The Saga Ends

Mount Rainier...Finally

If there were a perfect day to visit Mount Rainier, it would be today. We have absolutely no regrets about waiting until our final day to drive down there. It was a great way to end the vacation, not to mention relaxing. We're in the airport now and our plane is getting ready to board in about ten minutes, so I'm going to have to make this quick.

We were checked out of the Ace Hotel by 9:30 or so, and got started on our drive down to Rainier pretty much right away. It's about a 2 and a half hour drive, so we stopped for a quick breakfast off the interstate, then made our way along another 60 miles of state road to arrive at the park entrance.

It's a pretty amazing park, sectioned off into different elevations. We started in something close to a national old-growth forest, then made our way up to the tree line, stopping by plenty of overlooks and vistas of the mountain along the way. We were worried during the morning because of all the low-hanging clouds around the area, but those all pretty much burnt off by noon and by the time we made it to the top of the tree line, we had a magnificent view.

We stayed up there for awhile and hung around the old visitor center, then meandered through a few paths that were completely covered in over 20 feet of snow. On our way back to the car we ran into a red cascades fox running through the parking lot. There was a ranger there making sure that he didn't get hit, because as we learned from her, the fox (actually a subspecies of the red fox) is an endangered species, only local to the Cascade Mountains. We watched him make his way over the snow bank, then headed back towards our car and drove all the way back down the mountain to the lodge for some lunch.



By the time we finished up, we only had an hour or two for some hiking, so we checked out a few of the trails around the bottom of the ridge, but even those were completely covered in literally feet of snow. We toughed it out for a while, got some amazing views, then after one last glance up at the mountain, hiked back to our car and started the long drive back towards Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Not only was it a relaxing and peaceful day, but the weather was absolutely beautiful and like I said before, it was the perfect ending for our trip. We couldn't have asked for anything more.

Discovery Park and Our Last Night in Seattle

Leaving North Bend, we set the GPS to take us directly to Discovery Park, and enormous wooded park on the coast of the Sound, just west of Queen Anne. About 45 minutes later we arrived, parked the car, and started walking.

It was a little longer of a hike that we originally planned, but was it worth it. The first part brought us close to these huge bluffs looking over the Sound and into Bainbridge Island. The day was still a bit overcast and foggy, so there wasn't too much to see, but it kind of added to the experience of it. There's something about mist over the water that just feels right. It's not spooky, but appropriate. It was a little chilly and there was a drizzle in the air, but we were enjoying ourselves.

After hiking about two miles through the trails that wound down the cliffs away from the lot, we came to a beach on the edge of a small peninsula that stretched west into the Sound. At the edge of that strip of land was the small West Point Lighthouse, which we started making our way over to. Now, lighthouses fascinate me. I'm not sure what it is about them, but I just think there's something romantic and nostalgic about them...and Steph feels the same way. We clambered down the rocks to the lighthouse and walked along the beach for a bit, taking in the air and the view before heading back up the hill for a rough climb to the car.

By this time it was about 3:00 and the weather was to be desired, so we decided to make one last tourist stop before really calling it a day. We hadn't seen the Space Needle yet, so although we didn't really have any intention of going up into the Needle, it'd still be kind of cool to see the former grounds for the Seattle World's Fair of 1962. Much of it is still there, but has been turned into a tourist park, the most interesting building there being the Experience Music Project building, which we went inside for a bit to check it out. We had a free pass, but unfortunately they were closing early yesterday so we weren't able to use it.

After spending an hour or so poking around the park, we got back into the car and tried to make a decision as to what to do next. Both of us knew that we wanted to chill out for a bit, and we most likely just end up going back to the hotel, laying down for a few hours and taking in some TV before we headed out for the night. And...then we cracked. We couldn't help it, okay? We're movie fans. We love movies. Some of my friends go to different cities all over the country just to sit inside that city's baseball stadium...we do the same for movie theaters. So yeah, we cracked. We went to go see the 7:00 showing of Iron Man. And holy beejeebus was it good.

Following the movie, we knew we wanted to head out for one last night on the town, so we shot back to the hotel, made a quick change, and were out to the bars by 10:30. It was after all, Cinco De Mayo, so we celebrated accordingly. We passed a few of the bars around Belltown, then ended up at a place called Twist (not to be confused with the bar in Cleveland of the same name...purely a coincidence) where we sat back and had a few drinks, reminiscing about the events of our day. Just after midnight we called it a night since we were planning on leaving to go to Rainier today (the weather is looking a LOT better) so we came back to the hotel and crashed.

