Today was our last day of vacation - well, technically I'm on 'vacation' tomorrow but will be on airplanes most of the day.
We checked out of the hotel and put everything in the rental car, then walked down to Pike Place Market. After looking around for a bit, we were seated on the second floor of Lowell's for breakfast. Pretty good breakfast grub; not as good as The Oak Table in Sequim, but the view of Puget Sound made up for it.
After breakfast, we walked around a bit; Mom did some shopping. A lot of the stores on the lower levels weren't open yet. After a brief tour, we decided to split up for the day and meet back at the hotel at 7pm. I walked around some more, picked up another memory card for my digital camera, and a souvenir t-shirt for my nephew (he's obsessed with the Space Needle right now, so what better place to buy a shirt!).
Right at 11am, I was waiting outside the door of Pike Pub & Brewery. I had tried a few of these long ago, well before I joined RateBeer, and was anxious to get some notes. I wasn't disappointed. I took a nice long break and enjoyed the following samples: Naughty Nellie's Ale, Pale Ale, Weisse, Bitter (FSB), IPA, Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, Monk's Uncle Tripel, XXXXX Stout, and Tandem Double Ale. I also bought a bottle of 2006 Old Bawdy Barley Wine to bring back.
After that session, it was time for a bit of a stroll. I went downstairs to Western Avenue and found Market Cellar Winery, which back in 1995 was called Liberty Malt Supply. It was here that I bought my first homebrewing book, a second edition Papazian "Joy of Homebrewing". There are still beer supplies now, but the wine stuff seemed more prevalent. I picked up three beer books (two on half-price) from the Classic Beer Style Series: Porter, German Wheat Beer, and Belgian Ales.
From this area, I walked for a nice long distance up to Elysian Brewing Company. By the time I got here, I was hungry for lunch. I had a small beer sampler before getting my steak & frites with bleu cheese. Unfortunately, I couldn't handle another big session of sampling after Pike, so I stuck with the basics. Plus, you can't just choose any old beer for your sampler at Elysian. They do it for you, no matter what you ask for. They were also out of two beers I was hoping to try while there. The bartender was also my server, and I wasn't too impressed with him or his attitude. Regardless, the food was pretty good and the beers weren't bad. I tried Hydra Hefeweizen, The Wise ESB, The Immortal IPA, Perseus Porter, Prometheus Stolen Fire IPA, and Dragonstooth Stout. I also bought a bottle of Avatar Jasmine IPA to bring back with me.
Time for more walking! I headed back toward the water for the long jaunt to Pioneer Square, the older district of Seattle. I had forgotten just how hilly some parts of the city can be .. really gave the calves a workout. After walking to and around Pioneer Square, I settled on another beer break at The Collins Pub, where I chose a bottle of 2006 Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws. Yum.
After that, I started heading back toward the area of the hotel - taking my time and checking out the city and the people. I was cornered for a bit by an ambitious college girl named Jasmin who was stumping for Greenpeace. Tried to get me to sign up and rally against global warming, etc. But as I was in no hurry and a bit buzzed, I explained to her about the local problems of abandoned mine drainage which isn't as much of a problem in Seattle. That threw her for a loop and I bid adieu as her eyes started glazing over.
I decided to grab a light sandwich before meeting the parents, and ended up at theTwo Bells Tavern. I enjoyed a Mac and Jack's African Amber Ale with my burger and chicken & lime soup.
Shortly thereafter, I met my parents and we headed out to the airport hotel. After dropping off the rental car, I enjoyed a few more West Coast beers in my room (had no more room in the suitcase), namely Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Widmer Bros. Broken Halo IPA.
After this, it was time for bed because I had a 4am wakeup call in order to make my 6am flight to Salt Lake.
All in all - a damn fine trip.
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Waterfalls, Lavender, and Seattle
This morning, we headed over to the best breakfast place that I have ever had the fortune to visit: The Oak Table Cafe. After all of these years, it was still terrific ... how one place can make the best bacon and eggs with side of pancakes so far beyond any other I've tried ... it just blows my mind.
After fattening up and checking out of the hotel, we started west again on Highway 101. We stopped by Sunny Farms, a really nice farm market and picked up a few munchies & drinks for the day. It was raining out, but that's rather typical for this area.
We drove through Port Angeles and out to Crescent Lake, where we stopped midway to take the hike to Marymere Falls. Even with the drizzle, it turned out to be a very nice hike and not crowded at all. Even got to see some banana slugs.
From Marymere Falls, we headed back towards Port Angeles and decided to take a small side trip up the Elwha River. All the different times that we'd been past that park entrance and never went ... odd. Anyway, it was really pretty up that way, despite the fog and rain, and we got some great shots of one of the reservoirs.
From there, it was time to gas up in Port Angeles. At that point, I grabbed the local paper: thePeninsula Daily News. Why? The day before, two very bizarre (one tragic) incidents occurred. The first was some idiot who got drunk and led police on a high speed chase through downtown. Not that odd, except for how it ended .. his car drove off a pier and flew 180 feet into the bay. Yeehaw! See this article for the amusing details.
