Pacific North West - 2014
In June of 2014, I took a road trip to Oregon and Washington. I first drove to Medford, OR, where I spent the night. The next day, I went to Sea Lion Caves. There is an elevator that takes you down to the caves. You can't actually enter the caves, but you can stand on a viewing platform and look into the caves. There were a lot of sea lions in the cave - dark, noisy and smelly, but really interesting. Back top, you can walk to the edge of the cliff and see more sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks below. Heceta lighthouse can also be seen in the distance. I later drove to Heceta lighthouse and went inside. I then drove north along I-101 along the beautiful Oregon coast, stopping for lunch and ice-cream in small towns along the way. I spent the night in Portland, OR.
I went to Columbia River Gorge the next day. This stretch of scenic highway has a lot of waterfalls. I saw Wahkeena Falls and then Multnomah Falls. I hiked all the way to the top of Multnomah Falls. Along the way, I dropped my water bottle. I could see it a little way down the hill, but it was a steep climb down, and I wasn't about to risk breaking my ankle, just to retrieve a water bottle, so I left it there, even though I felt bad about littering. I then saw Horsetail Falls. There is a trail here, that takes you up to a spot from where you can get a panoramic view of the gorge. The trail has a small wooden bridge along the way. There was a sign saying the bridge was damaged, but was safe to cross, one person at a time. I decided to take the risk and cross it. The view was spectacular. I had lunch (salmon burger - delicious) at Cascade Locks, near Bridge of the Gods. I was disappointed because this bridge is just a regular bridge connecting Oregon and Washington. I thought it would be some sort of a flower decked pedastrain bridge. After lunch, I saw Bridal Veil Falls, Shepherd's Dell Falls and Latourell Falls. My last stop was at Vista House, which is at the top of Crown Point, and also has great views of the gorge. I then drove to Seattle.
I spent 4 wonderful days in Seattle. I had expected it to be raining, or at the very least, cloudy, gloomy and overcast. It was overcast every morning, but by the afternoon, the sun would come out and it was nothing but blue skies. The skies had a deep blue color that we don't often see in California. Drivers were very polite. Since I didn't know the area very well, I made quite a few last minute lane changes, but every time I turned on the turn signal, other drivers let me in, even though this was the morning rush hour, and they were on their way to work. My only gripe is having to pay for parking every where.
Day One, I drove to Seattle Center, parked my car in one of the lots near by and paid for all day parking. I walked to the Space Needle and took some pictures, then crossed the street to 'Ride the Ducks' and took that tour. It was fun. The amphibious vehicle drove all over Seattle and then went onto Lake Union, where I saw the 'sleepless in seattle' houseboats, and float planes taking off and landing. I then took the monorail to Westlake Center, then walked to Pike's Place. Here I saw fresh fish being tossed around every time someone bought fish. I saw Rachael the pig, which is also a piggy bank to support the market, the Sasquatch sculpture, the site of the original Starbucks, and the Gum Wall. The Gum Wall is a wall covered with chewed gum. It is gross, but very colorful and the gum forms interesting shapes. After lunch, I walked to Pioneer Square. I saw the historic pergola, Waterfall Gardens, and the Smith Tower, which was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi. I took the Underground Seattle tour. The guide was really funny. It was interesting to see the lower levels of all the buildings. Seattle streets were raised up and what used to be the second floor, became the first floor. The original first floors can be seen in this tour. I then walked back to the waterfront and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Got some really great pictures of Seattle from the ferry. After returning, I took the water taxi to Alki Beach. By then it was past 8:00 PM, so the buses that go from where the water taxi docks to the beach had stopped running. I walked a little way, but did not get to the sandy beach. I gave up and went to Salty's for dinner. This is a great restaurant in Alki with fantastic views. I took the last water taxi back and returned to my hotel.
