From Aberdeen, WA to Seattle, WA
From Aberdeen, WA to Seattle, WA
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I'm excited about the possibilities for today's ride and for the weekend visit of Ron and Carole in Seattle. I get up at a decent hour to head out. I spend about a half hour with the operators of the Red Lion. This husband and wife duo have just acquired a Harley Davidson and look forward to their first big ride in the fall. They warn me that the weather, low clouds and some fog, will pretty much eliminate any view of the Olympic Range. I had already assumed that but am still bummed at the news. In 1986, Ron and I went to the Worlds Fair in Vancouver. We took the train from San Diego to Seattle and then a ferry from Seattle to Victoria and on to Vancouver. The day we traveled from Seattle to Victoria was clear and bright. The Olympics were beautiful. Great jagged mountains covered with snow.
Aberdeen is a little port on the Washington coast. The streets seem to go every which way and loop through old road and railroad bridges. The ride to Hoquiam is sort of mixed industrial and residential suburbia. I get off 101 onto Washington 109 in the hopes of seeing a little more ocean than the 101 route. I'm close, I can tell by the smell and the coolness of the air, but the ocean is rarely in view.
I skipped breakfast at the hotel planning on grabbing something along the way. I spy a little restaurant at Copalis Beach. Its the kind of place that looks folksy until you're stopped and staring into it. I go inside and it is sort of a mess, the only place to sit down is at the funky chairs and tables outside. I decide that a nice sweet roll and some coffee will hold me for a while. I place my order and go outside to sit and ponder the clouds.
But before I go outside I can really take in this restaurant. The kitchen is behind an "L" shaped counter that holds a display of various baked goods on offer. The kitchen is a collection of odd work surfaces, appliances and ovens. There is no apparent order. Normally professional kitchens are organized: its the only way to get the tool you need when you need it. The counter has a sign that has been laminated and then taped to the counter. It is titled 'Beach Time.' The basic gist is that if you're in a hurry then go to McDonalds. Here they care about your food and take all the time required to serve you an exquisite item. They are not slow or poorly organized, they just care.
I turn on my heel to retreat to the front seating area. The left side of the building, probably an old house, is separated from the restaurant by a screen or drape. Behind it there is stuff piled on the floor and every flat surface in view. As my awareness broadens I can hear some children in the back part of the house / restaurant. After a suitable wait in beach time, my coffee and sweet roll are delivered. The sweet roll has been heated in a microwave. Ugh! Now it is just tough and chewy, slight stale and sweet. So much for the beneficial effects of beach time.
When I was a wee lad living in Hawaii, we had to evacuate twice as a result of tsunami warnings. Once was early in the morning following the destruction of Hilo Hawaii. I remember the stark emptiness of the neighborhood as we drove across base to go up to the mountain top. Hawaii does not have garages and the absence of cars bespoke the emptiness of the houses. The second time happened while I was in kindergarten. All of a sudden, we were going on a field trip. I would love to embellish the story by saying that I refused to go as I lacked a parental permission slip but that would require considerable artistic license.
The ride into Humtulips has me very quickly into the forest. There is a lot of logging going on. It is clear cutting but is done in large blocks that are then replanted. It seems that the stumps are pulled up sometime after the lumber is cleared. In those tracts of land, the ground is all churned and the huge stumps of these magnificent trees lie above the ground on their sides. It looks like a petulant child has strewn his toys and refused to clean up. My guilty pleasure comes when I pass an area where active harvesting is going on or at mills. The smell of the cypress is some intense and wonderful.
At Humtulips, I turn back onto US highway 101, the great highway of the Pacific Coast. This highway is marked as scenic route around the Olympic Peninsula. The ride up to Quinault on Lake Quinault is on a fine road. The road feels like it is deep in the forest with nice curves that egg me on to play with the bike. There is virtually no traffic up here so it is fun to use the lanes to speed around the corners and up and down the grades.
I'm not sure about the availability of gas on this route so I stop
at Quinault to top off the tank. Its also a good time for some
coffee. The ride has been fun but the weather is damp and cool and
stops to warm up and really appreciated. From Quinault, 101 heads
downhill to the coast for a run along the beach. 
There
is a narrow strip of the Olympic National Park that preserves this
beautiful coastline. There are campsites and beach access points at
regular points. The Kalaloch Lodge provides lodging and food at a
seaside location inside the park. This would be a great way to visit
this area in the future. 
