Excursions around Seattle

Our tour to Mount Rainier started very early, with a pick-up in the city at 7.30am. There were 15 people on the tour, from a wide variety of countries, and the whole outing took ten hours. The driver was very experienced, having been driver and guide on these tours for forty years. He was also, however, garrulous and filled in any lull with folksy humour and anecdotes, though once we reached the Mount Rainier National Park his comments were very informative.

We stopped at many well-chosen vantage points to take photos and

sometimes walk along streams. We stopped for an hour and a half at the Paradise Inn, dating from the early twentieth century, giving us plenty of time to both have lunch in the lovely rustic Inn and to explore some short tracks. The meadows were flushed with early Autumn colour and very beautiful. Jan was lucky enough to see a deer close up, on the track. The sky was clear and views of the summit of Mount Rainier around every corner.

Our weekend was devoted to more excursions, this time with Owen and Sophie. Saturday morning began with breakfast at their favourite breakfast venue, The Fat Duck, where we arrived shortly after 7.30 in order to be at the head of the queue when the doors open at 8.00. Although extremely popular this cafe is very small. We had eggs Benedict, and a kind of Spanish omelette in a skillet, both very delicious.

Then we drove north to Snoqualmie, known in popular culture as the location of Twin Peaks. We first stopped below the waterfall where a hydroelectric power station has been operating since 1899, expanded in 1910 and more recently. Then we went to the Salish Lodge and Bar (The Great Northern Hotel from Twin Peaks), where we had Damn Fine Coffee and pie. The mist from the falls obscures the Lodge but we took photos nevertheless.

We drove back to Seattle in time for Owen and Sophie to join friends at a cider festival, which they returned from a few hours later appropriately drunk. We had a modest meal at a pizza place with Owen before heading back to our BnB.

Our Sunday morning breakfast was at a bakery that made delicious buttery croissant. Then we had a long day of driving, to visit Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. From Mukilteo, about 30 miles north of Seattle we caught a ferry to Clinton, and then drove up the long narrow island, stopping at some of the seaside villages, listed on the National Historic Register, as well as State Parks. In particular we enjoyed wandering in Langley and Coupeville.

After stopping at Deception Pass National Park, we crossed back to the mainland via Deception Pass Bridge, built in 1935 as a Depression work project. It spectacularly spanned a very deep and steep passage.

Sophie did all the driving (Owen needs to get a Washington State licence and has to pass another drivers test) and was tired by the time we returned home. Neil and I made dinner of stuffed capsicums from the leftovers of our previous meal of rice and lentils with tomato sauce.