Jacki and Kurt’s Vacation to Seattle and Beyond - Sept. 2009

Thursday, September 17, 2009

We started our vacation in Tiburon, walking downtown where Kurt got a cup of Joe to begin his day right. After driving to Oakland and parking in a long-term lot not far from the airport, we boarded our Southwest plane and flew to the Seattle-Tacoma airport. We rented a blue Chevy Anvil (actually Aveo) car from National Car Rental (blog sponsor possibilities?), and headed to the northern outskirts of Seattle to check into our Priceline-obtained Northgate Extended Stay Hotel. Our room had a view of Mt. Rainier, an unexpected bonus.Heading back into Seattle, we parked the car andexplored the downtown area, including Pike Place Market which was pretty well closed up for the evening. After dinner at a Thai restaurant where Kurt enjoyed his first plate of Pad Thai, we did some walking, buying postcards at the large Read All About It newsstand.It’s a little embarrassing to report that by then our librarian blood got the better of us. We hunted down the Seattle Public Library, walking all around the closed building and actually peaking in windows. Okay, this is really embarrassing. We returned to our motel for the night.

Friday, September 18, 2009

It does seem to be true that there is a Starbucks or two on every corner in Seattle, and we visited our first one near our motel for coffee and a scone for breakfast. Then we drove to Belleview in search of a local GEICO office (for documents needed in Canada). Jacki performed numerous “whoop-arounds” and we saw many a neighborhood during our search, including posh Clyde Hill and a blueberry farm. We debated the value of having a GPS or iPhone vs. old-fashioned paper maps and decided that it is far superior to be lost using a map than a GPS. Throwing a map out the window is much cheaper than throwing an iPhone out the window.

Eventually we found the office, handled our business, and made it into downtown Seattle where we lunched at the Three Sisters Bakery at Pike Place Market. Our very efficient waiter had dreadlocks tied back under a cap. We watched as another customer at the counter pulled a very long hair out of his sandwich and showed it to the waiter who asked, “Is that mine?” After lunch we walked to the Washington State Ferries Terminal and boarded the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Jacki’s college roommate, Marilynn, picked us up and drove us across the island to her beautiful house in the woods. We got to see Marilynn’s latest artwork, photos applied to large pieces of metal. It was very intriguing and we liked the effects she was able to achieve with the method. Soon after, we walked along the western Bainbridge shore in warm, sunny weather with dog Tito who attempted to retrieve anything, large or small, that was thrown in the water. Kurt will undoubtedly reminisce about what a wonderful dog Tito is for years to come. Passing by many beautiful boat houses, we saw a family of river otters in a lagoon. After returning to Marilynn’s house, we waited for her husband, Dan, to return from work by conversing and working on crossword puzzle. We all went to dinner at Dan’s favorite Bainbridge restaurant, Four Swallows. It was definitely the best dinner we had on our whole trip – delicious! The time got away from us and we had to rush back to ferry at 9:40 pm for our return to Seattle.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

We woke to a light rain, our view of Mt. Rainier obscured. After a quick breakfast we drove into Seattle to explore the Queen Anne neighborhood. We attempted to find a nice view of downtown, but couldn’t find a clear view anywhere. We enjoyed walking through the neighborhood, however, and got a feel for the area.

Next we parked at the Seattle Center and rode the Monorail into downtown Seattle and headed a few blocks down to see the inside of the new library. Shock and awe is perhaps a slight exaggeration of our reaction to the structure, but not much. It is a hard place to describe; definitely an architect’s building, but it also seems to function pretty well as a library. We spent an hour or two wandering around, trying to see everything we had heard about and seeing plenty of things we weren’t expecting. We made our way back to the monorail via Pike Place market, where we purchased flowers and fruit. Back at the car, we drove to De Moines, south of Seattle, to visit with Bud and Jane Reanier (no relation to the mountain), Kurt’s Godparents. We had a pleasant dinner at Wesley Gardens retirement housing where the two 90+ year-olds live, a tour of the dahlia garden, and a nice conversation. We were especially interested to hear about the Reanier’s experience at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Residents of the home were abuzz with news that the University of Washington Huskies had upset USC that afternoon.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Sunday morning we again had breakfast at the Northgate Starbucks (this is getting old). To be fair, Kurt did purchase coffee at a number of other coffee houses; this Starbucks was just the most convenient for us in the morning. We drove north up Highway 5, passing forests, fields of corn, potatoes, and blueberries, to Chuckanut Drive which runs along the beautiful Washington State coastline. We stopped in historic Fairhaven and patronized the impressive Village Book Store before meeting Jacki’s Redlands friend, Kris, at the Colophon Café next to the book store for lunch. Afterwards we walked along the waterfront of Bellingham harbor and saw many families out enjoying sunny, warm weather. We drove with Kris through Bellingham to her three-acre farm and toured her well-decorated house, barn with mothballed cars; met horses, dogs, cats, and birds, and picked apples. Jacki and Kris caught up on old times while lounging in the sun next to the pond while Kurt talked to Reid at Times Square via cell phone. After saying goodbye to Kris, we walked through downtown Bellingham and found a local place for some excellent burgers. As the sun set, we drove to Anacortes and found the cozy Anaco Inn. We unloaded and quickly toured Anacortes in the dark, happening across a rope factory operating on Sunday night.

