Jul 16, 2014

 

Well we have had a great 'ride day' with winding roads through dense forest and beautiful sweeping corners and little traffic until we got closer to Seattle this evening and then it was definitely FULL of traffic....very very SLOW traffic. A disappointing 'photo day' between the weather turning very foggy heading toward the coast and a big number of kilometres which needed to be covered to get to our destination. This one is of a group doing the rounds of the brewery's by pedal power last night (we dined at one which was yummy) and as they left Norm said 'Righto I want to see you blokes smoke em up when you leave' which got a laugh and one of the group asking something to which another of the group said 'you know, crocodiles, dingos'. Ha ha. 

 

And on our way back to the hotel this is Powells Books said to be the largest book shop in the world with new and secondhand books and books no longer in print, awesome. Could have spent hours here.

 

We decided we would like to see the Pacific Ocean from the east side and we didn't see much of it for the fog. This is part of the bridge (approximately 4kms long all up) which crosses the Columbia River at it's mouth. Huge areas of mud flats here, and signs along the highway saying 'Tsunami Hazard Area' I guess because of the fault line down the west coast, the high tides and the big mud flat areas. Once we were north of the bridge and heading inland I saw a sign saying 'Tsunami Evacuation route'. All a bit sobering really. After we crossed the bridge we had a choice to turn right to 'Dismal Nitch' or left on Highway 101 which we did, soon after we did there was a sign up to 'Point Disappointment', mate whoever named these places was having a bad day....or a foggy one like us. 

 

A bit further north we thought we would try and find some water and found a little fishing port at Ilwaco.

 

And beyond here the shore was spectacular with cedar trees right down to the shore and islands among the mud flats. Without the fog this would have been awesome.

 

Getting closer into Seattle we started seeing Mount Rainier in the distance but it was a struggle to get a shot so have settled for a combination work / scenic shot here.

 

We got in just after 7pm and after dinner headed out for a brisk walk.This is a reflection of one of the many apartment building's on our walk.

 

The mountain skyline across the inlet.

 

The Seattle Space Needle from directly underneath.

Last Night's Accommodation:

The Mark Spencer Hotel, 

Nicely maintained little hotel. Comfortable 'Junior Suite' but the two rooms made things a little cramped. Beautifully comfortable bed. Generous amenities. Included wifi (not sure about parking - didn't need it). Included continental breakfast and tea and coffee through the day as well as drinks in the evening. Guest laundry, staff really helpful and good value all round.