I took these two pictures from the parking lot of the Lodge during a
quick stop there to use the restroom facilities and to check out
their other facilities. There is a lot of interesting points to hike
in addition to ocean activities. The Hoh rain forest, that I didn't
visit, is about 30 miles to the north of this location off highway
101.
As you can see from the picture on the right there is actually some blue sky that manages to stay off the coast for the entire morning and into the afternoon.
The ride north alongside the beach provides only a few glimpses of the beach and surf. The road is several hundred feet back from the coast and only a few turnouts or breaks in the forest allow any real view of the ocean. I was hoping that the ocean view would be similar to the unobstructed view you get along California 1 but that is not the case. However, given the low temperature, the wind break provided by the forest is perhaps not a bad thing.
On
the other side of the road, the forest is dense right up to the
roadside. The floor is covered in dense vegetation including
wonderful giant ferns. It looks beautiful but also dangerous. With my
limited hiking skills, I think thirty yards off a marked trail and I
would be good and lost.
Finally the highway turns away from the ocean. Again the road climbs and twists up into the foothills of this mighty mountain range. Not too high but the change in elevation makes the road much more interesting. Lunch today will be in a small town called Forks. The town seems to have been originally founded to serve the logging industry. There is still plenty of that to go around but recreation: fishing and white water rafting is also very important employers. I have lunch at a hamburger stand that is filled with locals. The windows are covered with all sorts of for sale and other announcements. While I'm there a girl comes in and asks the owner to post an ad for her mother's firework stand. I have a cup of chili along with my burger to help warm me up. It is very good food. Back on the bike before leaving town, I notice a steam engine from a logging train under a shelter. It is well cared for but will probably never pull a load again.
Out of Forks, highway 101 starts to turn east. The road has been improved to facilitate the shipment of timber and finished lumber products out of this region. The setting remains beautiful with forested mountain slopes on both sides. The ride is a little less fun as the road is mostly arrow straight relieved only by up and down runs. I stop again at Fairholm for gas. From Fairholm, 101 hugs the southern edge of Lake Crescent. Lake Crescent is stunningly beautiful. It looks almost like a glacial lake in Switzerland or Austria. The road literally traces the shoreline with tight unbanked corners that require a reduction in speed. The locals and truckers are familiar with the road and are constantly right on my tail as we progress to the east. Once the road leaves the lake shore, I still have some more mileage in the forest and mountains.
Finally, the scenic route ends and I'm on the approach to Port Angeles. Now, if I had the time, I could catch a ferry from Port Angeles and head over to Victoria British Columbia. That would be magnificent but time does not allow such fun. Port Angeles actually looks like it might be interesting to visit some time. Not for a long stay but long enough to poke around some interesting areas in the downtown and along the waterfront. From Port Angeles, I'm heading to Bremerton to catch the ferry to Seattle. Ron and Carol are due around 8 PM tonight from San Diego for the weekend. The ride around the eastern tip of the peninsula is stop and go suburban traffic. Annoying after the day's ride through near wilderness.
Rain comes suddenly along a busy stretch of 101. I pull to the side and put on my rain gear and move the cameras down into the side case. The rain ends very quickly about the time I turn onto Washington 104 for the ride out over the Hood Canal. The Hood Canal bridge is a floating bridge and closes in severe weather. Of course it is open today. There is sign indicating that Seattle Ferries are this direction, so I feel like I'm on the right track. Across the bridge, I head south towards Bremerton. I manage to drive past Bremerton without seeing a single sign for the ferry terminal. So I turn around, now in rush hour traffic, to head north certain that I will see a sign. Again, nothing.
It is now around the time that Ron and Carole should be leaving San Diego. As I turn of the highway for the second U-turn, I can hear the cell phone ringing. I look for a spot where I can stop, dismount, take off the helmet and pick up my voicemail. No messages, just two hang-ups. I try Ron's cell phone, no answer because it isn't turned on. I try Carole's cell phone, no answer because it isn't turned on. I curse them as I head out again. Again no luck on the trip south. I'm now really frustrated by the last thirty minutes or so. A map check confirms that the ride into Tacoma and then north on Interstate 5 won't add much time and should reduce the frustration level.
