Our first big trip of the summer from Rochester was flying west to visit family and friends in the Seattle area. When flying from Rochester if your not going to a close northeast city you will have to change planes to get further out. Our stop in going out west was Detroit. We had been through the Detroit airport a few times before but we were always rushed. This time we had a bit of a longer layover and had a bit of time to explore. We found that we really enjoyed the Detroit airport. It’s not overly huge like Atlanta or New York’s JFK but big enough to have some great stuff. We found that one of the Food Networks Iron Chef’s – Cat Cora has a restaurant at the Detroit airport called Cat Cora’s Taproom. Needless to say it was a pretty nice surprise to be able to have lunch at an Iron Chef’s restaurant between flights.
We arrived in Seattle mid afternoon and after a walk we met up with my parents, cousin and his girlfriend and friend for a great early dinner. After some good food, great conversation and good drinks we headed back to my Dad’s apartment for the night. It was a long but great first day!
After a great sleep we awoke ready for the day. After a quick breakfast we hit the town. We were staying with my Dad in Bellevue, WA just across the lake from Seattle. We walked around downtown, through its park and down its pedestrian corridors. We then went to lunch at Sushi Land. Sushi Land is a conveyor style sushi restaurant. This style of restaurant is fairly common on the west coast but it hasn’t caught on yet back east. The basic concept goes as such. In the middle of the room is the prep area where the sushi chefs are with a bar all around them where the customers sit. On the bar is a conveyor belt and the sushi is placed on different color plates, which correspond to the price of the plate. You are also able to just ask the sushi chef for something if you don’t see it on the belt. Julie and I usually seek out this style sushi restaurant when we want a fast and quick yet delicious sushi lunch. Sushi Land delivered and it was tasty!
After a bit more walking around we made our way back to the apartment. We were off to Seattle to meet up with our good friends Julia & Kyle. Julia & Kyle had moved to Seattle a few years prior so its great to see them whenever we make it out west. After a little chatting we headed out to Alki Beach for dinner at a Mexican restaurant called El Chupacabra. Julie and I had never been to the Alki Beach area of Seattle in any of our previous visits and it really blew us away. From everything that we had ever seen, Seattle, Bellevue and the surrounding area looked very typical northwest. Alki Beach however had the look of a small beach town in southern California. A long wide beach, palm trees and a boardwalk with people biking, jogging and rollerblading down it. It was as if in a 20 min drive we were transported 1000 miles south. We ate at a great Mexican restaurant called El Chupacabra. Awesome meal and if your feeling adventurous try the deep fried jalapenos. There is no batter; they are just thrown in a fryer. Pretty, pretty tasty. After the meal we drove back to Julia & Kyle’s, wished them a good night and drove back to Bellevue.
The next day turned out to be as perfect as a day could be in the Seattle area, beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. After a relaxing morning we drove up to Hector’s Restaurant in Kirkland. Kirkland is located right on the shore of Lake Washington, which bring great cool breezes on a warm summer day. After a great meal we walked around Kirkland for a bit before heading back to Bellevue then headed into Seattle proper. Julie and I were headed for the night to meet up with Julie’s old friend Corinne. Corinne was involved in the theatre scene in Seattle and had invited us to join her and her boyfriend Andy at a dinner theatre called Cafe Nordo’s “Food Theatre Thunderdome”. Over the course of the evening we had 4 courses and watched 4 short plays. It was a lot of fun and great to see Corinne and Andy as well!
The next morning we woke up early ready to go. Today we were heading up to Victoria, BC on a seaplane. On small Lake Union in Seattle there is a seaplane company called Kenmore Air. On Kenmore you were able to take an air tour of the Seattle area. They also had regularly scheduled flights to different San Juan Islands as well as a few places in Canada. Julie and I thought this was pretty awesome as we had both been on a seaplane but never had used one for actual transportation. Arriving at the small Kenmore Air terminal we checked in, were weighed then waited for our flight to be called. After waiting around for about half an hour our flight number was called and we boarded the aircraft. Besides Julie and I there were 5 others on the plane; my parents another couple and the pilot. When asked if anyone wanted to sit up front next to the pilot I jumped at the chance. The flight from Seattle to Victoria was a little over half an hour and it was beautiful. Seaplanes do not fly nearly as high as regular aircraft so you are able to see everything from the plane. We passed over island after island eventually crossing over the Salish Sea (this separates Washington State from British Columbia) and down to Victoria. The seaplane terminal is directly in Victoria’s Inner Harbour and within a few minutes after landing and going through customs we were walking through the city.
