Electrifying in Seattle
A Trip to Seattle To Update the Tandem
We had plans to go to Stehekin on Lake Chelan this week, but we changed our plan due to the wildfires in that area. Considering options and short planning period, we decided to go to Seattle to have our tandem retrofitted to an e-bike.While we were at the Northwest Tandem Rally in Corvallis we talked to Bike Swift about it and had made the decision that we wanted to do that.
Lake Pleasant RV Park – Bothell, WA
When staying in the Seattle area in the past we have stayed at Lake Pleasant and have found it to be a great option. The park is always very clean and is reasonably close in. The sites are paved and level, the little lake creates a nice setting. It is surprisingly quiet for being in the middle of a metro area.
Seattle ~ Day 1 ~ Museum of Pop Culture
Today we went on an adventure trying out the public transit in Seattle. We drove to Northgate and took the Light Rail to Westlake Station in downtown Seattle. (There will be an extension to Lynnwood beginning August 30, 2024.) From Westlake we took the Seattle Monorail to Seattle Center and went to MoPop, the Museum of Pop Culture.
MoPop started out as EMP, the Experience Music Project, built by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and has evolved over the years to what it is now. The famous Guitar Sculpture is still there as well as a smaller Hendrix exhibit and guitar gallery.
The Pop Culture was really interesting to see items that we remember as time has passed by. We spent a few hours exploring the exhibits. After the museum, we walked to Duke’s Restaurant on Lake Union for a late lunch/early dinner. As expected, the foodwas great and we over ate. It is a half hour walk both directions from Seatle Center so we did get a little exercise in.
Seattle ~ Day 2 ~ Central Library
We started the day by dropping the tandem off at Bike Swift to have the conversion done. That is expected to take a few days. After dropping the bike off we headed to Seattle Center where we parked and took the Monorail downtown. WE walked from the Westlake Station to the Central Library
We have never been to the library and the pictures we have seen of the building are pretty amazing. The library is 10 floors and has a “Book Spiral” that meander between floors 6-10. There is also an escalator and elevator that can be used to get around. it is truly an amazing facility. We wandered around and enjoyed some views as well. The lower level is a childrens area where they can be kids and not bother other library users.
From the library we headed down to Pier 54 on the waterfront and grabbed a bite to eat at Premier Meat Pies. We have never heard of that place before and were pleasantly surprised. They have four locations around the Greater Seattle Area. The setting had a very Irish feel to it. We took a couple of desert hand pies to go for a desert later on.
After eating, we headed back to the truck and drove to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. This is another spot we had not seen. The views of the Seattle skyline were very good from up there. The park itself is quite small and there were a surprising number of people there. We felt Queen Anne was worth exploring a bit more and went a bit further East to Bhy Kracke Park, which has an interesting story and some great views. The homes we saw in that neighborhood were beautiful and had some great views of Seattle and Lake Union.
Seattle ~ Day 3 ~ Seattle Art Museum
Today we wnet back to downtown Seattle to see the Seattle Art Museum. We decided to try parking downtown which was a huge mistake with the truck. Navigating downtown Seattle in a 1 ton Dodge is not fun. Parking of course is the issue. The garages do not have eonogh height to get into with the truck and parking lots were few and a bit shady feeling. We did find one lot down at the waterfront that seemed safe but discovered that 4 hours would run $80.00. We ended up driving back to Seattle Center and taking the Monorail in again.
We started walking from Westlake Center to the museum and decided to go down to the Pike Place Market and visit a favorite of ours, the french bakery Le Panier. We stocked up on some treats then headed to the museum where we spent a few hours exploring the exhibits. When we were leaving the museum we realized that Fran’s Chocolates was right across the street. That required another stop before heading back to the trailer.
We spent the evening watchng the DNC which has been a focal point for our evenings this week.
Seattle ~ Day 4 ~ Arboretum
After a relaxed morning, we drove into Seattle and walkde through the Seattle Arboretum. We have been through the arboretum with a car and have explored the waterfront trail, but we had never walked the grounds. This park is prety amazing. The trails vary from the paved loop trail to secluded hiking trails that feel like you are in a coastal forest.
We walked trails that meandered around and at time joined the main trails that went to some of the improvements and view points. We made our way to he Japanese Gardens and visited that before winding our way back to the truck. We ended up with 3.6 miles and really enjoyed the park.
Electrified
The tandem is now an e-bike. We went in to pick up the bike today and get an orientation about how it all works. The plan was to take it out for a spin today, but it was pouring rain, so we took some time wandering around the Seattle REI store which is just a few blocks from Bike Swift. It is always fun to wander in that store. After REI, we were just feeling done with Seattle and all the chaos so we just heade back and had a quiet last day at the trailer.
Homeward Bound
Seattle is always a fun place to visit, but it is also alwasys great to head back to our life in Spokane after visiting there. It was a rough start to get out of town. We woke to rain which always complicates getting loaded up and hooking up. The drive out of town was a bit tense with all the rain and heavy traffic. The roads were extremely slick, the truck spun out twice while accelerating on the freeway, I think that is the first time I have had to use 4WD for Seattle driving in August. After getting over the pass the rain quit and we had an uneventful drive home.
All in all, it was a fun trip and we are pretty excited to try out the tandem with all the new goodies…