The ride south is uneventful although I am now solidly in rush hour traffic. I cross the Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge. Famous as Galloping Gertie when aerodynamic forces lifted the deck and ultimately caused the failure of the span. The ride up I-5 is not very pleasant. The growth in the Northwest has outstripped the highways carrying capacity and the traffic is tight and aggressive. I know I'm getting closer when I come up on Boeing Field. A number of 737s are parked awaiting finally delivery. There is the original 747 parked by the Museum of Flight. Another heavily modified 747 is worth of some research, it almost looks like the test platform for the laser weapon experiments.
Finally into downtown Seattle. I make a few extra turns because my directions were from the ferry terminal not from I-5 and there is construction in the streets. The hills are really steep and stopping mid-block is a major pain. I get to the Hotel Monaco - a really cute boutique hotel from the Klimpton Group in San Francisco. The parking valet indicates there are motorcycle spots in the garage but I have to park the bike. No problem that is the norm. I ask if we should unload before going to the garage and he says someone will help me. He sends another valet to guide me through the alley to the garage entrance. Once downstairs, Lurch watches me unload and then pickup all my gear. Then he asks if I need help. I'm seething. Check-in is a breeze although a message is waiting from Ron that he and Carole are delayed and won't arrive until after midnight. I try to leave the reception area with the luggage cart. Jonathan, my bellman, stops me saying that "guests do not carry their own luggage at the Monaco." I unload all my frustrations of the last three hours and particularly the last ten minutes on him. He calmly takes me to my room and gets me situated.
I pop out for a very nice dinner at The Berkeley. I planned on eating light but end up spending $80 on appetizers. I start with four premium vodka shots paired with four baby oysters and caviar. Oh major yum. I then have a house salad of mixed greens, pears, bleu cheese and walnuts. My next plate is two Dungeness crab cakes. I follow that with a house specialty; calimari. This calimari is nice and meaty chunks in a great spicy bread crumb coating. I have two glasses of a Apex Chardonnay. I leave very happy and return to await the arrival of the dynamic duo.
They show up a little after midnight. I meet them at the curb and help them with luggage and registration. We take Carole's luggage up to her room and plan the following day's activities.
First
thing on the agenda is a good breakfast. We head down from the hotel
towards Pike Street Market. I catch this picture of what I consider
to be two icons of Seattle. The ferry boats provide necessary
transportation services between Seattle and the communities and
islands on the Puget Sound. The sight of them, while not entirely
unique
to Seattle, is wrapped up in the spirit of this city. The markets at
Pike Street are well known even to people that haven't visited
Seattle. Here at Pike Street Market are the vegetable, flower and
fish stalls that are so well known. The merchandise is like artwork.
It seems like only the best produce makes it to the market. Only the
most beautiful flowers are allowed to show themselves in these
stalls. Only the best fish gets to be displayed and thrown around.
Inside the Market the crowds are thick but there doesn't seem to be much buying. Ron notices it too and we wonder how the vendors make a living. So much shopping and so little buying! But still it is an exhilarating environment and always worth a visit. We have breakfast upstairs at an inner window where we can watch the crowds while we have a Bloody Caesar and our breakfast.
Outside
after breakfast, we notice a pig (a.k.a. Pork N Beans) on top of the
Starbucks across from the marketplace. There are pigs all over town.
It turns out they are part of Pigs
on Parade a public art exhibition to benefit the Market
Foundation at Pike Place Market. The pig at this Starbucks is
decorated with coffee beans and dressed in coffee bean sacks. It is
fairly clever. The pigs are building on a short tradition started in
Zurich, Switzerland in 1998. There, the burgers of Zurich decorated
some 800 cows and dispersed them throughout the city. Chicago had 300
cows in 1999. This year, I've already shown you the furniture in
Chicago and talked about the 'people' sculpture in St. Louis. I've
created a 'pig page' with the fifteen pig
pictures.
We ride the Seattle Monorail from the downtown station to Seattle Center. The Seattle Center is home to the Opera House, the Science Pavilion, the International Fountain, the theater, the Coliseum, and the Food Circus and midway -- the city's great plaza. The monorail is a lasting relic of the 1962 Century 21 Worlds Fair and another Seattle icon. I always make sure to ride the monorail during a visit to Seattle. I love the brave futurism that is reflected in the design of the cars. They seem oversized, luxurious with some seats almost like daybeds and futuristic in the mode of a Raymond Loewy parking meter. We've gone out to Seattle Center to visit the Experience Music Project.