The second article was more tragic in that later I found out that one person actually died. A family was coming down off of Hurricane Ridge and lost control of their RV, rammed several cars, and went off into a 20-foot deep ravine. "Luckily", this happened closer to town, and not way up in the hills, where a vehicle could plunge several hundreds of feet. That article is here.
Our last stop before leaving the Olympic Peninsula was in Sequim at the Purple Haze Lavender Farm. This is one of my wife's favorite shops (last time we brought home several splays of dried lavender on the plane), so since she couldn't be with us both I and my mom picked her up some lavender stuff.
At last, it was time to bid au revoir to the Olympics and head to Seattle. We drove down and caught the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry just in time for downtown Seattle rush hour. Good times! The trip over was nice, though very overcast and cold. We didn't have far to drive to make it to the hotel over on 5th Avenue (right next to the Monorail tracks).
After all of the driving and rainy weather, we decided to just stroll down the block to find a place to eat. We were recommended to Amore, a small bistro, and were not disappointed! During dinner, I tried an Alpine Weizen Bock and a Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA. Food was delicious!
After this late dinner, the parents were ready to retire. I watched a bit of TV but was still keyed up, so I decided to walk down 5th for a while. It was almost balmy (for Seattle) and the rain had stopped; perfect evening for a stroll. Within 15 minutes, I round myself walking into the Seattle location of Rock Bottom. I ambled up to the bar for a sampler and tucked in. I sampled Daylight, Faller Wheat, Peashooter Pale Ale, Rain City Red, Brown Bear Brown, Flying Salmon Stout, and Hop Bomb IPA. This was my first experience at a Rock Bottom, though I'd tried a few at festivals. I still have not been to the one in Pittsburgh (Homestead) and I'm still not in a hurry.
The more interesting part of the experience was striking up a convo with the guy two seats down at the bar ... long story short: he was up from L.A., first time in Seattle. Turns out he's originally from Williamsport, PA and had two siblings who attended the university where I teach. Furthermore, it turns out he's the brother-in-law of the lawyer who did the closing on my house two years ago. Small world freakyness!!
After that, I walked back to the hotel and called it a night.
After fattening up and checking out of the hotel, we started west again on Highway 101. We stopped by Sunny Farms, a really nice farm market and picked up a few munchies & drinks for the day. It was raining out, but that's rather typical for this area.
We drove through Port Angeles and out to Crescent Lake, where we stopped midway to take the hike to Marymere Falls. Even with the drizzle, it turned out to be a very nice hike and not crowded at all. Even got to see some banana slugs.
From Marymere Falls, we headed back towards Port Angeles and decided to take a small side trip up the Elwha River. All the different times that we'd been past that park entrance and never went ... odd. Anyway, it was really pretty up that way, despite the fog and rain, and we got some great shots of one of the reservoirs.
From there, it was time to gas up in Port Angeles. At that point, I grabbed the local paper: thePeninsula Daily News. Why? The day before, two very bizarre (one tragic) incidents occurred. The first was some idiot who got drunk and led police on a high speed chase through downtown. Not that odd, except for how it ended .. his car drove off a pier and flew 180 feet into the bay. Yeehaw! See this article for the amusing details.
The second article was more tragic in that later I found out that one person actually died. A family was coming down off of Hurricane Ridge and lost control of their RV, rammed several cars, and went off into a 20-foot deep ravine. "Luckily", this happened closer to town, and not way up in the hills, where a vehicle could plunge several hundreds of feet. That article is here.
Our last stop before leaving the Olympic Peninsula was in Sequim at the Purple Haze Lavender Farm. This is one of my wife's favorite shops (last time we brought home several splays of dried lavender on the plane), so since she couldn't be with us both I and my mom picked her up some lavender stuff.
At last, it was time to bid au revoir to the Olympics and head to Seattle. We drove down and caught the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry just in time for downtown Seattle rush hour. Good times! The trip over was nice, though very overcast and cold. We didn't have far to drive to make it to the hotel over on 5th Avenue (right next to the Monorail tracks).
After all of the driving and rainy weather, we decided to just stroll down the block to find a place to eat. We were recommended to Amore, a small bistro, and were not disappointed! During dinner, I tried an Alpine Weizen Bock and a Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA. Food was delicious!
After this late dinner, the parents were ready to retire. I watched a bit of TV but was still keyed up, so I decided to walk down 5th for a while. It was almost balmy (for Seattle) and the rain had stopped; perfect evening for a stroll. Within 15 minutes, I round myself walking into the Seattle location of Rock Bottom. I ambled up to the bar for a sampler and tucked in. I sampled Daylight, Faller Wheat, Peashooter Pale Ale, Rain City Red, Brown Bear Brown, Flying Salmon Stout, and Hop Bomb IPA. This was my first experience at a Rock Bottom, though I'd tried a few at festivals. I still have not been to the one in Pittsburgh (Homestead) and I'm still not in a hurry.
The more interesting part of the experience was striking up a convo with the guy two seats down at the bar ... long story short: he was up from L.A., first time in Seattle. Turns out he's originally from Williamsport, PA and had two siblings who attended the university where I teach. Furthermore, it turns out he's the brother-in-law of the lawyer who did the closing on my house two years ago. Small world freakyness!!
After that, I walked back to the hotel and called it a night.
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