Olympic to Seattle, WA

Day 23 – June 30, 2016

Mileage – 78,679

Port Angeles, Washington

 

Wal-Mart with a view – we wake in Port Angeles with an amazing view of the Olympic Mountains in the distance. After a quick breakfast we head out for Hurricane Ridge road – a 17-mile drive from the town up into the mountains. Unlike other mountain roads we have braved this trip, Hurricane Ridge road is fairly benign, with a wide road surface, easy curves, and adequate guardrails – I don’t think Jenney flinched even once. Although the clouds were rolling in fast the Hurricane Ridge visitor’s center didn’t disappoint. With amazing view and abundant wildlife (deer everywhere), we had a few minutes to glimpse the majesty of the Olympics. We know that what we can see is only a fraction of the splendor that would await us on a clear day, but we are thankful for the view. We spend some time with Ranger Joe as the girls earn their Jr. Ranger for this park and their Ocean Stewards patch. Ranger Joe is a wealth of information about the park and about his former post – Glacier National Park. As we listen the clouds roll in more and eventually the rain starts. Although we were planning a hike we decided to head onward to Seattle, about a 2 ½ hour journey ahead of us.

We arrive in Seattle in the late afternoon, about 4:30 pm. Our stopping point is our friend Sidra’s apartment. Sidra has allowed us to stay here, take showers, park the RV in her parking spot, and do laundry. The bummer – she isn’t around this weekend so we won’t see her. The first challenge – getting a 24 foot long and 9 ½ foot wide motorhome into a narrow parking space between a rock (several in fact) and a hard place (another car). Working together as a team, Jenney and Kevin back the motorhome in with only inches on either side.

Next order of business – explore the city. We head out on foot toward the Seattle Space Needle. Along the way Kevin ducks into a nice hotel, acts like a guest, and seeks recommendations from the concierge. With a map in hand and directions to the Monorail we continue on our journey. We take the Monorail to the Space Needle, a fun 90-second ride that places us in the heart of the action. Here we purchase a Seattle City Pass and secure tickets for the 7:30 pm ride to the top of the needle. With time to kill we use our City Pass to gain entrance into the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum. We are in awe of the artwork and it’s beauty, the museum is located just next to the Space Needle, providing amazing views of the structure while viewing the glass artwork.

After the Chihuly museum, we head up the needle. We are not disappointed, the views are wonderful and we are even gifted with the presence of Mount Rainer in the distance – often elusive due to clouds. Having seen our fill of the city from the air we headed down the needle with thoughts of good food on our mind. After seeking a few recommendations we head on foot to 2nd street. Eventually we find Wasabi, the same Sushi house Jenney and Kevin ate at a few years ago. At first we are told the Sushi bar is the only seating option available, but eventual a table opens up. Dinner is just as Kevin and Jenney remember – amazing. We eat everything on the table. Nearly 10 pm and about a 40 minute walk from our friends apartment we opt to try another transportation method – Lyft. Kevin registers for the service and within a few minutes a nice older gentleman arrives in a very clean Toyota Corolla to take us home. The ride is only about 10 minutes and we learn our driver is from Iran. He has lived in the US about seven years and has family in the area. His English isn’t great but he gets along fine. In Iran he used to work with glasses, perhaps an optometrist. We arrive safely to our home and settle in from the night.