After dropping our bags off at our hotel we headed out in search of breakfast. We found it at Irish Times Public House. This was a great Irish style breakfast. We then walked around a bit finding a small craft fair that we perused. Victoria is by no means a large or overwhelming city. It has no skyscrapers and it is extremely pedestrian friendly. As Julie and I had done in many cities that we passed through we looked on Viator.com to see if there were any tours of the city that we thought we might like. We were in luck. We found a bicycle/brewery tour through the Taste of Victoria Bike Tours called the Hoppy Hour Tour. The tour started from the Pedaler Bike Shop where we picked up our bikes and met our guide Brynne. On the tour we went to 3 breweries, Spinnakers, Moon Under Water Brewery and Phillips Brewery. All were great! The tour itself was fabulous as well. Not only were we able to try some great beer but we learned through Brynne some of the history of the city and got to see some of Victoria’s neighborhoods that we probably would not have otherwise ventured to. After the bike tour we walked back to our hotel, rested up a bit then walked over to Nautical Nellies Steak and Seafood House for dinner. After stuffing ourselves with seafood we headed back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning we woke up to a bit of a different scene. Overnight winds had shifted and smoke from massive forest fires in British Columbia and Washington State had moved in and overtaken the city. As a result of this our seaplane reservation had been cancelled as seaplanes do not have radar and need to be able to see to take off, fly and land. So, instead of the 30 min flight back to Seattle today we would be taking a 3-hour ferry. Nonetheless we were determined to make it a good day. We started our day by visiting Victoria’s most famous hotel, The Empress. We had breakfast in their restaurant including English style crumpets! From The Empress we walked over to the British Columbia Parliament Building where we watched a live history demonstration by actors in period clothing before we took a tour of the building. This was a great (and free) way to learn all about Victoria and British Columbia in general. From Parliament we walked across the street to the harbour and jumped on one of the tiny water taxis. These boats doubled not only as water taxis but as Victoria waterfront tours. The driver would make his scheduled stops and give you some local information along the way. It was pretty neat. It was here we learned that Victoria had the busiest Seaplane “airport” in the world. This was true almost everyday of the year except for this day when all flights were grounded. After our mini boat tour we checked out the Fisherman Wharf area before having a late lunch at The Flying Pig. We then checked into our ferry, the Victoria Clipper and rode the boat back across the border and to Seattle.
The next morning was our last in Seattle. We decided we wanted to do a full day Seattle tour. We borrowed my Dad’s car and we were off. First stop for the day was our favorite chocolate shop, Theo’s Chocolates. We have started to see Theo’s Chocolates being sold back east but home for them is Seattle. The retail store is pretty neat as you are able to try as many free samples that you want of almost ever chocolate available. You could stuff yourself for free if you want. We tried to go on a tour but found out that you need to book that almost a month in advance. Oh well next time. From Theo’s we walked over to our favorite Thai restaurant for lunch in the Freemont neighborhood, Kwanjai Thai Cuisine. We have been a few times and the food is always excellent. We then headed over to the tip of the peninsula to Discovery Park and checked out the West Point Lighthouse. Seattle is pretty neat as it has these areas like Discovery Park, which make it seem like you are in a large wilderness area even though you are minutes away from downtown.
From Discovery Park we drove over to Alki Beach to check it out once more. We walked along the beach a bit and got a coffee although due to the smoke from the wildfires the scene was changed dramatically from just a few days prior. That night for a last dinner we met up with my cousin Evan, his girlfriend Teresa and their friend Dan. We checked out a new to us restaurant called Nue. They served dishes from all over the world. It was pretty excellent as a last meal on the trip.
The next morning we woke up and after breakfast made our way to the airport. Our flights were smooth and before we knew it we were back in Rochester. With so many friends and family in the Seattle area it almost feels like a second home to us. We always enjoy visiting and can’t wait to make another trip back!
Next up……We fly across the pond to start our European trip! 1st stop, Oslo, Norway!
