The drive from the Olympic Peninsula back to Seattle involved a stop on Bainbridge Island for lunch and then a 30 minute ferry ride which delivered us straight into downtown Seattle.

We checked into our accommodation, a lovely mansion converted into a B&B which we had stayed at last time and which is conveniently located further up Sam’s street (the posh end 😉) We dropped our luggage before heading back downtown to drop off our rental car and explain once again to Hertz staff our somewhat complicated contract status… 😩

With that situation (hopefully) resolved and joined by our good friend Johnny (whom we hadn’t seen for three years), Sam escorted us to the Columbia Tower. The tower is a 73 storey building with a 360 degree observation deck , almost twice the height of the better known Space Needle and with half the admission fee. The clear sunny skies were perfect and Sam helpfully pointed out various landmarks until eventually the bar beckoned the rest of us 🥂

Post drinks we moved on to a restaurant under the I5 bridge and waterside. Watercraft were out in droves and provided a great spectacle over dinner.

On Wednesday Sam had to work but we occupied ourselves with last minute shopping…

We also saw our first cat cafe where the customers were happy hanging around…

We had just missed Seattle Pride and rainbows were everywhere.

After Sam finished work we had a drink at his bar and then came back to his local strip for an Italian dinner before retiring relatively early, our last night in the USA.

Sam had offered to drive us up to Vancouver the following day (from where our flight left)  and some serious luggage sorting took place in his apartment that morning before the final cut was squeezed into the back of the Subaru.

An uneventful drive (punctuated by my first visit to Costco on the way and a not too tedious border crossing) saw us arrive into Vancouver about 4pm. Time for a shower and dinner before Sam drove us to the airport and the long way home. Not too tearful farewells at the airport as he’ll be home in three weeks 😊

That’s all folks…… writing this whilst watching the Crows hopefully beat Melbourne, arrived home this afternoon, please forgive the typos, not sure if I’ll last four quarters.

Until next trip 😊

Due to work commitments Bonnie had to leave us tomorrow so Bonnie and Sam wasted no time utilising the kayaks and paddle board that came with the Lake property whilst Russell and enjoyed the local wildlife.

Dinner on the deck was just perfect, another water view albeit very different from La Push beach.

The lake property was ideally situated for day trips into the almost  adjacent Olympic National Park, the hardest part choosing which to visit in our relatively limited time. The weather continued to be kind to us and Hurricane Ridge which promised ‘stunning vistas for miles’ seemed to be a good choice.

Distance wise it wasn’t far away but winding our way up the mountain range took some time (more of the ubiquitous road works as well) but on reaching the top the view was jaw dropping. To the north, Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria (British Columbia’s capital) lay on the other side of the Juan de Fuca strait and the Olympic Mountain Range filled almost every other aspect of our view.

There were some short, relatively easy hikes around the ridge with good wildlife and wildflower spotting!

The following day Russell and I caught the ferry over the strait to re visit Victoria for a day trip – we were last there in 2007 – unfortunately Sam had left his passport in Seattle so he couldn’t join us and spent the day hiking again 😉

At 3pm, somewhat footsore, we boarded the ferry back to Port Angeles where Sam picked us up and we headed home to grill satay chicken on the barbie after a quick swim and hot tub 😉

On our last day here we drove back along 101 a short distance to visit a couple of other popular Olympic National Park waterfalls. The first was Marymere Falls which did not disappoint, less than a mile walk through more shady forests and then this…

Further along 101 we turned off  to Sol Duc Hot Springs where the resort provided a rather forgettable lunch but fuelled us for the one mile hike into the spectacular Sol Duc falls. The photos really do not do them justice. We also just missed a bear here, a couple of hikers came running down the trail informing us there was a bear ‘just around the corner’ but alas we didn’t see him.

Returning to the lake in still balmy temperatures Sam and I convinced a Russell to hit the water with us for one last hurrah, capitalising on this beautiful location and another spot we all thought could be a future holiday.

We failed to convince Russell on the merits of the hot tub, one step at a time 😉

Sam had one last swim the next morning and the end of our holiday is now looming as we make our way to Seattle….

Apologies to those who have never watched the Twilight movies (or read the books)  who won’t understand the title of this page, but for those that have, today we were headed for Forks, home of Bella and Edward 😊

Sam did a great job of negotiating our way out of Portland and we soon reached the state line, leaving Oregon and crossing  into Washington  ( not to be confused with Washington DC , the nation’s capital.)

The first part of our journey took us through mainly rural scenery through the best named town, Humptulips (!) but eventually we turned back toward the coast in time for lunch on the not so imaginatively named ‘Beach 2.’

Continuing on after lunch it wasn’t too long before we arrived in Forks.

Forks is a small town (3,500 in the 2010 census) originally supported by the timber industry but in recent years has seen a huge influx of tourists due to the Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series being set in Forks “the rainiest town in the US.”

We stocked up on groceries here and then twenty minutes further on crossed the treaty line into Quilleute territory, La Push, and our cabin on the beach.

