Top 10: Seattle

In no particular order, here are my top 10 favorites from last week's vacation. . .


1. Pike Place Market
I wish I lived somewhere with a market. I can picture myself stopping on my way home from work to pick up whatever seems fresh and delicious to make for dinner. It seems so romantic and spontaneous and delicious.

I was prepared to see lots of fish and produce and flowers. I wasn't prepared for all the odd kitschy shops. We really stayed away from those.

2. Olympic National Park: Hurricane Ridge
I will admit - I didn't really want to do this. I didn't think it would be that cool. I believe my exact words were, "We can see snow at home." But, Brad insisted we drive the Hyundai Accent up the 5,000+ ft to Hurricane Ridge. The ecosystems along the way and the view at the top were amazing.

3. Olympic National Park: La Push (Mora and Rialto Beaches)
The coast was about 90 minutes from our first stop in Olympic National Park (Port Angeles). I'm so glad we made the trip, though. The ocean was amazing. The waves were big (or at least seemed big to us lake-going people) and made an amazing sound.

We did find out that you can hike along the beach and camp for free. That is something I would love to do - in the summer.

4. Reading
I realize this really has nothing to do with Seattle and that I could have accomplished this anywhere, but it sure was nice to have some time (mostly on planes or in airports) to read.

I finished a few things:
Cutting for Stone
If I Stay
Dark Side of Innocence

I started a few others:
School of Essential Ingredients
Where She Went

5. Staying in a tree house
About two months ago I decided I wanted a surprise for Brad during our vacation. I searched online for a treehouse (something he's always been interesting in staying in) near Seattle. I found Tree House Point.

Seriously. I can't say enough about this place. It was easy to book. Everyone was so friendly. It was actually not even that expensive. And, best of all, the accomodations were AMAZING. The craftmanship was incredible. The decor was simple - not tacky, outdoorsy, cabin stuff.

The tree went through the center of our cabin, and we accessed our deluxe accommodations via suspension bridge. There was a river that ran through the property. We actually slept with all the windows of our cabin open (and the heat cranked up) to enjoy the sound of the river, birds, and other nature.

There were a few things to do outside of the tree house, too. One of them was a net strung high between three trees. We climbed a ladder (this was, mind you, after the wine tasting which is explained below) and could lounge around in the net high above the ground. Very cool.

6. Space Needle
I was prepared for this to be completely lame. I'm not a big fan of heights, and I didn't realize that we would actually be able to walk around outside on the balcony. I was wrong (not something I admit often!), though. The view was amazing despite the gloomy skies.

7. Ferry boats
This makes me think of Grey's Anatomy. I alternated between picturing Derek talking about how much he loved ferry boats, the scene where Addison threw her wedding ring into the water, and the horrible episode where the ferry crashed.

We took the Kingston / Edmonds ferry on the way to Olympic National Park. We took the Bainbridge Island ferry back to Seattle at the end of the day.

The ferry did cost more than I anticipated. It was almost $20 to get there and about $15 to get back.

8. Top Pot Doughnuts & Coffee
I thought that Voodoo Doughnuts was in Seattle. It doesn't seem to be. So, we stopped at Top Pot instead (recommended by a few people and websites) for some doughnuts and coffee before heading to Olympic National Park on Tuesday.

It was a fabulous idea.

9. Woodinville (aka Wine Country)
Washington is - according to our lovely tour guide at Chateau Ste. Michelle - the nation's second largest producer of wine (behind CA). And, Woodinville was right on the way to our tree house. It only seemed logical to stop.

We began at Chateau Ste. Michelle for a tour of their white wine facility; they mostly make Riesling. The whole thing was a little commercial, but their grounds were beautiful and I learned at least a few things.

From there, we had lunch at Red Hook Brewery. We skipped the tour there because of timing.

After that, things get a little fuzzy. we started by tasting at Amavi / Pepper Bridge. We paid to taste there. The tasting fee would have been refunded upon purchase. We were still pretty sober, so there wasn't any purchasing done.

From there, we went to Ross Andrew Winery. Things were starting to get a little fuzzy. We bought one bottle - white, oddly enough - there and visited with the very knowledgable and helpful sales person.

Next, we went to J. Bookwalter's tasting studio. Now, it may have been the labels I really loved here. Or maybe it was the fact that many of their wine names have literary references (like Foreshadow). Or maybe it was just the liberal pours and the fact that this was the last of four stops. But, I really liked the wine here. So much that we - apparently - bought two bottles.

There aren't many pictures from this adventure. Picture taking didn't really occur to me at the time.

And, I should say that I didn't really realize that we weren't visiting production facilities or vineyards (except Chateau Ste. Michelle). Everywhere else we went was just a tasting room. I did learn a lot about the process of making wine, though. The most fascinating part was that some wine makers don't actually grow their own grapes. They contract certain rows of grapes from growers and are responsible for checking in on the grapes and requesting that growers adjust certain conditions or harvest at a particular time. There are, apparently, some rows of grapes that are far more coveted than others.

10. A friendly city
I can't tell you how many times Brad and I both commented on how friendly everyone we met while in Washington was. People were quick to talk about what they enjoyed about their city and make recommendations about what we might enjoy. I never felt embarrassed to be, say, or act like a tourist.


And, this might sound silly, but every one obeyed the speed limit. That was totally different from other places we're used to driving, like Illinois (for example).

And, everything was clean. Whether in the city or a national park or a vineyard, everything was completely clean. There were lots of signs about not littering. And, there were always cans for recycling (even composting) everywhere - including gas stations.

So - there you have it. 10 favorites from my trips. Thanks for hanging in there. This turned out to be quite a monster post.