Monday, September 21, 2009

We woke up early to catch the morning ferry to Sidney, and bought breakfast at Starbucks in Anacortes (this is getting really, really old!). It was beautiful watching the sun rise while waiting to board the Washington State ferry at Anacortes with the rental car. The sea was as calm as glass during the 2+ hour ferry ride between San Juan Islands. Kurt spotted a bald eagle in a tree on one island, and we saw seals in the water. On the ferry we read a little of the Seattle Times to catch up on news and see about the victorious 49ers. After landing in Sidney, British Columbia, Jacki made a point to have our passports stamped at the border station, though the agent was reluctant to do it since others might want the same privilege. We just wanted something to show in our passports since both of them were clean as a whistle! We bought lunch to-go in Sidney, then drove to Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island. By chance we met author John Saul in the parking lot after noticing his Book 28 license plate. It turns out he is a very well known author; the Bel-Tib library has about 10 of his books. We had lunch overlooking the Sunken Garden. The weather was sunny and the perfect temperature as we toured the grounds. Dahlias were at their peek and chrysanthemums were just starting to bloom. Jacki took many photos as ideas for our future gardens. She thought that Butchart Gardens is a Disneyland for gardeners! We drove to Victoria in the late afternoon and found the James Bay Inn where we were staying for the night. We both took naps in the hotel after waking early that day for the ferry. Later, we walked in downtown Victoria, past the Parliament Building and the Empress Hotel, to dinner outdoors overlooking the harbor and a nice sunset. We saw the ferry Coho arrive and sound its horn. We walked downtown and admired the city lights before turning in.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

We had breakfast at The Mirage Café (not Starbucks) in downtown Victoria, where Kurt had his best cup of coffee yet. We got in the auto line at the Victoria Ferry Terminal, and talked with a tour bus driver while waiting to board. He said he was taking a group of French tourists on a 17-day road trip all over the Western U.S. and part of Canada, staying in a different place every single night. After dropping them all off at the aiport in Seattle the next day he was going to high-tail it down to Los Angeles where he lives, spend a day at home, then go off on another tour. Luckily, he loves his job and his wife loves it when he makes money – happiness all the way around! Though it was a lovely ride across the Sound, we were disappointed to not have seen much marine life, in particular no Orcas. Though we had boarded the Coho mid-way through the car line, we somehow ended up right at the bow for unloading, and were one of two first cars off when we got to Port Angeles. Kurt waved victoriously to those waiting to board the ferry back to Victoria. We drove and walked around downtown Port Angeles, visiting a store dedicated entirely to the Twilight books, which have been almost as popular as Harry Potter in our local libraries. We visited the Chamber of Commerce Information Center, and ate lunch in an unremarkable café in unremarkable Port Angeles in remarkably great weather.After locating the Port Angeles Public Library to ask directions to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, we drove up to the Ridge and found views impaired by forest fire smoke blowing in from Oregon. We hiked up to the top of Hurricane Ridge to take the obligatory photos of Jacki sitting on a rock formation. Then we drove to Sequim, bought food for dinner, and made our way to Lucy & Rick Gibbs’ house on the northeast corner of Discovery Bay. The Gibbs are practically relatives of Jacki’s co-worker Patty McDonough, and kindly offered the use of their home while they were visiting their son in Mill Valley. The house was just feet from the water, a very quiet and beautiful spot. We made a nice home-cooked dinner of spaghetti, broccoli, and bread, did a load of laundry and went to bed.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