Tonight will probably be our last update, which I'll do my best to make from the airport. If by chance there's nothing posted in the morning, I'll do my best to make sure that something is posted by the afternoon. It is going to be one. long. day tomorrow, so you'll have to bear with me. Till then, wish us luck at Rainier. We'll be arriving at SEA-TAC airport around 8:30 and flying out on the red-eye at 11:00. Till then.

For All You Twin Peaks Fans...

With our plans to head down and see Mount Rainier yesterday postponed until this morning, Steph and I thought it'd be fun to head west to a town called North Bend where the cult TV series "Twin Peaks" was filmed. There you'll find the cafe that was made famous by the show, along with a few of the other locations around town that were used throughout the series. I had never actually watched the show, so besides being a David Lynch creation and being incredibly strange, I honestly didn't know much about it. Steph on the other hand, along with her sister Tiffany, were fans, so this was one of the main highlights of the trip for her. After all, I had my Goonies moment, she needed her Twin Peaks fix. And it ended up being a really fun time.

It was about a 45 minute drive east from our hotel. We could tell that we were heading into the mountains, which loomed above us, but unfortunately, the cloud cover was so thick and low that it was hard to get a good view of the peaks. Only the bottom of the snow lines were visible. Everything above that disappeared into the mist.

We got into North Bend and filled up on gas, then headed directly to the cafe. Apparently it's extremely different inside and from the pictures on the wall, you can definitely see how. Unfortunately in the year 2000, there was a large fire, started by arson, that gutted the entire cafe, so it was remodeled and rebuilt, but the 60's retro wooden feel has completely disappeared and given way to more of a 50's diner look, with electric blues and reds. The layout is basically the same though, so if you use your imagination, you can see how it originally felt.

Steph had to get her "damn fine cup of coffee" and cherry pie, a pair of which was also made famous in the the show, and slowly sipped away, taking in the entire atmosphere. There were a lot of people in the cafe at the time, mostly all locals, and I couldn't help but notice how much food they were getting. When this place gives you a plate of hash browns and eggs, they aren't kidding. It was more breakfast food that I'd ever be comfortable eating...at least three meals on one plate. It was absolutely ridiculous, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't look good. I mean, who can pass up a huge plate of breakfast skunk?




After our coffee and pie, Steph and I drove around, looking for a few of the other locations in town. The cafe sold maps for $2, and of course Steph bought one, but we both had to laugh at the ridiculousness of its quality. With everything available to us today, you'd think that it wouldn't be hard to produce a quality map with a few locations drawn in, right? Nope, think again. I swear to God, it's like they had a local contest at the elementary school for whomever could produce the best map of Twin Peaks locations. It was like it was seriously drawn by a Kindergarten student...in crayon. I wish I had a picture of this thing. They were honestly selling them...and yes, like I said before...Steph bought one. We are complete suckers.

After our drive and checking out a few of the locations around town (not too much more besides the cafe and the opening credits) we decided to head back towards Seattle and get in some hiking in the parks. We said good-bye to Twin Peaks (North Bend) and headed west back to Seattle and straight into Discovery Park.

The Ace: Seattle

Thursday afternoon we arrived in Seattle, prepared for another three nights at the Ace Hotel. Much to our surprise, the Ace in Seattle is wildly different from its branch down in Portland. We knew the interior design of the hotel was different, but the layout was extremely surprising. In Portland, like any other hotel, the front desk is on the first floor and the rooms lie in the floors above. The Ace: Seattle however, has a much different layout. When you first walk in, you're welcomed by a flight of stairs (no elevator) that span up to the front counter. Once you get all your bags up there, you realize that you're immediately surrounded by rooms. Ours was almost directly across from the front desk. We were a little apprehensive at first, especially since we were at the front of the building, right on top of the street, but after a few nights here, I have to say it's actually not that bad. The street noise out side becomes more of an ambiance, the kind that I really got used to when I lived in NYC and San Francisco.

After sleeping like babies during that first night in seriously, one of the most comfortable beds I've ever been in, all of our initial fears about the room faded away and to be honest, we've really ended up loving it. We're getting ready to leave now, but I know that when we do come back to Seattle, and I do know that we'll come back, the Ace Hotel will be back on our list for places to stay. You can't beat the rates, nor the location. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Mount Rainier? ...Not Today.

Well, we were planning on heading down to Mount Rainier today, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I called the Ranger's station down there and they're in the midst of a rain/snow mixture that would just make hiking kind of miserable, even in the lower altitudes. So, we unfortunately decided to ax those plans for today.