The
Experience Music Project, a.k.a. EMP, is housed in a glorious new
building designed by noted Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry. Gehry's
building for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain was part of that
city's redevelopment initiatives and set off a flurry of high profile
buildings by big name architects. The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas
will soon open another branch of the Guggenheim in a building
designed by Frank Gehry.
I was very interested in seeing the building in person. Practically speaking it is constructed with a metal skin formed in an irregular fashion resulting in a nearly biological form. It is very pleasing to the eye. The outside is not clad in a single color skin. One wall is a brilliant purple color in tribute to the museum's centerpiece Jimi Hendrix exhibition.
Inside, the museum houses a collection of rock and roll artifacts focusing on Jimi Hendrix and other artists and groups that originated from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That's right, Jimi Hendrix is from Seattle. I didn't know either. But what separates this from a Hard Rock Cafe is the influence of Microsoft. Every visitor wears a DVD player connected to headphones and a hand held display / scanner. As you make your way through the museum you scan the artifacts about which you want additional information. The DVD player provides photographs, interviews, video and sound clips. It is great. The Jimi Hendrix experience area could be walked through in minutes. Instead, we spend over an hour. I come away with a completely different impression of this man.
The museum also includes a motion simulator ride that is a bit
weak. The content changes from time to time and today's presentation
was a tribute to Funk. I got a kick out of a giant platform shoe and
bell bottom pants in the entry area of the ride. I also am reminded
how much I used to enjoy people like George Clinton
and groups like Parliament. Upstairs there are music laboratories
where you can learn and practice drum skills, basic guitar skills,
use a recording studio to record your own vocals and play with a
mixing board. In the end we spent nearly four hours inside. We make a
final stop in the gift shop to buy some really hysterical tin lunch
boxes. There is a nice restaurant and bar at the EMP and we go
upstairs for a drink and snack. Carole and Ron mug for the camera
while we wait for our server to return with nourishment and
refreshments.
Back outside on the Midway, we decide to skip a ride on the small roller coaster that is set up between the EMP and the Science Center. It looks like it could be more than my stomach can handle after my drink.
We
also skip a ride to the top of the Space Needle. It would have been a
great day as the sky is so clear. The view south towards Rainier and
across Puget Sound would have been amazing. We have dinner plans and
don't want to get either too intoxicated or too full of snacks. We
take the monorail back towards our hotel and then walk the final
couple of blocks. This is when I collected most of my pig
pictures. It is a gorgeous day and the streets are full of people
despite being a Saturday.
After a nap at the hotel and quick glass of complimentary wine in the lobby, we meet our limousine for the ride to Palisade in the Magnolia neighborhood. The restaurant has an odd Polynesian theme with carvings on the wall and elaborate fish pond with the obligatory koi but also eel and anemone among others. Once seated you are treated to a fantastic view across Eliott Bay of Seattle with Mount Rainier in the background. There is a full moon rising behind Rainier to complete the picture. We enjoy a fantastic dinner in celebration of Carole's birthday (age deliberate not revealed).
Ron wants to take a ferry across Puget Sound and check out the sights. Carole wants to see trees! We take the ferry Walla Walla over to Bremerton. It is a beautiful ride. I am amazed that people can do so many stupid things in life. At one point, we all race out onto the top decks to see what is going on when the captain lays onto the ship's horn and you can feel the shudder as he tries to rapidly slow our huge vessel. Someone in a small pleasure craft has decided to cut across our bow.
Once in Bremerton,we drive rather aimlessly, not really doing anything as the rain is falling steadily and none of use want to get out and get wet. I drive us north from Bremerton so that we can drive down onto Bainbridge Island. The crossing is a short 35 minutes. Seattle's skyline is beautiful when approached from the ocean.
Sadly, it is time for Carole and Ron to leave for the airport. We stop to pick up their luggage and I'm left alone. Tomorrow: Mt St. Helens and Portland, OR
Depart Aberdeen on US 101 heading north.
At Hoquiam turn west on Washington 109.
At Copalis Beach, turn onto local road to return to US 101 heading north at Humtulips.
Turn onto US 101 heading north.
South of Discovery Bay, turn onto Washington 104 heading east.
After crossing Hood Canal Bridge, turn right onto Washington 3 heading south.
South of Bremerton, turn onto Washington 16 heading east.
At Tacoma, turn onto Interstate 5 heading north.
Arrive Seattle
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 07/12/2001