We woke at sunrise with the sun shining red through band of smoke over Discovery Bay. There were lots of birds, ducks and geese, but no bald eagles. We saw a deer and a raccoon. We drove west on Highway 101, stopping at Sunny Farms, an excellent organic grocery store outside Sequim, for coffee and lunch items. Whole coho salmon in the fish department and hundreds of pumpkins at the entry added to the atmosphere of the place.We stopped in Port Angeles to go to library (closed, no WiFi on), mail letters, and withdraw at Wells Fargo, then drove to Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. We visited the old ranger house where Jacki’s in-laws used to summer. Jacki called Natalie with a question from the ranger about the house’s old chimney and had a nice talk. We ate lunch lakeside, lounging in Adirondack chairs and admiring the clear water that was as calm as glass in the unseasonably warm weather. Then we drove to the Salmon Cascades and spent a long time watching for salmon trying to swim up the rapids (maybe saw three fish jumping, many more large salmon in the pools below the rapids). We continued to Sol Duc Hot Springs and took a hike to Sol Duc Falls in the lush rain forest. We drove back through the then windy Lake Crescent and to Port Angeles with fog above the mountains along the way. Had dinner in Sequim and returned to Discovery Bay in the dark.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Cleaned the Gibbs’ house on a foggy Discovery Bay and watered their plants before driving to Sequim for coffee and gifts for the Gibbs and Wendy (from Purple Haze Lavender Shop). We ordered takeout Thai food from Sawadee Thai Restaurant in Sequim and ate on the deck of the house overlooking Discovery Bay in warm, sunny weather. Then we drove to Port Townsend, a lovely Victorian fishing village with many shops for tourists like us, watched boats come and go and rested in the sun. Next time we would like to stay in a cottage at the Swan Inn and visit the Carnegie Library in town. We took off in mid-to-late afternoon and drove to Bainbridge Island just in time to catch the 5:30pm ferry to Seattle. The two-lane Highway 19 from Port Townsend was one of the most pastoral we had traveled. We drove to the Seattle Center neighborhood of town and walked to four hotels looking for the best price (Jacki does love a deal and we found one at the Travelodge--too bad it had a bullet hole in one of the room’s windows!). We walked a few blocks downtown and had a pizza, returned for bed.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Had complimentary breakfast at the Travelodge, then walked to a bus stop near Seattle Center. We rode the bus through the Fremont neighborhood (a site to which we must return) to the University of Washington and toured the main campus, including the magnificent Suzzallo Library reading room. We enjoyed roses and a view of Mount Rainier over the campus fountain on yet another day of perfect weather. We walked past Husky Stadium to the Waterfront Activities Center and rented a canoe for an hour. We paddled underneath highways to botanical garden and enjoyed trees, ducks, and turtles. The we walked through the UW campus to Agua Verde Restaurant for a busy lunch by the waterfront before catching another bus to the Ballard Locks. There we watched a wide variety of boats use the locks, and toured the Ballard Fish Ladders where we saw a handful of salmon swimming upstream. We walked a short distance (during what was obviously happy hour time) through the Ballard neighborhood, bought snacks at micro pastry shop, and caught another bus past the Lake Union waterfront to Seattle Center. We toured Seattle Center looking for entertainment and returned to the hotel. Then we drove to the Queen Anne neighborhood for an excellent dinner at the Five Spot Café.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

We had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, then packed our luggage for the trip home. We drove through Downtown and Pioneer Square areas looking for coffee for Kurt. With some extra time before our afternoon flight, we stopped at Angle Lake south of SeaTac and watched a man run a radio-controlled, hand-made model of the Aircraft Carrier Constellation. Back at the airport we returned the rental car and worked on a crossword puzzle while waiting for our Southwest flight back to Oakland. The flight was delayed an hour and a half for a “situation” with the baggage door. We arrived in Oakland to 90° weather and a home-cooked meal (finally!) at Jacki’s home. It was hard to believe our trip was already over, so we downloaded vacation photos and reminisced.

Jacki's News

Welcome to my blog. For my first post you can read all about the trip Kurt and I took to New York. Kurt wrote this diary every evening while we were in New York. He also took most of the photos. I'm a lucky person to have a former journalist/photographer for a bf! Entries in blue are additions I made.

April 2009 Vacation to New York City

Saturday, April 18: Flew from SFO to JFK. Sat next to Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov on plane. We later learned that Nanette had a famous uncle - Isaac! Checked into fourth floor walk-up apartment on 94^th Street (between Central Park West and Columbus). Yes, a "walk-up" means you walk up (no elevator). Kurt earned his keep by "walking-up" both of our "livin' large" suitcases. Walked down Columbus Ave in warm evening weather for dinner at Big Nick’s and a return walk up Broadway.

