joeyi

Returned Saturday, July 5 from a wonderful 5-day trip to the above places. I will start by saying it was not nearly enough time to see all the area had to offer (and I know all you WA locals are thinking of course that's not enough time).

We arrived the evening of Monday, June 30 on a non-stop Jet Blue flight from San Diego. Our flight was actually 20 minutes early. After finding our way to the parking garage where the Budget rental car is located (no need to take a shuttle to rental car) we were on our way. The first 3 nights were spent at friends in Renton, WA. Being this was our first time to visit they really wanted to show us the sites. Starting with a home cooked gourmet meal of all things from WA. A beautiful salad, fresh king salmon, roasted fresh asparagus with shaved parmesan and for dessert a home made rhubarb crumble with home made vanilla ice cream.

Tuesday we were up early and headed for Pike’s Market. What an amazing place, the sites, sounds smells and colors of all the foods and flowers is really something. I looked like a real tourist with my camera flashing away. Next we walked over to the monorail and took the 1-mile ride to Seattle Center. We walked around there for a while and then went to the top of the Space Needle for lunch. It was a pretty clear day and you really get a feel for the lay out of the city from up there. Unfortunately it was not clear enough to see Mt. Rainier. The lunch is rather pricey but the food and service were very good. Our waiter was really aiming to please. It takes 1 hour for the restaurant to make a full revolution. After lunch we headed over to the Experience Music Project that is very close to the Space Needle. It’s a Frank Gehry Building and the architecture is really unique. My husband is a musician so our friends had picked this stop out especially for him. The Sci-Fi museum is next door and your admission to one is good for both museums but by the time we finished with the Experience Music Project we were all rather tired and ready to leave the city.

For anyone heading to Seattle a little FYI the buses in the city center are free. I know it’s really hard to believe. We never did take a bus but everyone kept telling us this. The monorail had a small fee, I think it was $2 each way, $1 for seniors.

tomorrow Mt. St. Helens

Daniel_Williams

Thanks for posting your trip report and including some useful details inside regarding Seattle Center!

ellen_griswold

to the top ~

Looking forward to the rest of your report. Love the pacific northwest!

joeyi

Daniel, i enjoyed reading your trip report too. still have to read the train part.

Wednesday morning it was off to Mt. St. Helens, our hosts have been a few times since the blast but hadn’t been in a few years. It was a 3-hour drive from their house each way and they packed a wonderful picnic. I would say half the drive is on Interstate 5 and then the rest on country roads with nice scenery. Once you enter the blast zone there are still a lot of trees until you get within the last few miles. We had our picnic down at Coldwater Lake and we were glad we did as it was very calm down there and when we got up to Johnson Ridge Observatory the wind was blowing and even though it is 28 years later there is still a lot of ash blowing around when the wind gets going. I know I had a mouth ful of grit. There is a little trail along the lakeshore and good view of Mt. St. Helens. The area is still pretty devoid of trees but there were many wild flowers blooming. The Parks service has done a nice job with the Observatory at Johnson Ridge. The view from the ridge is even better and you are looking right into the gapping hole of the volcano. I would recommend viewing the movie they show. The theater is large and after the movie there is a surprise that I do not want to ruin for anyone that hasn’t been there yet. The wild flowers were even better up on the ridge and taking in the whole view really lets you feel the power that Mother Nature can have. The fee for Coldwater Lake and Johnson Ridge is $8.

I know this isn’t your typical thing to do when going to Seattle and it’s actually closer to Portland, but we were both interested in seeing the volcano. My husband would much rather be in nature than in a city.

Fodorite018

Sounds like a great trip. Mt. St. Helens is such an amazing place. We go about once a year and never tire of it. I still remember the first time I visited and the devastation was mind boggling. I remember the ash as it fell and all the news at the time, but to see it up close truly is something else.

joeyi

i also marveled at the stories of the people who were camping in the area and lived to tell about it.

joeyi

I still have to write about the Olympic Peninsula, but i thought i would add my photo link now. warning i like to take pictures.


http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...localeid=en_US


http://tiny.cc/Ks72u

joeyi

oops, i hit post too soon both links take you to the same place.

floridagetawaygal

Your photographs are amazing!

soliera

joey, I'm wondering if you ever wrote about the ONP leg?