Over Memorial Day weekend (plus a few days before) LG and I had a
nice trip to
Seattle
and Friday Harbor, WA
(
1
2
3
4
).
The trip was marked by its decided lack of "adventures" (in the
travel-mishap sense). Indeed, practically everything we tried to do
worked out more easily or cheaply than we expected: we got to stay
with friends for the three nights we spent in Seattle (two in front
and one in back), our transportation often worked out even more
conveniently than we hoped, and so on.
Headed out at 6am thanks to a ride from Pat.
Our flight to Chicago arrived early, which helped because we had a
very short layover. I slept the whole flight. Our flight to Seattle
arrived early as well. I slept most of that flight, too, although I
did manage to completely finish the "American Way" magazine crossword
puzzle for the first time in a few recent attempts.
Waited for Briand and Chris at the airport. Met an adorable
little kitten who was travelling with its owner somewhere. Missed our
kitties. Drove into town with B&C, parked at the Kingdome, walked
around downtown. Had lunch at a Cajun place, I had something-creole
(chicken, I think).
Went to sign up for Bill Speidel's Underground Seattle tour. The 1:00 tour was departing as we arrived, and we decided to wait before purchasing tickets for the 3:00 tour. Walked around downtown, through Pike Place Market, up and down 1st and 2nd Avenues. Meandered back for the 3:00 tour, which was now sold out. Doh! Bought tickets for the 5:00 tour. Went over to the Seattle Aquarium (which has a very attractive logo, don't you think?). Saw various sea critters.
Got back for the 5:00 underground tour, which was a very enjoyable
experience. Recommended for either tourists or locals. Our guide was
Gail, a very clever and funny person who told us lots of stories about
life in Seattle around the late 1800s. The downtown burned down
completely in 1889. The city decided to flatten out the hills on
which it was built by sluicing mud from top to bottom. Downtown
merchants decided the multi-year project was too long to wait for
rebuilding, so they rebuilt (with brick) with storefronts on the 2nd
or 3rd floors. When the hills were washed down, the runoff was
channelled into retaining walls built up on the sides of the streets,
leaving sidewalks intact beside streets that were now 10-14 feet
elevated. Pedestrians had to climb ladders to cross the streets.
Sometimes people died falling from the street to the sidewalk.
Eventually the sidewalks were covered over by arches, becoming tunnels
as former ground floors became basements; hence the "underground"
tour.
Went out to
Ray's Boathouse
for dinner, joined by Chris's wife Jen. Had extremely yummy Copper
River King Salmon, which was currently in season. The salmon was a
perfect complement to my BV Carneros Pinot Noir. Headed home to
Briand's palatial Snohomish estate (aka "Briand's Bed and Breakfast",
which is a bit of a misnomer because we didn't get any breakfast).
Rode in to the campus of
the evil empire
with Briand. The receptionist at his building kindly called a shuttle
bus for us which took us to a bus stop, where we caught a bus
downtown. Took an educated random guess at which stop to choose, got
out and found ourselves right in front of Tim's building, the
Columbia
Seafirst Center.
It's the tallest building in Seattle (twice the height of the
Space Needle), and Tim has a
swell view from his 64th floor office, including the ever-cool Mt.
Baker, a lot of downtown and Puget Sound, and that puny little Space
Needle.
Went in, called Tim; he took us over to his house (very near
downtown) to drop off our bags. Met Agneschka (one of his two other
houseguests) and Irontail (his enormous cat). Went back to Columbia
Seafirst Center, Tim went back to work, and we went up to the
observation deck (73rd floor). Spent 45 minutes loitering and peering
out over Seattle. Clear, sunny day, great views of most of downtown,
the Sound, and Mt. Rainier (but not Mt. Baker because the observation
deck doesn't quite go all the way around). Watched a lady in the
booth give a radio traffic report. They do the ones for several
(all?) of the local radio stations from there.
