Hello Seattle
A while back Alison mentioned she would likely be traveling near Seattle for work on May. I crosschecked the dates with the Mariners' home schedule. Once I determined the Mariners would be in town I invited myself along. We decided to fly out the weekend before and enjoy time in and around Seattle. Then we drove to Bremerton so Alison could work. Since I am still working remotely I decided to tag along and work from the hotel for a few days.
Uncharacteristically, we didn't plan out a bunch of activities for this trip. I bought tickets to a Mariners game and had a few dining reservations, but otherwise we didn't have plans. I had a few ideas of things we might want to do, but we were going to make a game time decision on Saturday morning based on our mood. This approach was ideal for a chill weekend getaway.
We slept in a little on Saturday morning, but we were up in time for brunch. Brunch is really trendy these days. It is best to have a reservation - no one like waiting an hour to eat their first meal of the day. Alison made reservations at Portage Bay Cafe. They boast local, organic, sustainable ingredients from PNW farmers & distributors. Alison went with a crab omelet (it looked good on the menu, but didn't turn out to be great). I tried the biscuits and gravy - they were delightful.
After brunch we immediately left the city heading North. We probably would have spent the day in Seattle, except when we were dropping Tex off Alison's brother, Jake, suggested we check out Deception Pass. We through a quick study on the area at the airport and decided it looked rad. So we drove Mukilteo-Clinton ferry station. You can drive from Seattle to Deception Pass without taking a ferry, but we thought the ferry would more interesting. Plus if you hit it right it will significantly shorten your trip. We didn't hit right. It did not save us any time, but it was an enjoyable way to travel.
The ferry is quite large. We lined up behind the other cars and had to wait for a couple of ferries until it was our turn. We drove our car right onto the ferry. We parked down below. We parked out car and went up above to find some more spacious seats and enjoy the views. It was only a ~15-20 minute ride to Whidbey Island.
From the Whidbey Island ferry terminal it is about an hour drive to Deception Point. The drive is quite pleasant. Much of the drive is surrounded by lush forest and farmland. It was also a beautiful clear day. The weather could not have been better. We talked and enjoyed the scenery as we drove. We even spotted a bald eagle while we were driving - so cool.
We arrived at Deception Pass and drove over the bridge. The bridge is considered one of the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest, is comprised of two spans, one over Canoe Pass to the north, and another over Deception Pass to the south. Deception Pass is located in Deception Pass State Park, which has the distinction of being the most popular state park in Washington. That was quite evident on this beautiful weekend. There was a steady stream of cars going both directions across the bridge. It took a few minutes, but we found a parking spot on the side of the road. Then we walked across both spans of the bridge. The walkway is quite narrow. As we walked we looked down ~180 feet to the water below. The views from the bridge are quite stunning.
On the other side of the bridge we found a trail leading down to North Beach. Hiking around this area is great. Thick forests of giant trees give way to rocky beaches and smooth water.
When we made it down to North Beach we found a sunny spot and sat down on a log. Alison and I love sitting and watching the ocean water. It was really moving through the twin passes. Sitting in the sun felt great. I was a nice day - mid-70s, but walking over the bridge, with the wind coming off the water was a bit chilly. It felt good to soak up some sun.
Once we were warmed up we found a nice spot to take a picture. While we were wrapping up another passersby told us there was an otter on a nearby rock. Sure enough there was an otter. It had flipped some kind of shellfish up onto the rock and was getting ready to dig in. We watched the otter do its thing until a dog walking nearby scared it away. We have never seen an otter up close in the wild before.
We left North Beach and did a little hiking around the area. We hiked to Goose Rock. At 484 feet this is the highest point on Whidbey Island. Goose Rock is an example of a unique ecosystem - a rocky bald. Left behind by retreating ice sheets at the end of the last major glaciation, rocky balds are characterized by exposed bed rock (usually granite) with sparse patches of thin soil. Along the way we passed though more thick forest and saw many beautiful little wildflowers. The hike was short and somewhat steep. From the top we had panoramic views of our surroundings. On such a clear day we could see for miles and certainly saw Victoria (Canada).
We hiked back and across the Deception Pass Bridge. We found our car and drove back to Seattle. We made it a loop. So instead of going back to the ferry we drove back along the I-5. It took us a couple of hours - including stopping for a light lunch.