Sunday, April 19: We took subway to Fordham Road stopping along the way to let off many Yankee fans attending one of the first games at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Walked along a Sunday crowded Fordham Road to the university for a campus tour by Ira. This was open house day at Fordham with many trees in full spring bloom. Ira took us on a walk through the Belmont/Little Italy section of the Bronx just south of the campus and to lunch at a fun Italian restaurant. We went birthday shoe shopping with Ira in many kickz (shoe) stores along Fordham Road busy with shoppers and Sunday preachers with loud PA systems. We continued our conversations with Ira in the Walsh Library then left him at his dorm before our return to the upper West Side via the subway. After walking across Central Park, we met Reid at his 11^th floor apartment (not a walk-up, thank goodness) on 92^th Street (near 3^rd Ave). Went to dinner at an Indian restaurant in his neighborhood and talked until 10pm. Took the MTA bus across Central Park to return to the apartment.

Monday, April 20: We walked across Central Park in the rain to Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, which had a memorable exhibit on felt art and design. Both Jacki and I enjoyed the old conservatory of the Carnegie Mansion now made into a yurt of felt reminiscent of a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We took a MTA bus back across town for lunch at Fairway Café and clothes shopping on Broadway. Took subway to New York Public Library on 5^th Avenue where Jacki asked a few reference questions about free WiFi availability and we used one of their public computers in the Great Hall. The NYPL main library is truly magnificent. I consider it a Mecca for librarians - a "must-see" at least once in a lifetime. We walked in the pouring rain around Bryant Park then to Grand Central Station where we had cups of hot cocoa and coffee to wait out the commute rush. We watched as men and women in business suit ran full-speed through Grand Central to catch their trains back to the outlying suburbs. Early in the evening we took the train to the Upper Westside for dinner and more shopping including our favorite NYC convenience store, Duane Reade. We walked back to our apartment on 94^th, arriving soaked and tired from a day of rain. Jacki and I spent the rest of the night snuggling on the couch watching the lightning flashes and listening to the rain hitting the apartment’s skylight.

Tuesday, April 21: We walked to the New York Public Library Bloomingdale Branch (unlike the Main Library of the NYPL, the branches we have seen are nothing to get excited about) to use their free WiFi to send emails to family and look up travel information. After returning my laptop to the apartment we took the subway up to the northern tip of Manhattan. We walked through the beautiful spring gardens of Fort Tryon Park to The Cloisters Museum. We took a guided tour through the Medieval-like museum, learning about such things as Romanesque versus Gothic architecture and viewing the medieval unicorn tapestries. (For an interesting, not great, fictional read on the unicorn tapestries, try The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier.) Jacki and I then took the subway south to Columbus Circle for an early dinner at a ginormous Whole Foods Grocery Store restaurant where the number of shoppers and choices were truly overwhelming. We then walked to Richard Rodgers Theatre on 46^th Street to attend the musical, In The Heights, tickets to which Jacki had purchased many weeks before. The production about life in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan was extremely entertaining and enjoyable for both of us. After the play and a short walk to admire the Times Square lights, we took the subway back to the Upper Westside where we shared a slice of cheesecake at an all-night deli on Broadway and walked back to the apartment. As we were nearing our destination, Jacki spotted a large billboard advertising an upcoming movie called Dance Flick. The billboard featured a picture of Shoshana Bush, a former Tiburon resident who seems to be making it big in Hollywood.

Wednesday, April 22: We took the subway to Brooklyn, walking first to the Brooklyn Public Library near Prospect Park. There we found that Internet use for visitors cost $3.00 and asked a children’s librarian what to do and see in Brooklyn. Her suggestion for lunch couldn’t be found so we walked in the rain to Tom’s Restaurant to share lunch. We walked back to the shelter of the Brooklyn Museum out of the rain in hopes of seeing the cherry blossoms of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden next door, but the rain vetoed that idea. We next took the subway to the Court Street area of downtown Brooklyn and walked to Rocketship Comics on Smith Street. After looking through the extensive, one-of-a-kind selection of graphic novels and comics, we walked through the homey brownstones of the Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Both Jacki and I admired greatly the three to four-story walkups with large (for NYC) front gardens, many bursting with spring bulbs in bloom. We had a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie at The Fall Café then took the subway to the Soho area of Manhattan. After walking by blocks of expensive clothing stores (one called Yellow Rat Bastard) we walked to and around the upscale Tribeca neighborhood. Finally, we took the subway to Greenwich Village for a walk past the now-fenced Washington Square Park, NYU, and to our favorite Indian restaurant on Bleeker Street. Afterwards we rode the subway home to the apartment.