Finally headed out and walked north toward the monorail to ride up to
the Space Needle. Changed our minds along the way (having seen great
views already), and grabbed lunch in
a sandwich shop
downtown. Decided to take
the ferry
to
Bainbridge Island
for the afternoon
instead. Boarded and talked to the friendly captain for a while
before we left. We couldn't go up on the bridge, though, because he
thought there were Coast Guard inspectors on board or something.
Had a nice ride, wandered around Bainbridge Island for a while.
It's a pretty little town that has a nice downtown area where people
like to hang out, shop, etc. Sat on a bench and wrote a card to
Marlene, whose engagement shower LG missed for this vacation.
Pondered the tourist map to find the post office. I figured we needed
to go the end of the block, take a left, then down a little ways and
take another left. Knowing that the map area was smallish, I thought
I might even be able to see the building from where we were sitting.
Turned around and saw the building all right -- 100 feet across the
parking lot.
Wandered back to the ferry. Being late in the afternoon, there were lots of scurrying commuter types (some actually sprinting) coming off the boat. Rode back to Seattle, had a short walk to a bus stop, caught a bus which took us directly (if somewhat rush-hour slowly) to Tim's house. Once off the bus, we had to walk about 100 feet to his door.
Met Tony (Tim's other houseguest), ordered pizza, munched on wine, cheese and cookies. Ate pizza and then headed out for the Elvis Costello concert. A most excellent show, very much enjoyed by both LG and TM. (Also enjoyed by reviewers: 1 2 3.) She recognized every song (unlike me) but at least there was one that I recognized before she did ("God Give Me Strength", which is from the soundtrack of "Grace of My Heart"). Home on the same bus (which picked us up right in front of the theater), a little visiting and some Polish vodka, then bedtime.
Left at 6:30am for the
Victoria Clipper,
with a ride downtown from
Tim. He had to be at work by 7am that day, so it wasn't even an
inconvenience for him. Boarded the Victoria Clipper II (there are IV
total). What should have been a 3-hour ride turned into more than 5
as we had to take a circuitous route to avoid stormy weather out in
the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To top it off, our cabin included a group
of school kids -- about 14,000 of them I think -- who provided a
constant barrage of noise the entire trip.
Finally arrived two hours late and met
Ian
where we had planned for lunch, but he and Yona had long since eaten
and had to leave, so we arranged to meet again for breakfast the next
day. Ate lunch ourselves (met Peggy, the owner(?)). Walked out to
the Orca Inn, half a mile or maybe a little more out from downtown,
checked in, dropped off our bags.
Back in town, had a snack and then went to a movie ("Shakespeare
in Love") at the local theater. Skipped dinner, walked back to Orca
Inn, and went to bed early. The Orca Inn has a little bit of
interesting history itself: once upon a time it was cheap housing for
Alaskan cannery workers. Sometime recently it was shipped to Friday
Harbor on barges to be transformed into its current status as a cheap
motel. Actual motto: "Spend a night, not a fortune." It's the
cheapest overnight stay on the island ($49/night for a double bed),
the rooms are spartan (bed, desk, TV, private bathroom) but clean.
Picked up a brochure on the way into town for
Cap'n
Howard's Sailing Charters,
whom we had sailed with two years ago. Discovered with some pride
that he had used my photo of the whale breaching in his new brochure.
Vaguely remembered giving him permission to do so when we had
communicated briefly by email after our last trip, but had never heard
anything about it since.
Had breakfast at Bella Luna with Ian and Yona. Had a very nice
visit with them. They seem like cool people (actually, everyone on
the island does), and maybe I'll even get to work with them sometime.
Tried to go to a couple of bookstores, but they weren't open yet.
Walked out to the
San Juan Island Library,
met Kathleen (director) and Carrie (the other librarian). They seemed
nice, too (see previous comment about island people). The library is
very impressive for a small community because they get plenty of
volunteer support and have their own taxing district, meaning that
they don't have to fight with the government to keep their budget
allocated for themselves.
