Seattle

Blog 6 Roadtrip 2010

From Coeur d’Alene we traveled to Seattle. Staying outside of the city in Bellevue was a stroke of genius. Why? Because the traffic and narrow streets are not really conducive to 50 feet of RV!!!! While in Seattle, we experienced the sights that many tourists do. Pike Place Market, the waterfront, the Underground Tour, the Navy ship tour. . .what? not the Space Needle?!! Well, no. But not because we didn’t want to. Ok, because we didn’t want to. But not for the reasons you may be thinking. About 15 years ago, Normie and I were in Seattle, again, while I was on business doing my “chores”. We ventured up to the top of the Space Needle quite late on a chilly, crisp evening. It was almost deserted up there and we could see forever. Whilst taking in the serenity and beauty of the city and the Puget Sound, I stood behind my bride and wrapped my arms around her, thoroughly enjoying this romantic moment that we were sharing in silence and tranquility. Then, as if it were planned in a movie script, it began to snow! Flakes were quietly falling onto our heads and sticking to our eyelashes. It is a moment we consider to be one of our most memorable and romantic in the 40 years we have shared on this planet. So tell me, would you have gone up again on a future trip? I thought not.

A highlight of our visit was experiencing our first Duck Tour. We have seen them in many places we have visited, but have never gone. I think we missed out on something. Thanks to Dave and Jody Wilson for their encouragement! The tour is just like a bus tour of the city, only it takes place on an amphibious vehicle and always includes turning your vehicle from a “bus” into a “boat”. It is also jam-packed with information and, more importantly, humor. The drivers have an array of hats that they change into, and out of, all the while talking and playing humorous sound bites of music that coincide with each location to keep your interest. Suffice it to say that we will be taking future Duck Tours in upcoming cities we visit. We suggest that if you do find one, make it the first attraction you visit, as it will give you a great “lay of the land” on what to visit next during your stay.

While in Seattle, we heard about a little known attraction. Well, maybe not attraction, but a place worth visiting. We found out that we were just a few miles from Jimi Hendrix’s final resting place. We ventured out to the Greenwood Cemetery and found the memorial. See Photos of our “experience”.

The Seattle Art Museum was cool too. Lots of paintings, native art and two special installations. One of Andy Warhol’s works, and the other based around local rock legend, Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana. Displayed, were both Kurt’s art and the art of others having to do with him or about him. “Unique” would be a good word to insert here.

Here we go with Serendipity yet again. One of the biggest weekends in Seattle is “Seafair”. Actually it is a month long, culminating in an air show by the Blue Angels, Hydoplane Boat races on Lake Washington and visits from Navy ships who open their doors during the last weekend for public tours. We were there for all of them! Great weekend!

The Seattle Underground Tour is another very unique historical aspect of this city. It is unlike other cities merely because of the way it came about. Suffice it to say, “also worth the price of admission”. Seattle Underground Tour History

One day we drove to Bainbridge Island across the Sound from the city. We found a little public park, and when I say “little”, I mean LITTLE! It was a small piece of property bequeathed to the City of Bainbridge in a land trust. It sat between beautiful waterfront multi-million dollar homes right on the water looking directly back at Seattle. We sat enjoying our own little piece of heaven uninterrupted for an entire bottle of champagne! Awesome! Another great romantic memory made.

One of my favorite glass artists is Dale Chihuly. You might have seen some of his work if you have ever been to the Bellagio in Vegas. Overhead and underfoot. Well he was commissioned to decorate a bridge in downtown Tacoma a few years back. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing his works displayed in various arrays. Tacoma is a sleepy port city that is making great strides in establishing an art resurgence. So far, so good. I, for one, hope they succeed.

All in all, Seattle, and all it has to offer, is a great place to visit. . .we look forward to coming back to explore the surrounds on our way back through from the north.

