Blogs from Washington, United States, North America - page 4

Natalie writes in: Today, September 21, is the first full day on our journey. A day with sentiment. We left Lynden and the Puget Sound area on a beautiful day. We encountered a lot of traffic that Tom handled very confidently, while Natalie carried enough tenseness to need a chiropractic visit! The smoke around Issaquah area was unpleasant but the higher we climbed the clearer it became. So - we arrived in Ellensburg just fine. We decided the first stay on the journey was going all out (Pardon the puns) with deluxe amenities at the site. We had a stone patio, nice table and Adirondack chairs, grill, fire pit. Then a celebratory dinner of steaks, fried rice, potato, and croissant. We lingered so long over dinner the office closed before we got our ice cream. 😂 ... read more

One of the simple pleasures of being in Lynden is the city itself, originally a Dutch settlement. The main street through the historic district starts as a very pretty drive through a wide tree-lined street with beautiful homes and churches for a mile or so before everything opens up at the business center. This runs maybe 5 or so city blocks with a big windmill at the beginning and a nice little city park at the other end. In between are many buildings, most of them original construction, and the architecture is well worth admiring. Along the sidewalks on both sides of the street are huge hanging baskets of flowers. If you’re taller than 3 feet, you’ll need to duck or walk around them. It is really worth the stroll and your admiration of the impressive ... read more

Day one is completed, not much to report yet. Don and I arrived in Seattle about 1/2 and hour behind schedule. He met up with his friends to begin his journey of hiking a section of the PCT then his bicycle route from WA to FL. I took of on my own heading east on I90. Much like Oregon, Washington's terrain changed once I went over the mountains. My destination campsite was closed due to wildfires but luckily the small little town of Vantage, WA offered a nice campsite in town. The check-in processes was so sumple, it was confusing. One super woman ran the store, hotel, post office and campground! ? I did a full tent set yp just for more practice. Everything worked out well. Ienjoyed a nice salad, smoked salmon dip and ritz ... read more

We were up at the crack of dawn to catch our 7am flight from LA to Seattle. It didn’t happen that way. We got to the airport, stood in line forever for Starbucks (I don’t regret it), finally boarded our plane… and sat there… for about 45 minutes… as Delta announced we were waiting for pilots, that they had no pilots and were searching for more pilots, and finally, our flight had been cancelled. But then, as half the plane was unloaded, we received texts that we would indeed be on this flight, but it is now delayed until 10:16am. We wasted money at the airport bar. You're not on vacation until you've had a drink before 10am, right?? Later, the same people started boarding the same plane around 9:45am… and around the corner walks two ... read more

When we think of Seattle, we think of coffee, Microsoft, Pike Place Market, maybe even Nordstrom. But I also love Seattle for its great public library and book culture. I think I have visited the Seattle Public Library more than any out-of-town library in the world!! Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature, the second U.S. city to be given the honor. The Central Library is an institution that everyone—reader and non-reader—should have on their itinerary. It’s an 11-level glass-and-steel building that has the capacity to house over 1.5 million books. But that’s not the only reason Seattle is on this list. The city has a civic poet. The program appoints a poet who engages with the community and serves as an ambas... read more