Walked back to town, went to Serendipity bookstore, met Carol (another
island person, are we catching on yet?). Went to the Harbor bookstore
and bought postcards. Stopped by
San Juan Boat Tours
to sign up for a whale watching trip. Proudly showed them Cap'n
Howard's brochure and they were able to identify the whale in the
photo as L38 (a member of one of the three resident pods of the area),
aka Dylan.
Went to the Sunshine Gallery (art gallery) where we were to meet
up with Hugh and Marj. Talked to Trudy a bit while waiting. Hugh and
Marj arrived and we went to lunch at the Cannery House diner. Yummy
sandwiches.
Spent the afternoon with Hugh and Marj, first at their house.
It's a beautiful house on Little Mountain with a view of the Olympic
Mountains, Mount Rainier, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Met Opus
(their cat) and Loki (their dog). Watched bald eagles, enjoyed the
view, walked in the woods, admired their many irises. Drove out to
the west side of the island to a couple of overlooks and to Lime Kiln
State Park, aka "Whale Watch Park". Didn't see any whales, but saw an
otter, a couple seals, and a tiny little garter snake. The park is
undergoing some growth, with a new overlook, expanded parking area,
and widened trails being put in. I have mixed feelings about this.
Went back into town (still with Hugh and Marj) and had dinner at
the Thai Kitchen. This might have been my favorite food of this
vacation. It was quite yummy.
Finally went back to the room, turned on the TV and fell asleep while channel surfing. LG woke up, then woke me up, and we turned off the TV at the obscene hour of 9:45pm.
Bought an apple and some granola for breakfast from King's Market
(the local grocery). Went on our whale watching tour on the Blackfish
with Darrell (our captain) and Leslie (naturalist and photographer).
Only the J pod had been around lately, and we found them (and scads of
other boats) on the west side of the island. I didn't get any photos
as spectacular as the one of Dylan from a couple years ago, but we did
see quite a few whales. We even got to the point (with lots of
guidance from Leslie) where we could identify a couple of them. Also
saw Dall's porpoises, cormorants, seals, and of course (ho hum) bald
eagles.
Had lunch at the Fat Cat Cafe. Went to Susie's Mopeds to see if we could get mopeds overnight. I really wanted to get out to the west side of the island for a sunset. But they don't rent overnight. :-(
Sat on a bench in a little park downtown for a while. LG napped while I watched boats in the harbor and still more eagles overhead. Went home, read for a while.
Headed back into town for dinner at Mi Casita, a Mexican
restaurant. Found it impossible (as usual) to resist a second
margarita. Stopped and bought a nice map including topographic maps
of all the San Juan Islands and street maps of all the towns. Had
some ice cream at the Friday Harbor Ice Cream Company. Went home,
watched a little TV, stayed up even more obscenely late (10:30pm).
Ate more of our granola for breakfast. Walked into town about
10am to meet the Victoria Clipper (containing Rick, Evelyn, and Eli),
which was to arrive around 10:30. Found the ferry already present,
but not yet unloaded, so we were able to greet them off the boat.
Went to the hotel, dropped off their bags, and walked back downtown.
Had lunch at The Bistro, some nice little individual pizzas.
Caught the
San Juan Island Shuttle
out to Whale Watch Park. Got there just as the pod was moving by the
area, so we got to see a few. The tide was out, and Rick and I
explored lots of small marine life in the tide pools among the rocks.
Saw teeny crabs, anemones, fish, and various unidentifiable things.
Rode the shuttle back to Friday Harbor via
Roche Harbor.
Saw alpaca farms (there are several on the island) and got some
tour-style commentary from our shuttle driver.
Walked back to our motel and took a little nap. Walked back
downtown for dinner at the Downrigger (seafood place). Had more
Copper River salmon, still delicious but I liked the preparation
better the other day at Ray's. It still went very well with a pinot
noir. Walked around on the pier for a while. Went back to bed at our
becoming-normal 10ish.