Day Two, I went back and parked in the same lot as the previous day. I walked to Seattle Center, and bought a City Pass. I visited the EMP Museum, where I had fun playing drums in one of the sound proof booths. They also had a huge tree built of guitars. I then went up to the top of the Space Needle. Seattle Center has some motion activated flowers, where each flower plays a different note as you pass by. I walked to the Holland America office. My company does their IT and I wanted to meet some of the people who till then had just been names in an e-mail, and voices on the telephone. After meeting them, I walked back to Seattle Center and had lunch. After lunch, I visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. This was my favourite place in Seattle. It has incredible blown glass sculptures inside, and in the garden outside. I drove over to see the Fremont Troll. This is a huge statue of a troll, under the Aurora bridge. It is crushing a life size Volkswagon beetle car. The car used to have California plates, but someone stole those plates. I then drove back to Holland America, to have dinner with some of my friends. We went to a nice restaurant overlooking Ballard Locks. After dinner, we went back to Chihuly, so we could see the sculptures at night. They had to buy tickets, but I had a hand stamp that let me back in for free. Once it got dark (which was around 10:00 PM) we could see the reflection of the Space Needle in many of the sculptures outside. It was a lot of fun to have dinner and spend time with my friends.
Day Three, I drove to Snoqualmie Falls. It rained while I was driving there, but the rain stopped when I got there. I hiked down to the bottom of the falls and back up. I drove to Boeing Field, where I saw the Museum of Flight. I was able to go inside Air Force One, the one used by John F Kennedy, and the Concorde. From there, I drove to Ballard Locks. These locks provide a link between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of Ship Canal, which connects to Lake Union and Lake Washington. The two are at different levels, and it was interesting to see boats come in, wait till the water level becomes equal, and then continue on. There was also a fish ladder, that allows salmon to pass between the fresh and sea waters, and to navigate the locks. Since my car was already parked and paid for, I walked around a little, hoping to find some nice restaurants, to have dinner. I didn't find any, I guess I should have walked a little more. I then drove back to Seattle Center, where I was able to find free street parking (street parking is free after 8:00 PM). After dinner, I went back up the Space Needle, so I could see Seattle at night and take some pictures. It was very windy and cold up there and I didn't have a tripod, so it was hard to take pictures.
Day Four, I drove to Deception Pass State Park. I hiked down to the beach and hiked up to the summit. It was a nice place. Interestingly, I got a text message from AT&T, welcoming me abroad, even though I was still in Washington state. I promptly turned my phone off. I then drove back to Seattle and parked by the waterfront, paying for 2 hours of parking, which was the maximum allowed. I visited the Seattle Aquarium. The Pacific Coral exhibits were beautiful and they had some cute animals. After moving my car (and paying for another 2 hours of parking), I then took the Argosy Harbor Cruise of Elliott Bay, where I got some more great views of Seattle and the Space Needle. I also heard some interesting facts, that Seattle actually gets less annual rainfall than New York City! By then, parking was free, so I left my car where it was, a and had dinner at the Crab Pot. After dinner, I walked around a little, since this would be my last day in Seattle, and I was unwilling to leave. Once it got dark, I drove to Kerry Park, which is high on a hill. Since I drive a stick shift, that steep hill was an interesting drive. I got some wonderful nighttime views of the Space Needle.
Day Five, I said goodbye to Seattle, and drove to Mount Rainier. It rained most of this day. There was a lot of snow up at Paradise and all the trails at Paradise were covered in snow. I saw Narada Falls, and Christine Falls, framed by the bridge. I hiked to Carter Falls, which, being at Longmire, did not have any snow. In the evening, I drove to Medford, OR, and spent the night there.
Day Six, I drove back to California, going through Avenue of the Giants, in Humboldt State Park, along the way. There are so many really tall Redwood trees lining both sides of this road. There is also a tree with a trunk so big that yiu can drive through it. There were a few trees where the trunks have been hollowed out you have small log cabins inside the trunk. This route took me along I-101, all the way to San Francisco, making it a long drive. At 1:30 AM, I was still about 1.5 hours from home, but I was feeling too sleepy, so I pulled into a rest area and slept till 6:00. I pulled into my garage at 7:30 AM, took a shower, and went in to work. I will always have fond memories of Seattle, and my friends at Holland America.
Click on the picture below and you can view the photos.
Oregon
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| Oregon 2014 |
Seattle
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| Seattle 2014 |
CA-OR Coast and Avenue of the Giants
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| CA-OR Coast and Avenue of Giants |
