Sisters in Seattle

This past week I was in Seattle visiting my nephew Leo and his wife Marcy. As if that wasn't great enough my sister Cass and two of my best girlfriends (sisters) Carol and Sue also made the trip, we had a blast. Despite three and nine hour plane delays the first day we all managed to get up early and head for Vancouver, British Columbia where we planned to sleep over.


Vancouver was not the city I had romanticized. We spent the early part of our afternoon on Granville Island which is very touristy, full of specialty shops, expensive bars, restaurants and the wonderful city market, a converted ship yard with a cacophony of food, flowers and artistic expression. Late afternoon we strolled the Van Dusen gardens which offered a special treat, nearly 100 sculptures by Zimbabwean carvers who were chipping away and ready to chit chat. The gardens are rich with plant diversity, palms mingle with exotic evergreen specimens like the rough and tough monkey puzzle and softer weeping hemlocks while colorful heaths and heathers smoother the earth. Our evening meal at Blue Water Cafe in downtown was excellent, we devoured sushi, ceviche, salmon, ribs and steak paired with wonderful wine, their wine list included bottles in excess of $2,600.00 (we did not sample this wine). The city itself was the turn off for me, the architecture was reminiscent of the early 60's with high rises dominating the skyline line in an endless sea of green glass.

This was my second trip to Seattle but my first on The Duck, vintage WWII amphibious vehicles that tour both the city and Lake Union. Our captain, Noah Lott was full of himself and local knowledge keeping us laughing while giving us a bit of Seattle history. I would recommend the duck tour and include the underground tour in a future visit.


We managed to fit in a day at the zoo and of course no trip would be complete without a visit to the Space Needle. We ate Sunday brunch at the Needle and it was wonderful, we were blessed with great weather our entire trip and the prefect blue skies provided a stunning view up 650', the city is fabulous as you spin in the restaurant.


One evening we took in a play and the final night we saw the Mariners get beat up by the Boston Red Sox. Our friend Carol who is from Boston and a huge Sox fan especially enjoyed the park, if you go get a cold beer and garlic fries, you can't go wrong.

Driving to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains was certainly a highlight of the trip. We took a ferry across the bay and drove through small coastal towns as we climbed toward our goal. For fans of the Twilight books you can even dine in the same restaurant as Bella and Edward. But it is the view on top of the mountains that will blow you away, getting above the clouds is ethereal.

From what I have seen of this part of the country it is super groovy. You could spend lots of time here especially if the great outdoors is your thing. Oh yeah, if you get a chance try Pinot Noir, 2008 by A to Z vineyard out of Oregon. It was voted the best Pinot Noir two years running, under $20.00 per bottle, it is lovely.

Seattle Lay Over

The job in Fort Wayne was a great experience for me, working for someone else after 25 years of being the boss was an adjustment to say the least. Although I worked as a project manager I was able to observe and sometimes lend a hand to the various maintenance aspects the company performed. Riding with the crews, hearing their complaints against management made me wonder what was said by my crews. In my own business I was a big fish in a small pond but working for someone else I became a little fish in a big pond, quite an education. My contract was up in just before Christmas and I was anxious to hit the road as my winter plans included a trip to Seattle and Hawaii, both new destinations for me.

Seattle was a stop over to visit the nephew who had just married, he started a job at The Gates Foundation and I was anxious to see the sites. Although we had a wonderful time, spring or summer would surely be even more beautiful. The city itself screams with youth and vitality, even a bus ride becomes an adventure as the routes are filled with characters willing to chat it up. Of course we visited The Space Needle, Pikes Market, took a harbor tour, ate some awesome chowder and walked the downtown districts with ease. Getting out of town for one day we found snow on Mount Rainier which prohibited driving to the top but our views at Snoqualmie Falls were close up as the sweet, young waiter treated us with a seat on the small balcony off the private party room. Seattle and the surrounding area call out for further exploration, I am sure glad the nephew and his bride just bought a house there as I plan to visit again soon.