While most TV shows are content to stick close to L.A., Grey's Anatomy tries to actually make its version of Seattle look real by visiting the Emerald City from time to time, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Credit must be given to Bellevue, Wash., native Peter Horton (left) the show's lead director and an executive producer, for these visits. Of course, it also helps that Grey's Anatomy is now on Thursdays and probably ABC's most important series.

According to the P-I, cast members have been sighted downtown this week. The phone lines at the paper lit up with fans happily reporting seeing the show's handsome leading men, Drs. Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Burke (Isaiah Washington).

The Insider is happy to have gotten a first-hand account of the cast's visit from a devoted fan and Seattle resident, Kimberly Lind, who writes to us:

"Being the obsessive fan I am, when I heard that Grey's filming in my own precious Seattle this morning, I rushed downtown as quickly as possible.

They were just wrapping up their scene in front of the Westin Hotel. I got a few grainy pictures of Isaiah Washington, James Pickens, Jr., and Patrick Dempsey as they mingled with the crowd, signing autographs and posing for pictures.

The guys were all dressed like they were heading out for a camping or fishing trip. Dr. Burke's hand seemed to be operating fairly normally. And the scene I witnessed, as I said, was shot in front of a five-star hotel.

The cast and crew were also spotted in Pioneer Square, Seattle's historic district, where they filmed some scenes at a bakery."

Thanks, Kimberly -- and go, Seattle!

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.