Missoula and Coeur d'Alene

Blog 5 Roadtrip 2010

Montana, here we come! We arrived in Missoula and stayed at a local Walmart. Walmarts are great for overnighting in your RV when you don’t have plans to stay long. Since we didn’t know about any exciting activities in Missoula, we asked the ladies working in the Walmart women’s department the following question: “If you only had one day to spend in Missoula, what would you recommend?” One said, puzzled for an answer, “hmm, I don’t know. Let’s ask Sandy”. Sandy said, “Oh, definitely hike to the M.” Apparently hiking to the “M” is the locals’ idea of excitement. Well we had to find out why. The M is a huge letter on the hill above the University of Montana! It is quite a steep hike up the 11 or so switchbacks to get there. Apparently the view is the best to be had of Missoula. Locals hike/run it for exercise. Normie and I rode our bikes to the bottom of the M and decided that photos were quite enough, we could just “say” we went to the M. The University campus is quite beautiful and “old school” at the same time.

Missoula has a river running through it. There is a specially built concrete structure underwater that causes a rapids wave in the river. It is a big attraction to local kayakers who apparently love the reverse “wave” that they get to ride upstream! Kinda cool, actually. Oh, and the city has the bragging rights to the fastest carousel in North America. Eight mph doesn’t seem fast in a straight line, but going around on this thing can make you incredibly dizzy in no time at all. And forget the 1-2 minute ride like you get at Disneyland. This thing seemed to go on forever!! We left before it stopped because it was going for so long. Oh, did I mention we didn’t actually “ride” the carousel? The girl operating it said she wouldn’t ride it either, makes her sick just to sit and watch it whiz by. We concurred. Here is a video of it. Missoula Carousel Video

From Montana, we ventured west to Idaho. Wait, didn’t we just travel north FROM Idaho into Montana? Hmm, seems we were surrounded by Idaho. Upon arriving in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we saw that there was a local farmers market in progress. So we dropped the rv at the local rv park and got back downtown for the market. Whilst perusing the vast array of arts, crafts and victuals, Normie noticed a gentleman at a sidewalk café attempting to down a plate of spaghetti with a single, 4 inch, meatball!! All of a sudden we were hungry for Italian. Of course, she had to order that spaghetti and “meatball”. It was more like a round meatloaf! At the time, it seemed like a good idea to each order our own meal. In retrospect, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We could have easily split one dinner and been just fine. If you find yourself in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, put Tito Macaroni on your list for dinner.

While in Coeur d’Alene, we decided to look up Steve Craun, who is an old co-worker and friend from my GTE days. Many of you don’t know that I actually had a job at one time! Back then, visiting Couer d’Alene was one of the many “chores” I had to endure for my job’s sake! I always looked forward to visiting and enjoyed connecting with Steve and his wife, Barbara when I was in town. Well, this trip was no different. It was great to see them both after so many years. We got together for dinner and re-capped and reminisced for a couple of hours that seemed to go by in minutes. They are retired and enjoying their own little slice of heaven on their property that butts up to the national forest. They have their own stream, and pond, on their property. Pretty cool. It’s always good to see old friends and re-ignite that relationship every once in awhile. We look forward to future encounters along our path with many others of you out there.

Of course, you all know that “Serendipity” is our name; mainly because we happen upon interesting events that deserve our attendance. In CDA we were fortunate to be there while the annual Art on the Green event was going on. It was held at the local university and seems to have “poured” out into the town. I say this because it has hatched an annual street fair and food festival, A Taste of Coeur d’Alene, throughout the downtown and lakefront as well. This is considered the biggest weekend of the year for CDA and we were glad to have been here to experience it. Just being around the art, music and beauty of the surroundings was well worth the price of admission. Oh, but it was free!!! Later into the night we ventured into the area serving the local students. OK, the clubs and bars. It is quite interesting to sit back and watch the parade of peacocks and pheasants all out in their regalia hoping to find some fun and/or “hook up”. So glad we don’t have to do that anymore! But it was very entertaining to see such a variety of people in various stages of inebriation, some chatting us up as they passed, others oblivious to our presence. Go figure. We’re hot, why is nobody noticing? Lol. Two old people in shorts and t-shirts sitting next to their bicycles. . . . we got game!! We did get close to SOME action at one point, when a bachelorette party came by and the future bride opened up her jacket and offered to sell us some of the condoms that adorned the inside of her coat! We declined. Ahh, kids.

Coeur d’Alene is a magnificent stop on anybody’s road trip. It is right on Lake Coeur d’Alene and is as picturesque as can be. We recommend it to anyone who is within 200 miles of it. Totally worth the detour, or even as a destination! It is a very bicycle friendly place, with bike paths along the lake and river to enjoy the beauty that Nature so abundantly provides.