22-24 June
The sun was welcoming us back to Vancouver, where we had just one night before setting off to Seattle. We went looking for a light dinner and happened across a trendy restaurant, where they made up something especially for Lynne. Despite our pleading, we ended up with far too much to eat. However the food was excellent and Peter was moved to write a rave review online, which he rarely does.
We had a leisurely start, before taking an Uber to the station (again). It seemed to take longer to load our rucksacks into the cab than the drive itself, but it was just too far to walk without the benefit of the motorway flyover.
We were taking a “thruway” Amtrak coach to Seattle, rather than a train. The advice to arrive more than sixty minutes before departure was misconceived, as the driver showed up twenty minutes early. We were all aboard, having disposed of fresh fruit and vegetables, in good time. We had expected all sorts of formalities with our documentation, but not at all.
It was Friday morning and the traffic out of Vancouver was busy, meaning we arrived fifteen minutes behind schedule at US Border Control, with six coaches already ahead of us. Our own passage through immigration was easy; but a long queue for the restrooms awaited us.
This meant that we were now running half an hour late and caught the Friday late afternoon rush hour traffic going into Seattle. Overall fifty minutes late.
We had a modern snazzy hotel near the waterfront by Pioneer Square. We stopped off for a coffee en route to the hotel, to ease the transportation of heavy rucksacks. We were surprised to see the number of busy wine bars so early on a weekend. Later, when searching for a light dinner, we discovered that wine bars shut at 8pm.
We found a bar, where we had some imaginative sharing plates, with excellent cheese, served at the right temperature. Their happy hour was from 3-6pm! Sitting outdoors was so reminiscent of London – the first time since we had left, over 3 months ago. Later, we enjoyed a short walk along the waterfront, seeing the mountains in the distance, lit by sunset.
Our only full day in Seattle was a mixture of highs and lows. We tried our first run for a while, along the waterfront. However, the strain of carrying the rucksack proved too much for a run so soon after, for Lynne, so we ended up walking to Pike’s Market. Here, we enjoyed pancakes for breakfast – more accurately, one humongous pancake shared by the two of us. Pike’s Market was heaving, reminding us of a mixture of Camden and Borough markets on a weekend.
We had set ourselves the task of purchasing a US SIM card to get mobile data on one of our mobile phones. Having researched it thoroughly, we decided to go in person to a T-mobile shop near the station, and at the same time, check out the arrangements for boarding our train on Sunday.
The visit to the station was really useful in assessing our approach early next morning, especially with building works making access to the entrance complicated. Unfortunately the T-mobile shop had closed down and we had to retrace our steps back in the direction back to Pike’s Market!
That wasn’t the end of it, because we then baulked at the cost of buying the SIM, together with activation charges and taxes, only for 2 weeks. We went round the corner to a large store, Target, where we nearly bought a Verizon pre-paid SIM. We were just discussing whether it would be compatible with our international phones, when a newly-arrived German tourist, advised against it! We took a chance on a much cheaper Ultra SIM, which seems to do the business. Quite stressful, as you can’t test it out beforehand.
On the positive side, we loved our walk in the Pioneer Square area, saw the famous wrought-iron pergola and totem pole. Smith Tower, the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi River was built in 1914, with thirty eight storeys, and a sloping roof. We visited the Waterfalls Gardens, and made it to The Triple Door Live Venue, where we were the first to enjoy a drink, as it opened its doors, away from the hullabaloo outside.
We also ate at a phenomenal restaurant. We followed Jay Rayners’ advice, skipping main courses, sticking to starters (we shared 3), and had dessert too. We also managed to squeeze in a visit to a wine bar.
We really liked the small area of Seattle we had walked around. The people we met were friendly and positive about living there. Unfortunately there were many “down-and-outs”, sleeping rough, a sad fact of a society without a state safety net. And the sun shone, at last…