Back at the hotel we cleaned up and changed our clothes. Then we walked to dinner. We had reservations at the Metropolitan Grill. Legendary Yankees broadcaster John Sterling's favorite restaurant is the Metropolitan Grill (Alison's parent's also love it) so we decided to give it a try. It exceeded admittedly high expectations. It is a classic, upscale steakhouse decorated in wood, brass & velvet. It feels a little bit like you walk into an older era when you enter the restaurant. It is a swanky place. The food and service were top notch. We started with crab cakes, which were absolutely succulent. Then we shared a number of sides and a ribeye steak. The ribeye steak was very flavorful. The Metropolitan Grill's tagline is "The Best Steak in Town". While I haven't tried every steak restaurant in Seattle, I wouldn't bet against the Metropolitan Grill. For dessert our waiter recommended the carrot cake. We embraced that recommendation. It was a decadent cake. We kept the portion we couldn't eat for breakfast the next day. We absolutely visit the Metropolitan Grill again.
We took the next morning slow. We slept in, ate the rest of our carrot cake, and had acai bowls delivered. When we were ready for the day we walked down to Pike Place Market. We stayed at the Seattle Hilton right in the heart of downtown. It was a great place to stay. We were close to everything we wanted to do in Seattle.
Pike Place Market is great. We just walked all around the market. We love seeing the fish/seafood. We love seeing the flowers. We love the views of Elliot Bay. We enjoy seeing Rachel the Pig. We made sure to walk by the gum wall. It has a great ambience. We have visited Pike Place before, but a trip to Seattle doesn't fill complete without this stop.
I will say other than people wearing masks Pike Place didn't feel much different than when we last visited in May 2018. It was still plenty busy on the weekend.
When we were done at Pike Place we headed back to our car and drove to T-mobile ballpark. We were excited to be going to a Major League Baseball game. We have never been to T-mobile ballpark. It is quite a nice park. It is somewhat unique because there isn't much going on outside the park. The outside isn't particularly walkable. Everyone seemed to park and head right in.
We headed right in. We were running a tad bit late. It took longer than expected to park. Our first stop was section 102 to show proof of vaccination. The Mariners were having vaccination appreciation week. We got wristbands showing we were vaccinated. With those wristbands we got 20% off concessions and purchases at the team store. We also were entered to win a bunch of great prizes (spoiler we didn't win any prizes). The Mariners also had booths set up so people could get vaccinated at the ballpark. They also had inexpensive tickets in special sections reserved for vaccinated fans (with no social distancing, etc.). We considered those sections, but we don't mind the social distancing. We basically had a whole row of the ballpark to ourselves.
It felt good to be back at the ballpark. Alison kept score and I took in the game and got us food. There was this elderly couple sitting in the row in front of us. The woman was also keeping score - we said we hope that is us in 50 years (minus the woman's sunhat, which Alison said she would never wear anything like that). At one point the woman had to use the restroom. Her husband covered for her by keeping score while she was gone. As soon as she get back she asks him - "What did you do?" She wanted to make sure he accurately recorded the game. It felt a little familiar from the times I cover for Alison by keeping score.
As the game went on we ended up being right in the sun, which felt great. It was once again mid-70s and could not have been a more beautiful day for a ballgame. It got a little warm, but overall was comfortable. Halfway through the game Alison noticed a couple near us returned to their seats with ice cream in a familiar red container - it was Salt & Straw. I went on a walk about around the stadium and came back with Alison's favorite ice cream.
It was a great game. The Mariners played Cleveland. Shane Bieber was pitching for Cleveland. He is one of the great pitchers in the game right now, but didn't have his best stuff. It was a battle. This game ended his streak of 20 consecutive games with at least 8 strikeouts. The Mariners went with a bullpen game. The Mariners played small ball and strung together enough walks and hits to score three runs. Later Cleveland would score 2 runs to keep it close. The Mariners would ultimately hang on to win this one 3-2.
Right after the game we headed back to downtown Seattle. We had dinner reservations at Din Tai Fung. It is one of our favorite places to eat. They have such good Xiao Long Bao.
After dinner we drove to Kerry Park. This park has great views of the Seattle skyline. We arrived a little before sunset and loved the view and ambience. There was a small group of street performers playing music. When we first arrived they were playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and it was one of those moments you want to bottle up and keep forever. We sat there and soaked up the moment.
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