The Pacific Northwest is perhaps my most favorite place in the world. There is something magical about the richness of the greenery, the mist that surrounds the forests, the eerie silence of the wild. Phillip took me up to Washington for my birthday this past year, partially to see his grandmother, who lives in Redmond, partially to rest and relax on a short vacation, and partially to day dream about one day owning a homestead and working our own land.
Seattle greeted us with its stereotypical rain and cold of late October, but that didn’t stop us from exploring. We rented a car and left the airport straight to the Pike Place Market, then to Ballard, an up and coming area known for restaurants and breweries. We visited a place called Heritage Distilling Company, tasting their amazing Brown Sugar Bourbon. I’m not typically a fan of whiskey (cue flashbacks of Johnny Walker on a cruise ship and being sea sick), but this stuff tastes like pecan pie. So smooth and sweet. Perhaps a true bourbon connoisseur would turn up their nose, but hey, I like it. I might order another bottle looking at their website…
In Ballard is Hiram M. Chittenden Locks with a long history and a big tourist attraction. We stood at the locks for quite a while, watching both large boats and small come through the locks. There was also a salmon ladder, meant to help salmon make their way through the locks during their seasonal migrations, however, we didn’t see any fish use it while we were there. There was plenty of other wild life though, seagulls and seals alike hunting for fish trapped at the locks.
That evening, we met up with Phillip’s family for dinner in Seattle’s Chinatown, unfortunately I didn’t note the name of the restaurant – probably because I couldn’t even read most of the menu.
After dinner, Phillip and I went with his two cousins to the adult version of the Underground Tour , which while definitely humorous it was hugely inappropriate (don’t go with your grandmother). Rain was pouring through the entire tour, and while most of it was underground, the streets above weren’t water tight, and diving between tunnels left us soaked and freezing by the end of the night. I highly recommend going on either tour, the PG rated one or the adult version, as the tour is highly educational about Seattle as well as intriguing just due to being underneath the bustling city streets above. Apparently there’s also a haunted version…
Leaving the city behind, we ventured into the wilderness of rural Washington State toward Mount Rainier. We rented a tiny cabin, which was beautiful and cozy, warmed by a wood stove. In the cold, wet night our first night, we broke open our brown sugar bourbon and struggled to light a fire with the damp firewood left for guests of the cabin.
The next day, we ventured up to Mount Rainier, with the goal of seeing the glaciers. To be honest we didn’t have much of plan, and our little rental car probably wasn’t well suited to the snow at the top of the mountain. I had also left my coat at Phillip’s grandmother’s house, so while we had planned to hike and explore, I didn’t have enough warm clothing as we got higher and higher up.
By far, the trip was too short. I still day dream of that little cabin in the middle of the woods, where cell phone service meant that no one could bother you, and the woods full of inspiration. Though, to be fair, we went all the way up Mount Rainier and never saw it… not until we were flying home:
