Epic Road Trip (Day 7-12)

I spent the next several days checking out Seattle - everything from the Waterfront to Bainbridge Island and even a ghost tour. I located some great breakfast places and over the weekend I recuperate, sampling some Seattle brews from Airways Brewing Company.

Friday brought me back to a little reality - this is a working vacation - and I was up early and downtown for breakfast at the Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge before I checked out a co-working space that I could make my base of operations while I'm here. The food was fantastic and the co-working space, Office Nomads, was a hit. I was able to be productive and meet some fellow telecommuters and entrepreneurs.

I spent Friday afternoon wandering around the Waterfront a bit and generally taking in the sights (and a little ice cream). Good thing I brought my hiking boots.

 Saturday I braved (thanks to a little ibuprofen) a short ride around the Sound to Bainbridge Island where I enjoyed lunch by the harbor and some great scenery along the way. Rather than ride back around the sound (which had taken a couple hours), I took the ferry back from Bainbridge to Downtown Seattle. I was surprised at how inexpensive the transport was (about $8 for both me and the motorcycle) and I got some great skyline shots. I might have to try it again with my telephoto attached. At least I managed to catch the Blue Angels flying in formation over the skyline for SeaFair/Fleet Week.

 Sunday was more leisurely and I enjoyed some sushi and coffee in downtown Renton close to where I was staying. I spent some more time in Downtown Seattle at Office Nomads and checked out Pike Place Market (including this excellent seafood spot in the Market called Lowell's). Tuesday I found myself in the far north part of Seattle, a place called Bothell and a local coffee shop chain called Tully's. I wound my way around downtown (because I was not about to brave the insanity of downtown traffic on I-5 on my motorcycle) using Highway 900, passing through Redmond. On the way up, I ended up catching I-405 part of the way, but returned through Woodinville.

Woodinville is the home of Red Hook Brewery, which is where I decided to stop for lunch (their burgers are pretty much pure awesome). There, I learned about the existence of more breweries and a distillery (as well as the Chateau Sainte Michelle winery, which I knew was across the road). I'm probably going to have to stay up here next time. After lunch, I wound my way back to Renton, past Lake Sammamish, to my hotel. The down side: there were zero good places to get photos of the lake as I rode by. The up side: I got some awesome food and coffee and enjoyed a ride down some twisty highways.

My final day in Seattle was one of preparation. Due to the California wildfires, I have to keep an eye on things and potentially switch things up. I also needed to work on packing and making sure everything was ready to go so I could get an early start on Thursday morning. Next stop... Astoria, Oregon!