Thursday, April 23: Every morning starts off with a café mocha from the nearby Mia Café on Columbus and a New York Times from a stationery store around the corner. We walked to a Wachovia Bank for more cash (NYC is expensive!) and then took the subway to Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus. There Jacki and I met with a financial aid counselor trying to figure out

how the final two years of Ira’s college education could be paid. We walked through Columbus Circle to the southern end of Central Park then to lunch with Reid near his office at the Citi Group Tower at 53^rd and Lexington. Jacki and I then walked to Grand Central Station to get a Metro North schedule then to Union Square. We toured the Strand Book Store on Broadway at 12^th with its 18 miles of shelves then took the subway to Greenwich Village for a snack and hot drinks at Esperanto Café. Refreshed, we took the subway back to our apartment for a brief rest then to dinner with Ira at Big Nick’s on Columbus at 71^st. We walked with Ira back to Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus so he could catch the Ram Van back to the Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx.

Friday, April 24: We woke up early on this beautiful, sunny day and took the subway to Bryant Park then walked to Grand Central Station. We boarded the MTA Metro North Hudson Line, which traveled through Harlem, around the northern tip of Manhattan, and up the east side of the Hudson, lined with still leafless trees, to the town of Beacon. We walked through Beacon, stopping at the courthouse and library for suggestions and directions, and ended up walking through town on the main street to a waterfall east of town. During our stroll through Beacon we found that half to two-thirds of the storefronts were vacant and the businesses that were open had little appeal. We had lunch at a small deli on Main Street then walked to the Dia:Beacon modern art museum just south of town. Jacki and I thoroughly enjoyed the mind-blowing art housed in the 240,000 square-foot converted Nabisco box factory. Many of the pieces really stretched the concept of art for us and made the trip up the Hudson Valley worthwhile. We took the train back to Grand Central Station, riding through small towns along the Hudson River and could see many little league games being played not far from the tracks. We arrived in Manhattan as the sun was setting in the early evening. We once again stopped at Bryant Park, this time observing hundreds of office workers relaxing after work on the vast lawn or loudly drinking together at the park’s bar. We took the subway to Greenwich Village were we ate pizza outside at an Italian restaurant named Numero 28 at Carmine and Bleeker Streets. We then took the subway home to rest our weary feet.

Saturday, April 25: We had breakfast at a café on Broadway and took the subway for a long ride out to Coney Island in Brooklyn. We quickly scanned the Astro Park amusement park that has fallen on hard times and took a ride on the Cyclone rollercoaster. My voice was sore the rest of the day for screaming during the rickety and terrifying ride. Jacki and I walked along the boardwalk to Brighton Beach, people watching at all the New Yorkers enjoying the sunny, unseasonably warm weather. We then walked along Brighton Avenue under the elevated subway, past blocks of Russian stores with folks speaking in Russian, until we found a pizza shop with food that looked familiar. As we walked through the neighborhood, we felt that we were in a completely different country, with sidewalk vendors selling caviar, and stores selling fur hats and coats. The delis were filled with foods we had never seen or heard of before - the only thing we tried was a delicious pastry that Kurt called an opium roll (I bet you didn't know Kurt can read Cyrillic). We then took the subway back to Prospect Park in Brooklyn and toured the Brooklyn Botanical Garden where many flowering cherry trees were in bloom and thousands of tulips of every type were opened wide in the sun. The gardens were also quite crowded with people enjoying the spring weather and families taking pictures in front of the flowering trees and in meadows filled with naturalized daffodils. We then rode the subway back to our apartment then walked to a Dominican restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue to have a last dinner with Reid. After parting, Jacki and I watched as Reid walked down 94^th Street texting on his cell phone, off to meet up with a friend to hang out for the rest of the evening. We returned to our apartment to pack for the flight home.

Sunday, April 26: We woke up early to a warm morning and carried our suitcases down the four flights of stairs to the street to meet the cab that would take us to JFK. From the back of the cab we could see early risers jogging in already warm Central park and the many tulips on 5^th Avenue beginning to open up to the sun. It seemed like a quick flight home and by coincidence we met Chronicle Reporter Nanette Asimov again at the baggage pick-up. Jacki and I took the Marin Airporter back to her car at Strawberry and returned to Tiburon where the weather was mild and clear. We briefly unpacked then took a walk to enjoy the sailboat party in town for Opening Day of sailing season. We ate and watched the partiers from Waypoint Pizza then climbed the stairs to the top of Corinthian Island to view the festivities and the clear view of the bay and San Francisco.