Crossing into Washington
We were ready to cross the border and get our US adventure underway. Upon arriving, they requested we pull off to the side so they could check out our trailer and ask us some questions. They were asking all RV’s to do the same.
We were prepared for the border agents to be skeptical of our trip, as that is their job. After a thorough discussion, they decided we were okay and let us through. Phew! We will probably write a dedicated post about our border crossing experience at a later date.
The weather for a couple of days was rainfall warnings and flood watches. Since we already had a big day in Seattle planned, we used those days of our stay at Thunderbird Thousand Trails to relax and catch up on some chores. The outdoor hot tub was almost an option, but unfortunately, it wasn’t even close to hot. No matter, we would just stay warm and dry inside our trailer.
Big Day in the Big City
We started our day with a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee, of course, and hit the road. Our exploration of Seattle started with the Washington Arboretum. We loved walking amongst all the beautiful and varied trees. It was also a great opportunity to let Wookie out of the truck for a walk. We probably could have spent several hours just exploring the pathways, but it was time to move onto the next park. Next on the list was Gas Works Park. It was really interesting to see the green vines climbing up the rust-colored old coal gasification plant that had not been in operation for 50 years. We walked among the geese for a while and checked out the view of downtown. We had one more park in mind before moving to the core. Kerry Park was listed as one of the best views of downtown Seattle. We took our big truck up the rollercoaster style streets barely meant for two smart cars. It was dicey but the view was definitely worth it.
We squeezed the truck into a skinny parkade space and headed up to the infamous Pike Place Market. It was massive but we managed to locate the original Starbucks amongst all the other vendors. There was so much to see, so we chose to not stand in line to get inside. We had a mission to find delicious dark chocolate and tasty fish and chips. We found these at Indi Chocolate and Lowell’s Restaurant amongst a hundred other little shops with everything from vinyl records to model airplanes. Our last stop downtown was Olympic Sculpture Park to kill time while we waited for our ferry.
Earlier in the day we were at the Seattle visitor center (of course) and picked up the idea of riding the ferry to Bainbridge Island. This was the best advice. It was only $17 for the two of us for a half-hour ride. Wookie was even welcomed aboard. We walked onto the deck just in time to pull out of the dock and watch the setting sun glint off the downtown buildings. It felt like an inexpensive mini cruise. Bainbridge Island had mostly closed down, but luckily Mora Iced Creamery was still open. We enjoyed our cheesecake with raspberry jam ice cream while Wookie had his dinner on the sidewalk. The trip back was just as beautiful as going out because now the city was lit up against a dark blue sky. We took it all in so grateful that we had the opportunity to even explore a fraction of this captivating city.
