Chuckanut Drive: Beautiful Scenic Drive

I am a planner at heart and when someone suggests a place to visit, I always write it down in my iPhone notes and then copy it later into my travel planner. I have pages of restaurants to try, stores to visit and scenic drives to take. Since I blog about delight, people I meet feel compelled to tell me what their favorite places are and I am grateful.

I had written "Chuckanut Drive" down in several places and thankfully, that is not a name you forget. We were on a drive toward Bellingham when I recognized it immediately on local signs and insisted we add it to our route before the sun set. Described as the only place where the Cascade Mountains reach the sea, this view above shows a lookout over Samish Bay and shows some of the San Juan Islands in the distance. Bellingham is about 1 1/2 hours north of Seattle and is a great road trip when the sun is out. We had a beautiful Saturday and knew we needed to take advantage of the rain break. 

There are several turnout areas to stop and enjoy the view. I will definitely plan a return when it is warm enough to enjoy a picnic outside. The vistas are very Pacific Northwest and exactly what we are looking for. Thanks Bellingham!

#pnw #scenicdrive #washington #seattleblogger #momentsofdelight #followthesun 

Pike Place Market: Foodies & Families

When you visit Pike Place Market (and you must visit Pike Place Market), you will be overwhelmed with the people, the flowers, the fish and the overall bounty of Seattle. The fruit is bigger, the selection is wider and the staff is friendlier. I am always impressed and I want you to come and enjoy it. And now you can walk past some of the artisans and walk outside on a huge open air platform (near the Market Parking Garage on the map) to enjoy the fresh air and activity on Puget Sound. Don't miss this chance to watch the ferry traffic.

I suggest you download this official map that will help you understand where you are and what is not to be missed. I personally recommend these places to stop and snack. If I've blogged about them, I will leave a link for you below.

Confectional - tiny delicious cheesecakes (trust me)
Starbucks Original storefront on Pike
Piroshky Piroshky - Russian pastries
Rachel's Ginger Beer - delicious hot, I like Lemon Ginger
Daily Dozen Doughnuts
Ellenos Greek Yogurt - try some, but get the Lemon Curd
Pike Place Chower - excellent clam chowder in a bread bowl

I know that this photograph looks like a painting, but it is real and unedited, I swear. The light was just that good that day. Enjoy.

#pikeplace #pikeplacemarket #seattle #pugetsound #foodfordays #foodieheaven #ellenos #dailydoughnut #pikeplacechowder #rachelsgingerbeer #originalstarbucks #confectional

Seattle: Maximilien Restaurant has Spectacular View of Puget Sound

When I was still in Michigan, I made a reservation at Maximilien Restaurant in Seattle for the Saturday just after I returned. It was to celebrate being together for the second half of the summer and put us right in the heart of the Seattle waterfront and Pike Place Market.

There is a large rooftop garden adjacent to Maximilien's patio and the public is welcome to explore, take pictures and admire the view from up there.

There are vegetables growing, flowers blooming and a smattering of kooky art installations.

You must stop and see this beautiful outdoor patio before having a lovely French meal.

We both ordered French Onion soup, a summer halibut dish and an icy drink. I think this would be a wonderful place to enjoy a cheese plate, fresh bread and a bottle of wine. Bon appetit!

#pikeplacemarket #maximilienrestaurant #seattle #seattleblogger #foodandwine #cigarboxpurse #makersgonnamake

Seattle: Ferry Season Returns

I absolutely love riding the Washington State ferries and we were finally able to take a ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island yesterday.  When I take the ferry, I want to stand on the deck and enjoy the incredible view, so I have been holding off our trip until the weather cleared.

You see Seattle just experienced the most-rainfall-ever-recorded-between-October-and-April (since 1895!) and everyone in the Pacific Northwest is overdue for the bright blue sky and fresh air. 

Sunday May 7th was the perfect day! Notice the woman at the bow (above) reenacting the Titanic's "king of the world" moment. We were all feeling that way when we felt the sun on our skin.

After a beautiful day of shopping and snacking on Bainbridge Island, we took the ferry back across Puget Sound. I don't think any of the ferry passengers stayed indoors; we all seemed to be out on deck taking pictures of Mount Rainier.

Selfies, however, were more of a challenge.

The city looked beautiful and it was exciting to think that we live just 30 minutes from this vibrant city. It has been a challenging winter but things seem to be returning to the climate we expect. Hallelujah. Picnics, here I come!

Seattle: Searching for Starfish

I am so very new to Seattle and I have found that people to go out of their way to be friendly. I think the secret to connecting in a new place is to be genuinely interested in the area. When I thought that I was only coming to Seattle for just a few months, I read travel books and magazine articles, asked friends for recommendations and made myself a notebook of restaurants, parks and the must see aspects of Seattle, as they were mentioned to me. If you read my blog posts from April, June and September 2014, you can tell that really experienced a lot in a short amount of time. You can also tell that I loved it out in the Pacific Northwest.

I always have a local person, place or thing "up my sleeve" to discuss when I meet someone new. I was lucky enough to sit next to a lifelong resident at a charity dinner last spring and when I mentioned I was hoping to see starfish on the beach, he leapt into action. He not only directed me to this section of Alki Beach, but he opened up a maritime tide chart (an app he had on his phone!) and told me exactly what day and time I needed to visit.

I found this speckled tan starfish blending into the damp rock. Naively, I was looking for them in perfect starfish formation. A class of 25 university students (some are shown above) was spread out across the newly exposed surface of Puget Sound armed with cameras and clipboards. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, I called to one of the students for help to find a live starfish and they all came over to show me.

What a lush scene. Can you spot the starfish? A red starfish is clinging to the rock in the foreground. I zoomed in (below) to show him basking in the sun.

This was such a cool experience. Trouping along the shoreline looking for sea life was really fun and not something I would normally do on a weekday. I have another resource for planning your trip, this tide chart includes water temperatures and the weather forecast. 

This is the beauty of everyday life. Be interested in the world around you and be open to spending a little time in someone else's world.