Washington Travel | Papa and Nana On the Go

After arriving in Everett, where we actually live, not in Seattle, thank goodness, we soon wanted, like everyone else up here, to take advantage of the secretly beautiful summer into fall weather. But first, a comment on getting around here, particularly Seattle. The traffic in Seattle is currently setting records for commuting time. It has become so bad that along I-5 they are installing little plastic bag dispensing stations like you see in parks for dogs because so many have to run to the shoulder, quickly try to find a sign or bush, and have something with which to scoop before rushing

Bridge near the entrance to the Sammamish River Trailin Bothell.

back to the car because they think the line might move along without them. Silly! They

Nana, ready to go!

actually have to run back up the road as the traffic here often moves backwards. Those listening to radios are cycling through a station’s entire playlist. Audible is making a fortune since those listening to recorded books are finishing an entire volume of Game of Thrones on one commute.

As far as actual labor is concerned, the employees that work downtown are actually only working two hours. The boss often is the last one in so no one has to pay the piper for being late. There are, of course, the hardy souls that bicycle in to work, rain or shine. They have their little lights just a flashin’ through the fog like tiny mobile lighthouses. Those that have followed this blog over time know that we like to bicycle, as well. Nana is a lady of leisure now and I have about 25 miles to get to work, uphill both ways, and resist any tendency that might emerge as a form of temporary insanity to pedal to Sultan. I’m fine, as I move against the flow…well actually the traffic to Seattle has no flow…dry and conserving my personal energy, inside my mobile cocoon.

But we do like to pedal on the incredible range of bike trails that exist in the region, hundreds of miles. To get started here, before the onset of the wet season, which comprises about 300 days of the year, we struck out on the bicycle trail, or a portion of it, that runs from Bothell to Woodinville. This seemed like a very logical first choice since near the turn around point there existed several locations where essential supplies could be obtained that would allow us to survive to bike another day.

We sauntered across the bridge near the start of the trail and followed the Sammamish River into Woodinville. There were some sections near interstate but much of the trail was lined by fields, trees, parks, and in the river, boaters and ducks. Some boaters were fishing while others paddled canoes or kayaks down the gently flowing river. This area has many acres of vineyards and over the

Paddling on the Sammamish.

Beautiful tree on the winery grounds.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery – early birds for the evening concert.

years many wineries have sprung up following the lead of Chateau St. Michelle. The grounds are beautiful and they produce a wide variety of wines with a wide range of, ummmm, outcomes.

We thought that we had some obligation to sample much of this variety of wines. We certainly did not want to disappoint the worker by refusing to taste at least most of their wines. We were inside but on the outside there were people sitting in the sun, trying to store enough vitamin D to survive the coming dark times. “Winter is coming!” They were actually just waiting, early birds, picnicking until the gates opened for that evening’s concert, which was Hall and Oates. They have a fantastic range of performers most weekends over the summer, current rising performers, top groups and performers from times that were contemporary when I was a teen.

Lunch in “Hollywood”. The beer is only part of the lunch.

Can we just take the container on the left?

There are more options of various types in the area. Other wine choices but other types of options as well. After lunch and beer at The Hollywood Tavern, which was quite good, we walked 10 yards to the entrance of the Woodinville Whisky Company. So this turned into a triple play, especially after a final visit to the Red Hook Brewery 200 yards across the way.

Angst on entering the Woodinville Whiskey Co.

The distillery produced excellent liquors! We know because we tried most all of them. Oddly, they also produced infused honey. In addition to whiskey they also make other liquors such as vodka. They also sell a kit where you can age your own bourbon!

Well, not too bad!

This was all good, but we finally had to make our way back down the trail to our vehicle. It was not a long bicycle ride but the trail did not seem as stable on the way back. They do have earthquakes in this area but we later did not see any reports for that day. Not exactly sure what put Nana down. It could not have been a lack of liquid hydration and the trail was not that long.