Checked out, left our bags at the motel. Walked downtown,
"mailed"
a card to the
Symera
team, and mailed the rest of our (few) postcards. Had breakfast at
Bella Luna, our first repeated restaurant visit of the trip. Moseyed
around a little. Happened upon the Friday Harbor Memorial Day parade,
stood and watched the rest of the event.
At one point during the parade, a little boy (2-ish) went running
across the street right through the middle of the (stationary) women's
auxiliary. They remained stoic, but mom was less so. She called to
him across the street and wagged her finger to call him back to her.
He went running back through the women, but stopped right in the
middle of the street, picked something up off the ground, and ate it
before continuing.
Went up to the
Whale Museum.
Talked to the manager (Kent) about displaying photos in the gallery
for sale. I might send a couple out there. It would be way cool to
sell a photo, I think. Explored the rest of the museum.
Moseyed back in the general direction of our hotel, stopped for
ice cream along the way. Picked up bags, headed back downtown about
half an hour before we were supposed to meet the Victoria Clipper.
Found it already loaded. We couldn't find four seats together, but we
found 2 and 2.
LG and I sat with a few people who had just finished the Swiftsure International Yacht Race. Well, actually they had not finished it, because they'd had some sort of trouble which resulted in one of them (at our table) getting his hand twisted up in some riggings and cutting off the end of one of his fingers (last knuckle). He also broke a bone in his hand and was bandaged and splinted up from elbow to fingertip.
Rough weather in the strait again forced a re-route from normal,
this time through Deception Pass, a well-known scenic narrow passage
between a couple of the islands. This re-route didn't delay us very
much, and we arrived in Seattle just about half an hour or so late.
We all had to go through US customs in Seattle, since our boat had
originated in Victoria.
Drove with Rick and Evelyn down to Bernie and Tim's house in Gig
Harbor. This involved going across the Tacoma Narrows bridge. If
that name rings a bell, it's probably because you've seen the old
video footage of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse of 1940, showing
the bridge swaying and buckling wildly in the wind. We didn't have
this problem as we were going over it.
Had dinner kindly cooked by Tim, met various pets, slept in their son Spencer's room on a trundle bed.
Rode to SeaTac with Rick. Morning traffic was lighter than Tim
predicted and we were plenty early. Sitting near us at the gate there
was a very large woman, a stereotypical Eastern European
steroid/bodybuilder type, no ankles, hairy legs, hairier face,
sleeveless muu-muu dress, sandals. She was having her breakfast: raw
hotdogs right out of the package.
Tried to get bumped to a later flight for a pair of $600 vouchers,
and thought we had it when they announced that they were using us as
volunteers. But when we got to the counter, instead of saying "here
are your vouchers" they said "first class". Oh well, flying first
class isn't so bad. Real glasses and china. Warm nuts. Hot towels.
A rose in the bathroom. Good food (relatively speaking). Free wine.
A sundae for dessert. Comfy seats. Noticeably less engine noise.
Maybe I had on my rose-colored glasses, but I could have sworn even
the view out the windows was clearer and prettier.
The only down side was that LG and I weren't sitting together, so
if we got bored we couldn't bug each other. Also, a couple peasants
from the proletariat section (coach) came up and used our bathroom
during the flight. No one seemed to mind though.
As we pulled up to the gate at O'Hare, there was a suitcase sitting out in the middle of the tarmack. After a couple of minutes a refueling truck pulled up. The driver peered out his window at the suitcase for a minute, looked around (nearest luggage truck was about 50 yards away), and then got out and threw the suitcase on his truck.
Had a longish (3hr) layover in Chicago due to some other flight
being cancelled. Ate lousy pizza, felt a little woozy. Went to our
gate. There a couple of people were reading books. He was reading "A
Widow for One Year" by John Irving and she was reading "How to Win
Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. About half an hour
later they switched books and continued reading.
The flight back to Champaign was uneventful, and Pat remembered to
be there to pick us up even though we had never given him the promised
reminder call. Good for him.