Our two bedroom cabin afforded direct beach access and we all immediately remarked that two nights weren’t going to be enough!

We has s’mores and wine with a beach fire and slept with the sound of the Pacific crashing in to shore.

Sam and Bonnie had plans for an adventurous hike the next day at Ozette, but Russell and I opted for the 1.2 mile  hike into Third Beach –  the day was overcast, not that conducive to photography but stunning all the same.

We reconvened for another beach fire after dinner, the cloud had eventually cleared by late afternoon and we were treated to another beautiful sunset.

The next morning we reluctantly ( that word again!) packed up and checked out, bound for Lake Sutherland in the more northerly part of the Olympic Peninsula and checking out the Hoh rainforest along the way.

Although the drive today was a relatively  short one, stunning scenery and then tedious roadworks meant that when we worked out which tiny track matched the address we were looking for, it was about 4pm when we unlocked the door to our next rental at beautiful Lake Sutherland…..

 

 

Sam and Bonnie (and Russell of course !) were keen to visit some wineries as the region is particularly known for its Pinot varieties, a favourite of theirs. Sam’s research led us to the Dundee Hills region of the Willamette Valley, about 45km south of Portland. I was the designated driver given I’m not a big red drinker and we had encountered a major problem earlier in the day with Hertz (never rent from them in the US!) meaning that as yet Sam wasn’t able to be listed as an additional driver.

Our first stop was White Rose Estate in a beautiful setting atop a hill with views all around, lovely landscaping and a cellar door that was a dark cool escape from the 36 C outside. The young guy who was pouring was very interested to hear of Sam and Bonnie’s winery experience and offered to take us on a full ‘downstairs’ experience which was pretty cool.

More importantly he waived the hefty $25 pp tasting fee for the three of them which encouraged us to buy a bottle and then he gave us recommendations for a nearby lunch venue.

After lunch we visited Stoller Family Estate, another stunning setting which DID have a nice rosé which we enjoyed in their beautiful outside area.

We decided to finish up at this point as I had made a dinner booking in Portland to celebrate Sam and Bonnie’s birthdays and we wanted time to shower and cool down.

Dinner at St.Jack ( a French themed restaurant) was lovely but somewhat impacted by the extreme ambient temperature (for me at least) and returning to our house the aircon was most welcome! (Are you seeing a theme here? This weather for Portland was quite unusual ☀🔥)

The following day ( our last in Portland) we visited the Columbia Gorge, a beautiful area east of Portland featuring lots of waterfalls and the mighty Columbia River.

I really wanted to visit Multnomah Falls (allegedly the second highest continually running waterfall in the US at 189m) and the highest in Oregon. Circumstances conspired against us today though, the road in was closed and we were directed to an overflow car park where the free shuttle would take us the 15 min drive to the falls . We waited about 35 hot minutes for the bus and climbed on with other red faced tourists to be driven to the car park adjacent to the falls – where there were plenty of parks! Very frustrating indeed. The falls themselves were spectacular but it was totally the wrong time of the day to photograph them and it was very busy. The pic below is courtesy of google images 😉

After the considerable amount of time spent here it was now lunch time and we drove further along the gorge to Hood River, a very windy spot where kite and windsurfers were competing on the river.  We had a pleasant late lunch in the pFriem Tap room and headed back to Portland  mid afternoon, Sam and Bonnie still needing to check out Powell’s before our departure the next day.

Tomorrow, on to the I5 and then rejoining our old friend Highway 101 to La Push and Twilight territory!🧛🏻‍♂️

Portland decided to turn on its hottest weather for us so on our first day we stuck to mainly air conditioned retail therapy…. the US seems to have soooo many pet shops with a dazzling array of never seen in Australia merchandise!

Luckily our house was well air conditioned and provided a welcome respite at the end of days which topped 99F (over 37C.)

Wandering aimlessly we encountered a few of the local critters …

and more disturbingly, plenty of evidence of the city’s homeless.

Portland is actually quite a small city with a population of around 640,000 at last census. It is known for its craft beer scene, food truck square, Voodoo doughnuts and of course Powell’s Bookstore, purported to be the largest independent bookstore in the world, taking up a whole city block. We did spend most of one morning in Powell’s, it is a readers paradise!

The day that Bonnie and Sam were due to arrive we found ourselves shopping quite close to the Japanese Gardens ( as per Google maps) and decided that they might be a cool place to escape the oppressive heat. Of course what Google didn’t tell us was that the shortish walk (1.4 miles) was all uphill and we were both ready to expire when we finally reached the entrance gate.

We recovered enough to appreciate the gardens along with many other visitors also no doubt seeking the shade.

Suitably recovered, we dismissed the tempting thought of an Uber back and walked the mostly downhill path back to our house to await Bonnie and Sam’s arrival. It has been 18 months since we’ve seen them and when they arrived slightly ahead of schedule at about 8.30 pm there was every reason to pop the champagne!

A predictably late night ensued and it was obvious the next day was not going to be an early start! 😊