On Thursday we made it to Yakima, Washington which is known for its contribution to wine production and the use of its name in the form of bike racks and rooftop boxes. Oddly enough there is plenty of wine, but few biking opportunities here. Yakima Corp: why did you take that namesake?
The weather on the Eastern side of the Cascade range is always great; sunny, warm and predictable unlike the Puget Sound area (Seattle). Sara and I found a great state campground in Yakima, setup for the night, and then headed out to some local wineries along the Rattlesnake Valley Wine Trail. We visited several wineries, talked with the locals and purchased a few bottles to ensure we receive our daily dose of anti-oxidants. Yakima has a relaxed wine touring atmosphere, probably because the wines are not as good as you would find in CA therefore making people less snooty and because there are still plenty of residences with yard cars spread in-between the wine estates. Since we were out of fire restriction territory we had a campfire, a nice dinner, a bottle of Washington red, and made s’mores. We are also now out of high-risk bear territory, which significantly reduces the amount of rules enforced at campgrounds for food left out, etc. It is weird to travel in bear country and keep everything in your car and now be here in which people spread everything out all over the place. We did have one wildlife encounter here however, a skunk. Sara and I were sitting at the fire, it was pretty dark and I noticed a skunk walking about 3 feet next to Sara’s chair. We quietly got up and jogged safely away out of fear from being sprayed. Apparently our tent was near his home in the marsh/stream and he rustled around for the most of the night, but there was never an odorous encounter.
On Friday we got up early and headed for Seattle. We stayed in Redmond near my old stomping grounds during the summer of 1999. We headed downtown, visiting Pike Place, the Space Needle and other usual Seattle tourist attractions. We came upon a block party in South Lake Union, enjoyed some free food, hit the beer garden for a few hours and enjoyed some live local music; it was a great afternoon with warm sun and breeze… Seattle summer weather at its best. We grabbed some cocktails and appetizers at some dive restaurant near the wharf which seemed to be packed with retired rock stars (lots of leopard print and Mick look-alikes) and hip late 30s who were too cool for anybody.
We are headed up to the San Juans this weekend for sea-kayaking with the orcas.
The weather on the Eastern side of the Cascade range is always great; sunny, warm and predictable unlike the Puget Sound area (Seattle). Sara and I found a great state campground in Yakima, setup for the night, and then headed out to some local wineries along the Rattlesnake Valley Wine Trail. We visited several wineries, talked with the locals and purchased a few bottles to ensure we receive our daily dose of anti-oxidants. Yakima has a relaxed wine touring atmosphere, probably because the wines are not as good as you would find in CA therefore making people less snooty and because there are still plenty of residences with yard cars spread in-between the wine estates. Since we were out of fire restriction territory we had a campfire, a nice dinner, a bottle of Washington red, and made s’mores. We are also now out of high-risk bear territory, which significantly reduces the amount of rules enforced at campgrounds for food left out, etc. It is weird to travel in bear country and keep everything in your car and now be here in which people spread everything out all over the place. We did have one wildlife encounter here however, a skunk. Sara and I were sitting at the fire, it was pretty dark and I noticed a skunk walking about 3 feet next to Sara’s chair. We quietly got up and jogged safely away out of fear from being sprayed. Apparently our tent was near his home in the marsh/stream and he rustled around for the most of the night, but there was never an odorous encounter.
On Friday we got up early and headed for Seattle. We stayed in Redmond near my old stomping grounds during the summer of 1999. We headed downtown, visiting Pike Place, the Space Needle and other usual Seattle tourist attractions. We came upon a block party in South Lake Union, enjoyed some free food, hit the beer garden for a few hours and enjoyed some live local music; it was a great afternoon with warm sun and breeze… Seattle summer weather at its best. We grabbed some cocktails and appetizers at some dive restaurant near the wharf which seemed to be packed with retired rock stars (lots of leopard print and Mick look-alikes) and hip late 30s who were too cool for anybody.
We are headed up to the San Juans this weekend for sea-kayaking with the orcas.
2 comments:
UR writing a great story line, keep up the good work. See U in Octoberish.
Love, Dadeo
R U guys in the San Juan Island area? I see there's an Orcas Island.
DaDEO
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