It has been a few days since the last update. Here's what we've been up to.
Wednesday
The side trip to Glacier National Park meant we had an eight hour drive ahead of us to reach Seattle by Wednesday night. We got an early start and pushed through the drive, arriving at the Tolt-Macdonald Campground before dark. We had a 2 night campsite reservation adjacent to Jennifer and Eric. Shortly after arriving we left to shop for some supplies and later met up with Jennifer and Eric at Christian's apartment. Sunny and Kane were there and after a short tour of the apartment we all walked to a nearby Korean BBQ restaurant for dinner. I enjoyed a delicious dish called bibimbap.
Thursday
We have been having excellent weather every day of this trip. Thursday was another beautiful day. Jennifer and Eric picked up Christian and we met them at the Seattle Washington Park Arboretum. We ran into a minor challenge finding parking when Waze directed us down a street with a 9' clearance bridge that our 9'6" RV couldn't fit through. We managed to get turned around and found an alternate parking lot. After a bit of walking around the Arboretum we visited the nearby Japanese Garden and enjoyed a relaxing slow paced self guided tour.
We were getting hungry and decided to drive to the famous Pike Place Public Market for something to eat. Getting there was another driving challenge dealing with heavy traffic, road construction, steep hills, and scarce parking. But we conquered all the obstacles, and managed to park right in front.
After getting something to eat, we went to Hot Cakes for a delicious dessert, then rounded off our day with a visit to the Seattle Museum of Flight, an awesome collection of air and space exhibits that rivals the National Air & Space museum in D.C.
Although it was a long, exhausting day, we enjoyed the opportunity to spend it with Christian.
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| Japanese Garden |
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| Japanese Garden |
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| Japanese Garden |
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| Perfect Pike Place Parking |
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| Pike Place Market |
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| Pike Place Market |
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| The Gum Wall |
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| Hot Cakes Trendy Desserts |
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| Museum of Flight |
Friday
Jennifer and Eric made plans to go looking at boats while we chose to do some sightseeing on our own. We agreed to regroup in Port Townsend on Saturday.
We started with breakfast at the Salish Resort, about 20 minutes from our campground. The breakfast was outstanding, including a little flourish called Honey From Heaven. The Salish Lodge and Spa is right next to the Snoqualmie Falls. After breakfast we took the short walk to the viewing lookout.
After enjoying the falls we started on a drive to Leavenworth, a town that recreates the experience of a Bavarian Village. They even hold an Octoberfest celebration and we were there at the right time to experience it. It's no Theresienwiese, but it was a fun festival with Bavarian music, outdoor cafes serving sausages and HB beer, and folks wearing dirndl and lederhosen. We had some food and beer, and walked in and out of the shops. It's about an hour drive through mountains to and from Leavenworth, so we left about an hour before sunset to get to the interstate before dark. We spent the night in Issaquah WA, opting to stay at a Springhill Suites to enjoy a shower and a big comfy bed.
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| Salish Lodge & Spa |
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| Salish Lodge & Spa |
Honey From Heaven
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| Snoqualmie Falls |
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| HofBrau Beer |
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| Sausages |
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| Prost! |
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| Leavenworth |
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| Leavenworth |
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| Mountain Drive Sunset |
Saturday
We got going about 10am Saturday after taking advantage of the hotel breakfast & coffee. When we left Lakeside on Wednesday, I heedlessly left behind the RV water pressure regulator. Fortunately Eric & Jennifer had a spare they lent me, but I wanted to replace mine so we stopped at an RV sales & supply in Kent. I got the part I needed and we continued to Port Townsend WA. We stopped to walk through a farmers market in town, then met up with Jennifer and Eric at the campground we had agreed to stay at for the night.
After selecting our campsites we all drove to see the Point Wilson Lighthouse and stayed until sunset. Then we drove to the town center where we walked around a while before finishing up the night at the Siren's Pub with some food, drinks, and music.
When we got back to the campground, I discovered that the campsite I had selected for it's fair degree of levelness was occupied by another RVer who either didn't see or ignored the payment receipt I had attached to the site post claiming it as mine. It was late and there were plenty of other open sites, so rather than make a fuss, I parked in a different spot that wasn't nearly as level as my original choice.
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| Point Wilson Lighthouse |
Sunday
We drove into Port Townsend and spent some time in the stores, workshops, and shipyards at the Northwest Maritime Center, then drove to Dungeness to camp for the night. We took a short hike on a trail leading to the Dungeness Spit, but it was late so we didn't follow all the way down to the water level. We returned to camp and Eric & Jennifer served up some delicious chicken and salad. We sat outside chatting until it was so dark we could barely see to walk back to the RV.
We've been enjoying remarkably nice weather. Pleasant sunny days in the 70's, and cool nights in the 50's or high 40's. We've had no rainy days. That's surprising for an area that is known for its rain. Heck, even their big volcano is named Mount "Rainier".
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| Boat Shop |
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| Jennifer in a Hollow Tree |
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| Dungeness Spit |
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| Dungeness Sunset |
2 comments:
Looks to be a very busy trip. I’m glad you’re enjoying nice weather along the way, and hopefully that trend continues. Any opportunities to play your guitar while you’re out at camp sites?
Yes. Most evenings have been too busy or late, but just tonight we had an early dinner at the campsite and then lit a campfire and I brought the guitar out for an hour or so.
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