Instead, we're going to take a trip over to the East side to see a few things, and then up to Discovery Park which I heard is really really cool. The good news is, we have all day tomorrow to visit Rainier since we're not planning on getting back to the airport until at least 8pm at the earliest. The weather is looking to be a lot better, around 10-15 degrees warmer, with the snowline beginning around 7500 ft. as opposed to today's 4500, which is where most of the trails begin.

Either way, our last two days in town should be a lot of fun. Keep checking back for more updates in the next 48 hours.

BC & SF

Bainbridge Island & Pioneer Square

Now that we're back in Seattle, it's time to do a few things that we didn't get a chance to cover while we were here before. One of those things, out of a suggestion from my buddy Glen, was to take the Bainbridge Ferry over to Bainbridge Island and back. It's about a 2.5 hour round trip and offers some really unique views of the city, the Cascades, the Olympic Mountains, and if you're lucky, Mount Rainier. So, we did just that, and after a quick contintental breakfast at the hotel, managed to catch the 11:25 ferry over to Bainbridge Island.

It really was beautiful, though the air got really bitey, especially on the Sound, but we loved it. Fortunately, it was just clear enough to gain some really great views on the surrounding mountain ranges. The peak of Rainier however, was covered in cloud. After about 35 minutes or so, we arrived at Bainbridge, unboarded the ship and headed into downtown Bainbridge.

To be honest, there wasn't much here, so we didn't spend much time hanging around. It was nice to see parts of the Island though, and I'm sure it would've been a lot more interesting had we brought our car and driven around the Island for a bit to gain some other views, but we were on a walking tour, so we pretty much stayed in the area of downtown. We did get to check out a few interesting stores while we were here, but nothing that held our interest, (or that our bank accounts would've been able to withstand) Before we knew it, we were heading back towards the Ferry that would sail us back to Seattle.





Back in the city, we learned that Pioneer Square was only a short walk from the Pier, so we headed up the hill, and into the main Square, which as I know it, is the oldest section of Seattle, basically being the square that the entire rest of the city was built upon. This is also where they offer the underground Seattle tour, which we didn't take, but I was actually able to talk to one of the tour guides about it for a few minutes. After fires hit Seattle in the early 20th century, most of the city had to be rebuilt. There were a lot of problems, including flooding and issues with the foundations due to the nearby water table, so everything had to be restructured. Since the city owned the public streets and the sidewalks were privately owned, the city didn't touch the sidewalks and built straight up from the streets, creating basements out of the first floors of each buildings and turning the second floors into street level stores. Does that make sense? It was kind of cool, and it probably would've been great to take the tour, but we just didn't have time.

We ate lunch at a cool little Irish Pub in the Square with one of the friendliest waitresses we've had yet, then took the opportunity to walk into Belltown and explore the area in which we're staying. Steph found a coat that she fell in love with (by a private designer that unfortunately was charging an arm and a leg for it) and I nearly needed to be dragged out of a Peter Miller design store with enough books and resources inside to last me years.

We got back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit, then headed out to dinner at a place we passed earlier called Celler's. It was an amazingly good Italian place that had just opened up a few weeks before. Steph and I both chose our selections from the wine menu, followed by a finely presented cheese plate and our chosen main courses. Completely full, we walked up towards downtown for a few minutes to let our food settle, then jumped in a cab, making our way up to Capitol Hill again to meet my buddy Jon one last time. This offered us a new perspective on Capitol Hill, which Jon explained later as one of the most expensive and sought-after areas of town. We wouldn't have guessed that before, but it was interesting to hear.

We arrived at a bar called the Canterbury a bit early, so we sat down at a chess table and passed the time with me teaching Steph how to play chess. She had never learned before and once she started getting the concept of the game, fell in love with it. I see a really nice chess set in our future after tonight. The bar itself was really cool. It had an old medieval feel to it, complete with small rooms filled with wooden tables, low hanging rafters and chandeliers, fieldstone fireplaces and tudor designed walls. Jon and his friend Rita arrived shortly after, so we sat down with them for a bit and literally laughed straight through the next hour. We wished we could've stayed out with them longer, but because of our early rise in the morning, we cashed out around midnight, said our goodbyes, and took a cab back to the hotel.

Only two days left and there's plenty to fit in, especially tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will hold up long enough for us to really enjoy Mount Rainier. Keep your fingers crossed for us...we'll post more when we get back.