Back In The USA, On To Seattle

Surprisingly we sailed through American customs, no questions asked, again! Looks like the trick is to A)pull an RV over the border, B)go at a busy time where there are lots of other cars in line and C)have Lindsay along for the ride.

On our way into Seattle we stopped on the outskirts and paid a visit to the Red Hook brewery. I'd read that they gave cheap tours, and since I'd recently enjoyed a six pack of their Wit ginger flavored beer, I figured we'd give them a try. The tour was indeed only $1, and included 6 generous samples and a commemorative glass, but I would have to say it was one of the more boring tours I've had in a brewery. Lindsay had noticed the Chateau Saint Michelle vineyards across the road on our way in, so we walked over there and also enjoyed that free tour.

Cheers!

Free wine tasting at Chateau Saint Michelle

The following morning the three of us set out to explore Seattle. Sky and I had been here before, but it was Lindsay's first time, so we had lots on the itinerary. We started by visiting the Aurora Street bridge troll. He is a must visit in the creative Fremont district. We strolled further into Fremont for a cup of coffee, and passed several other interesting landmarks along the way including the Stalin statue, a massive Rocket, and THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.

Aurora St. Bridge troll

The Center of the Universe in Fremont

The historic Ballard district was nearby, and we drove there next. We visited the Hiram Chittenden Locks, watched a few yachts get held up as the water levels changed, and then went downstairs to see the salmon swim up stream in the fish ladder viewing windows. By then we were pretty famished, and La Isla, a Puerto Rican restaurant on Market St., was exactly what we needed.

The Ballard Locks

Lindsay and Sky watching salmon swim up stream

With fully renewed strength we ventured to the Seattle Center, where we strolled by the Space Needle on our way to the Public Market. At the market we admired the local craftsmanship, huge flower bouquets, and loads of fresh fish as we were herded through along with five million other visitors to Seattle. I wanted to show Lindsay a local masterpiece, the Gum Wall, so we made our way there next. The gum wall is really a gum alley now, with pieces of gum of every color and flavor lining the walls, windows and  floor of Post Alley. Skyler added his touch to the piece.

The Public Market in Seattle

Inside the Public Market

Sky adding his gum to the Gum Wall

The previous time we'd been to Seattle an old co-worker of ours had shown us around and one of the places he'd taken us was Elliot's Oyster House on the harbor. There he treated us to $1 happy hour oyster shooters, and Sky and I remembered them being some of the best oysters we'd ever had. We had enticed Lindsay with these amazing oyster shooters for three days straight while in Canada. Boy, we were dissapointed this time, maybe because the build up was too much, but the oyster shooters we had this time were no comparison.

Our mood was soon improved though when we caught an hour long cruise excursion of the Seattle harbor. The commentator was very funny and told a great tale about Seattle and our surrounding sites. We even cruised under the massive cranes in the loading docks in the Port of Seattle. The pictures we got of the Seattle skyline from the bay were pretty epic to say the least.

Us enjoying the epic views of downtown Seattle from the cruise 

Cruising under the loading cranes in the Port of Seattle

On Lindsay's last day we went hiking just outside of Seattle at Wallace Falls, a popular weekend hike destination for Seattlers'. There is a little mom-an-pop bakery off of highway 2 called the Sultan Bakery. There we found the WORLDS LARGEST CINNAMON ROLLS. No seriously, I think these rolls were the size of a normal bread loaf.

Wallace Falls

World's largest cinnamon rolls at the Sultan Bakery

When Lindsay flew home we still had four more days in Seattle, so we relaxed for the most park. One day we decided to bike from Bellevue (where our RV park was) to downtown Seattle, and that turned out to be a 30 mile, somewhat hilly, bike ride. The most memorable part of the ride was seeing a Bald Eagle on the I-90 bridge. I'm not sure we'd ever seen one in person before, so it was quite a treat to watch it fly over its nest.

Biking across the I-90 bridge to Seattle

The Bald Eagle we saw on the I-90 bridge

I will leave you with one interesting insiders tip on visiting Seattle: you can get an amazing city view from the Columbia Tower (a skyscraper in downtown Seattle), on its 40th floor for free. How? There is a Starbucks cafe there, and its easily accessible to the public. So instead of paying $19 to climb up the Space Needle you can enjoy similar views for the price of a cup of delicious coffee.

Views from the Columbia Tower Starbucks cafe

To see more pictures of Seattle, click here.

Happy Seattle exploring,

M.