period, the space was taken over by Kells Irish Pub, which coexists with its hauntings and today welcomes Market Ghost Tour’s intrepid guests to hunt for spirits during the Mortuary Chapel Tour.

Such paranormal activities are commonplace for Market Ghost Tour founder Mercedes Yaeger. She grew up with the ghost stories of her father, who spooked locals with tales on Halloween nights in Pike Place Market. Since then, Mercedes has self-published a book, Market Ghost Stories, compiled from exhaustive research of municipal archives, newspaper accounts, and freeze-frame analysis of Scooby-Doo archives. She spins many of those yarns on excursions with Market Ghost Tour, which the Seattle Post-Intelligencer named “one of Seattle’s best and weirdest attractions.”

Aside from the Mortuary Chapel Tour, Mercedes and her guides lead guests on two other year-round exterior tours. The 75-minute Market Ghost Tour treks past the 9-acre district’s mortuaries, graveyards, and brothels as visitors hear frightening historical tales. Meanwhile, the Seattle Lust Tour recounts incidents of serial killers and 24-hour grind houses along the street formerly known as “Flesh Avenue.”

In 1985, as ends meet became harder to make, the Carleton family sold its cows and closed its nearly 30-year-old dairy farm. Not to be deterred, Mary Carleton began selling pumpkins and sweet corn from a roadside stand three years later. Today, the Carletons continue Mary's efforts by cultivating 60 acres of produce, including english peas, zucchini, and green and purple beans. Along with their own veggies, the Carletons stock their farm market with organic raw milk, grass-fed beef, local honey, and handmade pies.

After a summer spent selling their produce, the Carletons unwind with guests for nearly two months of autumnal fun starting in September. A corn maze with stalks more than 9-feet high snakes through a 4-acre field in a different shape each year. Come dusk, a cornfield eerily transforms into the haunted swamp, which dares guests aged 12 and up to creep through its creature-filled labyrinth. The pumpkin patch teems with various-sized pumpkins ripe for plucking, while the pumpkin cannon launches gourds into the air in hopes that one will transform into Cinderella's private jet. The fenced kids' area further entices youngsters with a zip swing, tube slides, and a rope maze, and the play area inside the barn intrigues them with a rope swing and hay maze.